JLab Epic Wireless Keyboard review: An easy recommendation

At a glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

Cracking value for money
Sophisticated build
Easy to switch between devices
Quiet keys

Cons

Only one color available
No adjustable feet
App is lacking some details

Our Verdict

While different colors and a more comprehensive app would have been welcome, the Epic Wireless Keyboard gets you a lot of functionality for relatively little money. It’s easy to recommend.

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$69

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If you’re not after anything mechanical or fancy such as a gaming keyboard, the JLab Epic Wireless may meet your needs.

This device can seamlessly switch between up to three connections at a time (including smartphones), has several remappable buttons and includes dedicated volume wheel for manual audio control.

Design & build

Grey and black colorway
783g
No adjustable feet

The Epic Wireless keyboard is available in one color, featuring a metal grey base and black plastic keys. Another color option would have been welcome for different set-ups, but ,to be fair, this is a classic and sophisticated aesthetic that will go with most PCs.

The keyboard weighs 783g, and measures ‎42.88 x 14.33 x 1.57 cm. It’s perfect for an office, but may be a touch too big for some people travelling – it just about fits in my backpack with my laptop, charger and other essentials packed in.

The bottom of the keyboard has a fixed raised part, so it will only stay in the one position. If you’re a fan of adjustable feet, this isn’t the device for you. Regardless, the Epic Wireless is comfortable to use, even for long periods of time.

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

There is what JLab calls a media knob (make of that name what you will), which you can use to manually control the volume by turning up and down, and even control playback by pressing it in to pause a track on the likes of Spotify and YouTube.

There also a range of shortcut buttons, including a print screen button, a home button and a search bar key. The keyboard has 108 keys in total. Tucked underneath the raised part is a USB-A port for any additional devices.

Connection & performance

Supports three devices at one time
2.4 GHz dongle and Bluetooth connections
Quiet touch keys

There are two ways to connect the keyboard. You can either use Bluetooth 5.2 (the only method if you want to use it with a tablet or smartphone), or the wireless 2.4 GHz dongle.

If you want access to the companion app (JLab Work), you’ll need to use the latter and a Windows or Mac device. But the keyboard itself is also compatible with iOS, Android and ChromeOS.

Once you’ve turned it on and plugged in the dongle, connection is instantaneous. Your PC or Mac may prompt you to do some configuring, though. To pair via Bluetooth, simply hold one of the dedicated keys until they start flashing blue. The keyboard should then come up in your available devices.

Switching between devices is also super easy. I was able to bounce between my iMac, Asus Zenbook 14X (running Windows 11) and Xiaomi 13 (running Android) with no issues whatsoever. You will notice a slight lag when using a Bluetooth connection, but that is just nature of the beast.

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

The keyboard uses quiet touch keys, which don’t rattle about too much when typing. They aren’t quite the near-silent iMac keyboard, but each keypress has more depth, making for an enjoyable typing experience. Backlighting on the keys is also available – enabling it gives them a subtle white glow.

You can remap the F and shortcut keys in the JLab Work app, with three different profiles available. Not all the keys are customizable (as you’ll find on more advanced keyboards), but you can tweak some other keys directly within your computer’s settings.

I also ran into some issues with the keyboard shortcuts for copying and pasting on my iMac – trawling through online forums indicate that this is a common issue with many third-party keyboards designed for both Windows and Mac devices.

I was able to find a workaround by going into the regular macOS System Settings, then creating new app shortcuts for the usual Command and C or V functionals. JLab could do better with its information regarding common issues like this.

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Battery life

2000mAh battery
USB-C charging

The keyboard includes a 2000mAh battery. According to JLab, this should provide you with months of usage. Whilst I didn’t test this out over a long period time, it didn’t run out of juice during use.

Unlike the Logitech Casa, the accompanying app does not give you a battery life percentage, so you can’t monitor exactly how long you have left, which is a shame. There is an LED on the top which will flash red when you have less than 20% left.

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Charging is via the USB-C port at the rear. The necessary cable is included in the box, but you could use one of your own if you’d prefer.

Price & availability

The JLab Epic Wireless Keyboard retails at $69/£69.99. You can buy it from JLab or Amazon if you’re in the US, or Amazon or Argos if you’re in the UK.

At the time of writing, JLab’s UK product page shows the keyboard as ‘coming soon’.

Wherever you buy it from, there’s a two-year warranty available, and JLab is throwing in three months free access to music streaming service Tidal.

For the amount of features included here, this is a decent price. It’s not got a flashy design, but it’s easy to use and has a great design. You can find further options in our roundup of the best wireless keyboards – we also have a similar one for the best wireless mice.

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Verdict

The JLab Epic Wireless keyboard has a lot going for it. It looks sophisticated, is generally easy to set up and offers a quiet, comfortable typing experience. It’s also simple to use with multiple devices.

The app could be a bit more comprehensive, especially when it comes to a battery life estimate. Some may also prefer a keyboard with adjustable feet to provide additional flexibility.

However, these are minor niggles for what is otherwise a well-priced and feature-rich keyboard.