OLKB
Planck & Preonic
OLKB is the producer of the highly popular Planck and Preonic ortholinear keyboards. The owner, Jack Humbert, is also the founder of QMK. For years these keyboards were sold primarily through Drop.com, but Drop closed its ecommerce store on March 31, 2026. The Preonic has since found a new home: Apos is bringing it back as the Preonic Rev 4, and the waitlist is open now.
Join the Preonic Rev 4 WaitlistVisit OLKB WebsiteCompare Ortho KeyboardsUpdate (July 2026): The Preonic is coming back. Apos x OLKB Preonic Rev 4 has a waitlist open, but it has not launched. Apos has not posted a price or a ship date, and there is nothing to add to a cart yet. Sign up and you get notified. The Planck is still the harder one to find: Drop's ecommerce store closed March 31, 2026, old Drop links now redirect into the CORSAIR-integrated site, and new stock is limited to whatever OLKB and Amazon still have. Full context in our 2026 buying guide.
Planck Keyboard
The Planck is a 40% ortholinear keyboard supporting hot-swappable switches, LEDs, a small speaker, and rotary encoders. Multiple baseplate options have shipped over the years (EOTW, hi-pro, and low-pro). Most Plancks ship as kits with light assembly required.
View on OLKBSearch on AmazonQMK Firmware
Preonic Rev 4
The Preonic is the Planck's bigger sibling — a 5×12 ortholinear grid that keeps the dedicated number row. After Drop closed, Apos picked the design up and rebuilt it with OLKB as the Rev 4: an anodized CNC aluminum case, a ground-up 4-layer hot-swap PCB, per-key RGB with underglow, support for up to ten encoder positions, and an RP2040 running QMK.
It has not launched. Apos hasn't posted a price, colorways, or a ship date, and the listing only says the kit includes a "Preonic Rev 4 keyboard kit." Right now you join the waitlist and get notified.
Join the Waitlist at AposRead Our TakeQMK FirmwareWhat changed in the Rev 4
- Complete 4-layer PCB redesign, hot-swap sockets
- Bottom row supports 2×2u, 1×2u, and full grid
- Full per-key RGB backlighting plus integrated RGB underglow
- Up to 10 encoder positions, with better double-detent encoder support
- RP2040 microcontroller with SWD breakout pads for firmware work
- Enhanced ESD protection, universal USB daughterboard support, external RGB solder points
- Anodized CNC aluminum case included in the kit
Looking for a Planck Alternative?
The Preonic Rev 4 covers the 50% side again, but the Planck is still hard to buy new. If you want a 40% now rather than a waitlist email later, these are our current picks:
- Chosfox x Masro Geonix Rev.2 — 40% low-profile wireless ortho ($112)
- YMDK Air40 — Planck-clone build with QMK/VIA ($103)
- KPrepublic CSTC40 — Budget Planck alternative ($49)
- MechDIY 59 — Preonic-style 50% with VIA ($175)