From Two Magic Keyboards to an Elytra Split Keyboard

One Mac user tries a split keyboard for the first time

By ElimKeys • ElimKeys provided the keyboard featured in attala log’s review.

Before trying Elytra, the creator behind attala log typed on two Magic Keyboards at once, one for each hand. She wanted to keep her hands farther apart, but two full keyboards took up a lot of room.

A split keyboard could solve the space problem. The harder question was whether someone who had used a Japanese-layout Magic Keyboard for years would feel comfortable typing on it.

Her two-week experience with the ElimKeys Elytra split keyboard included a few days of mistypes, some familiar features that helped her settle in, and a handful of changes to suit the way she used her Mac.

Watch attala log’s original Elytra review on YouTube. The video is in Japanese; the story below draws on her on-screen account. All video stills are credited to attala log, with timestamps in the captions.

Before, left: two full Magic Keyboards. With Elytra, right: separate halves in the same workspace. Video stills: attala log, 04:12 and 04:27.

Familiar keys helped with the change

Her old keyboard used Japan’s JIS layout. Elytra uses an ANSI layout, so some key positions and input-switching habits were different. Separating her hands was only one part of the adjustment.

What helped was the familiar stagger of the letter rows. Elytra keeps the row-staggered arrangement found on conventional keyboards, along with a number row and dedicated arrow keys. She could move her hands farther apart without also learning a column-based arrangement of the letters.

She found the low-profile keys approachable too. The short key travel felt familiar after years on a Magic Keyboard, while the mechanical switches gave the press a different feel.

The first two or three days still brought plenty of mistypes. She describes feeling more accustomed to the keyboard after about a week. That is part of her two-week retrospective, not a day-by-day typing test or a deadline for another user to meet.

Small changes to her Mac keymap

In Vial, the key-remapping tool, she focused on familiar habits: where she reached for right Shift and how she switched between Japanese and English input. There was no need to redesign every key just because the software allowed it.

Bringing back a familiar right Shift

In the configuration shown in her video, a key near the bottom right was assigned to MO(1), which accesses Layer 1 while held. A layer gives the same physical keys a second set of functions. She changed that position to right Shift to match the way she was used to typing.

She still needed a way into Layer 1, so she gave the Up arrow two jobs: tap it for Up, or hold it to access the layer.

That arrangement involves a trade-off. If you often hold Up to move through a document, you may prefer to keep a separate layer key. Moving a function means checking how you will reach it afterward, not simply replacing a key that feels inconvenient.

For anyone trying a similar change, the Vial remapping guide explains the editor. Connect Elytra’s left half by USB and use Chrome or Edge for browser-based configuration. The keyboard’s wireless typing connection is separate from the USB connection used by the web configurator.

Switching languages with a thumb key

Language switching was another habit she wanted within easy reach. On her Mac, she moved between Japanese input and ABC, the input source she used for Latin-letter typing.

Her solution combined a macOS setting with a key assignment. In macOS, she enabled the option to use Caps Lock to switch to and from ABC. In Vial, she assigned Caps Lock to one of Elytra’s two space-key positions, leaving the other for Space.

The keyboard sends Caps Lock; macOS handles the input switch. In the video, she demonstrates changing between Japanese and ABC with a thumb press.

Apple’s Input Sources settings guide explains the option. Its wording and availability depend on which input sources you have added, so your screen may look different.

She also replaced the Windows-labeled modifier keycaps with Mac-labeled ones. That made the legends easier to recognize; it did not change the key assignments or convert the physical layout to JIS.

These were small adjustments to actions she repeated throughout the day. If you are setting up your first split keyboard, you can begin the same way: notice the key you keep reaching for, change that one thing, and give yourself time to try it before changing more.

Making room for something other than typing

When she wanted to write on her iPad, she slid both keyboard halves under the monitor stand. The middle of the desk was clear again. She could put the iPad in front of her and write with a stylus without working around a keyboard.

Put away, left: the halves slide under the monitor stand. Next task, right: iPad journaling in the cleared space. Video stills: attala log, 10:30 and 10:39.

A split keyboard still needs room when its halves are spread wide. In her case, Elytra replaced two complete keyboards and was easy to move out of the central work area. The advantage came from how she could arrange and store it in this particular workspace.

She also demonstrated switching the keyboard between a Mac and an iPad. The iPad could be a typing device when she needed it, then a handwriting surface with the keyboard tucked away. Her desk did not have to stay arranged around a single activity.

What still took some getting used to

The English-language instructions were a hurdle. She showed the printed guide and used her phone to translate it. For an English-speaking reader, that may not be the same obstacle, but it is worth checking the setup instructions before choosing a first programmable keyboard. Familiar-looking keys do not necessarily mean familiar setup steps.

She experimented with the physical arrangement too, using cable clips to create a slight tilt and finding palm rests more comfortable in her setup. The clips were her DIY approach, not the official tenting kit. Her preference for palm rests does not make them essential for every user.

By the end of the review, she described a more relaxed shoulder position and less day-to-day fatigue. Those were personal impressions, not measured health outcomes or a promise of pain relief.

She no longer needed two full keyboards to give each hand its own space. A few remapped keys helped her keep familiar habits, and the smaller halves were easier to put away when she wanted to use her iPad. That was the practical change Elytra made at her desk.