Review: Keychron M5 vertical wireless mouse

Review unit provided by Keychron

The Keychron M5 is a wireless vertical mouse released in April 2025. Price at the time of review is USD 69.99.

Specifications

• Sensor: PixArt 3950
• Switch: Huano Micro Switch for 80M clicks
• Cable: Ultra-flex paracord cable
• Mouse feet: Premium sport teflon feet
• Clicks: Normal (not silent)
• DPI: Up to 30K, 750 IPS
• Polling rate: 8K hz
• Battery life: Up to 140 hours
• Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB, 2.4Ghz
• System support: Windows, MacOS
• Weight: 95g
• Dimensions: 71.7 x 87.1 x 117.8mm

Things included

• Mouse
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• USB-A female to USB-C female adapter
• USB-C female to USB-A male adapter
• USB-A 2.4Ghz wireless receiver
• User manual

The company should have included a USB-C male to USB-A female adapter.

Design

The main reason to buy a vertical mouse is for the ergonomics. A vertical mouse can be held more comfortably than a flat or lower mouse for longer period of time.

The mouse has a 47 degree angle that provides a handshake grip when using the mouse. My previous vertical mouse is the Logitech Lift wireless vertical mouse and I kinda enjoy using that for almost two years.

A vertical mouse is great for those who feel hand strain from using low mouse. Another option to alleviate hand strain is use a touchpad.

Those using a vertical mouse for the first time should have no issues getting used to the new feel. The mouse is designed to fit the hand perfectly.

Main thing about using a vertical mouse is sometimes when you switch from using mouse to typing, your hand may hit the tall mouse.

Oh, the mouse is only made for right handed users.

The mouse supports 2.4Ghz connection, cable mode and Bluetooth connection to 3 devices. There's a 2.4Ghz wireless receiver included but there's no space on the bottom of the mouse to store that receiver. The teflon feet glides smoothly on mousepad and on table (I don't have glass table to test).

Battery life is rated to be up to 140 hours. Battery life is affected slightly by the polling rate which can reach up to 8000 Hz. Default polling rate of 125Hz is available to all three connections, but higher polling rates are available only to wired and 2.4Ghz connection.

Charging through USB-C is convenient, and thankfully the cutout for the USB-C connector is big enough so you don't necessary have to use the cable included.

There are two wheels on mouse, for vertical and horizontal scroll. The wheels have dampened stops (no free scrolling) with no audible clicks.

The two side buttons and scroll wheels can be customised through a web browser using the Keychron Launcher web app.

No driver installation is needed to configure the mouse. This mouse can be configured with computer systems that are locked down by IT departments.

Clicks are firm, kinda loud and there's no silent click variations for this mouse. Don't be surprised with the company released this mouse with silent clicks in the future, e.g. Keychron M5S.

The Huano micro switch is used in the mouse is rated for 80 million clicks. You'll need 44K clicks per day for five years to reach 80 million clicks.

Conclusion

The Keychron M5 mouse looks good and works well. There are no major deal breakers for me. I wish there's silent click but it's a minor issue and there's no left hand option.

Pros and cons at a glance
+ Ergonomic design
+ Many status lights on the bottom
+ Glides smooth
+ Lightweight
+ Web-based configuration so no drivers have to be installed
- No free-scrolling wheel
- No silent click option
- No left handed option

Availability

The Keychron M5 is available from Keychron online store.