Thoughts on Switches Part 11: Gateron Phantom Yellow

Gateron Phantom Yellow switches are another exclusive set of switches available from Keychron. They are a modified Gateron Yellow design featuring a solid yellow bottom and a transparent yellow top with the classic yellow stem. They are factory lubricated and offered in two quantities: $22 for 110 switches ($0.20 per) or $15 for 35 (approximately $0.43 per). As typical non-lubricated Gateron Yellow switches go for between $0.20 and $0.25 per switch this is a great deal to get what is essentially the same switch pre-lubricated for the same price.

For build, they are similar to standard Gateron Yellow switches. Instead of the familiar all-black housing, or milky housing, they feature the same deep yellow color of the stem for the bottom and a clear yellow color for the top. They also feature the RGB channel so most of the RGB light flows through them but as the transparent top is deeply yellow, that tints the light that goes through with a strong yellow tint. That means blues in particular look whiter while warmer colors look more as they would with a clear housing. They are a three-pin design as well, lacking the plastic stabilizer pins generally found on Gateron Yellow switches.

Continuing with build quality, they seem to have decent tolerances. Housing tolerances are tight and secure with little play between top and bottom housing. Stem wobble is one of the weaker aspects of these switches as they have more wobble than I have been used to experiencing as of late. Using them I could feel something else was off and could hear it as well as they are unusually quiet. While typing, there is a feeling of softness I’m not used to experiencing.

And that’s where I realized that these are the first switches I’ve used that I feel are over-lubricated. I wouldn’t describe them as mushy like a silent switch using soft dampeners but there is a similar feeling to that when typing on them. It’s almost a pillowy sensation on many of the keys as I type. It’s not entirely unpleasant but it gives them an unfamiliar feeling. They feel most lubricated on the return stroke, where hitting the top housing feels dampened. I was able to easily verify this by holding a switch in my and repeatedly tapping it to see a faint drop of lubricant sticking to the top of the housing. They’re simply overlubricated leading to a muted sound and tactility. They lack the snappiness I would expect from a mid-weighted linear switch and a quietness uncharacteristic of non-silent switches.

As I’ve not yet done my own lubrication, I didn’t have the context for over-lubrication as all of my experience with factory lubricated switches involved more lightly lubricated switches. On the one hand, this has the interesting result of producing a very quiet typing experience. On the other hand, they feel off; they feel almost as if they are sluggish. Not that they are slow, but that the return feels like there should be more feeling to it than there is. My brain is expecting that familiar popping sensation on my fingers when the switches reset, and it simply never happens. It’s a genuine shame really. They’re clearly well-constructed switches but having one of their key design points with a faulty implementation through such a simple error is a real let down.

This can of course be corrected by the user through removing some of the lubrication or entirely relubricating the switches entirely. But that just means they are even more work to get working correctly than if you had bought unlubricated switches and then did so yourself. These switches are sold as a drop-in solution; you buy them, and they work as you’d expect them to work. This is especially true given the nature of them as a budget-friendly factory lubricated option.

Even more unfortunately, because of the uneven lubrication between switches some do feel and sound more like I’d expect. But few fall into that category with most of them being overlubricated. That does lead to an irregular feeling between switches as well of course. Some feel scratchier than others and sometimes the most lubricated switches end up having the worst combination of mushy and scratchy. For me, good examples of that terrible combination are my ‘a’ and ‘f’ keys right now. They feel rougher on the leaf when I press them than most of the other switches. This is especially apparent if I press them off center.

I do have some Gateron Yellow switches with milky housing that I’ve used before and will use again in the future. They were good switches for the price. I’m not sure I can say the same of these Gateron Phantom Yellow switches. I don’t think I’d describe them as ruined, but I will say they are deeply flawed. If you want to put in work to fix them, they may be fun given their distinctive color and otherwise decent build quality. I personally think that’s too much work given their otherwise average design. They share a great deal of characteristics with Gateron’s other Yellow switches which aren’t heavily coated in lubricant. You may also find them nice as a weird in-between option from a more lightly lubricated linear switch and a dampened linear switch. They aren’t as mushy as typical silent switch designs but are typically quieter than properly lubricated switches. In that niche area they may be a good option, but I feel like that’s a very narrow selection of people.

In the end, I think these are the first switches I’d recommend most people to skip them. Even at the fantastic price they carry for the 110 switch tube they just aren’t interesting enough to warrant a purchase. In the end they are just another variant of Gateron Yellow switches with a change in housing color. There are better switches both at this price point, stock Gateron Yellows for instance, and plenty of better options for not all that much more cost, like the Akko Jelly Black switches I recently reviewed which can also be purchased factory lubricated and do feature a more spared application of lubricant. In the end, sometimes if something seems too good to be true it can end up being too good to be true.