 Alright, so first and foremost, the ROG Falcon is a compact keyboard which actually comes with a protective case on top. This is what they call a polycarbonate case. In English though, that just means a tinted plastic shell with a brushed aluminum design on the front. When you think about it, it's a very inexpensive tool to come with your keyboard which prevents a lot of dust from entering and I'm telling you, like if you've seen my Corsair K70, keyboards in general just rake in so much junk. So as a freebie, this is actually very welcome. An added benefit of the polycarbonate case is that it actually has rubber pads. If you've been watching my reviews of keyboards in the past, I'm very particular when it comes to scratches on my desk and so I need to see rubber pads everywhere just to make sure that everything is going to be alright if I place it on top of my desk. The brushed aluminum case is not flashy which I like because I don't like flashy designs. The cool thing about the case is although it is tinted, you can still see a lot of the RGB lighting pouring out through the case which is pretty cool. So when it's on standby and on your desk, you can still enjoy it. So the ROG Falcon is a small form factor keyboard. When I started gaming when I was like maybe 8 years old, the only thing we knew were these gigantic white big keyboards. And these small form factor keyboards are sort of like a staple now because a lot of people like to get these customized cool looking keyboards that are small as well. So the small form factor keyboard is 30 by 10 inches. It is a familiar looking keyboard. I reviewed the BlitzWolf Bluetooth wireless keyboard some months ago. If I put them right next to each other, it will be very difficult to tell which is which from afar. Of course when you get closer, you'll notice that Republic of Gamers is spelled out on the spacebar and upon closer further inspection, you'll see the ROG logo on the escape button. But other than that, this kind of design is pretty much standard now in terms of wireless keyboards. I wouldn't say that ROG is making a tremendous change in design with this keyboard. However, the ROG Falcon uses a 2.4 gigahertz sensor which is supposed to be dramatically faster in terms of accuracy when you're gaming. So if I was gaming, I would trust the ROG Falcon more when it comes to reaction times, especially in FPS as opposed to if I was using a Bluetooth keyboard. Wires are the bane of a gaming rig's existence. You can have the fanciest toys, but if it's presented in a messy state, then you won't be able to play. At least for me. The less wires you have, the happier the gaming PC is. For the most part, it feels as though the keyboard is plugged into the computer even though it is wireless. And I say for the most part because there have been exceptions in my case. So while the falchion does come with a cool looking plastic case, it does not come with a wrist support. And I think this is absolutely essential. So for the most part, the keyboard is actually quite discreet about its gamerishness on the front part, except for the touch control panel which I'll talk about later. At the bottom of the keyboard, you'll see the ROG logo as well as reflective grills on the same matted black plastic case. But because there's no wrist support, I actually prefer to use the falchion without the extra platform. The keys themselves have a gamerish font, but it's not something that you would instantly notice unless of course you've spent a lot of time with it. Now what sets this small form factor keyboard apart from the Blitzwolf Bluetooth keyboard is number one, this is really meant for gaming. Faster response times because it has that 2.4 GHz dongle. As opposed to Bluetooth. I like that they made the falchion to be something which is meant to be taken with you everywhere. Obviously one of the good things about a wireless keyboard which is a small factor is that you can put this in a bag and then go have a LAN party in your friend's house. Which by the way is so what 2005, no one does that anymore. I like that they actually made a cavity in the keyboard where you can place the sensor just in case you actually do want to attend one of those LAN parties. What's also really cool is that you don't need to worry about the sensor falling out or having a hard time maneuvering it into the cavity. Because a rather strong magnet grabs hold of it quite easily. This is definitely a premium way of taking care of something extremely important. If you lose the sensor, you'll only be able to use this keyboard plugged in. The novel thing about this keyboard is the media touch keypad which by default allows you to increase or decrease the volume and stop and play. However, you can actually change this. In order to use the touchpad, you can either use your finger to bring it up to increase volume or to bring your finger down in order to decrease volume. Or you can even tap the very top button or the very bottom button or the middle button and make it do something else. Pretty cool because it actually also syncs with your RGB profile. However, it's not actually as responsive as a physical scroll wheel. It's a hit or miss thing. However, when I use touch screen panel one out of three times, it doesn't register my touch and so it's frustrating that you have to keep tapping it which, you know, for a premium keyboard should not be the case. I want to press it once and know that the PC is going to do what I want it to do. So not only can you program the RGB lighting of the touch control panel, you can also see the battery level of the falchion so you know how much battery there is left. The ROG falchion can be charged by a USB-C. It's in the front of the keyboard alongside the cavity for the sensor. ASUS advertises that the battery life of the falchion is 450 hours and I believe them because after using the falchion for around two months now, it has yet to die on me and I've actually just randomly charged it maybe three or four times during my entire gaming usage of it and there we go. And in case the keyboard does die on you, which by the way, you can program ArmoryCrate to warn you if it's on low-bat, you can plug the keyboard directly into your PC and it can charge while you use it. A number of reviewers have reported that they have no problem whatsoever with the wireless nature of the falchion. However, in my experience, it seems to be picky on what USB port it should be plugged in. It lights up but nothing's happening. Here it was working fine a while ago and let me try it here. Oh, see now it works. I've plugged it directly into my mobile. I've plugged it into a USB extender. I've plugged it into the back of my monitor. I've plugged it into the back of my keyboard, the Corsair K70, which I just lay about. The falchion seems to be rather picky on where the sensor should be plugged in. So even though this should theoretically work in any USB port, I've had it cutting away, for instance in some areas, like it doesn't like being plugged into the extension. Sometimes it does, sometimes it's okay. However, I don't know if it's distance or my faulty motherboard or whatever reason, but it seems to cut out there. So I would not give the wireless nature of this keyboard a perfect score, simply because with the amount of money that you're spending on the falchion, you should have peace of mind that regardless of where the sensor is plugged in, that the keyboard will work perfectly. So although this is a gaming keyboard and it has this fancy 2.4 GHz sensor, it does not have Bluetooth. I think Bluetooth is an important bonus which should have been incorporated into the falchion because the portability of the falchion allows you to be able to do work wherever you are and using whatever you have. For instance, with the Blitzwolf Bluetooth keyboard, I can use the keyboard for an iPad, any kind of tablet, a PC or my laptop or even my phone. And so in that case, a Bluetooth keyboard is more versatile than the ROG falchion, even if of course the Bluetooth keyboard isn't geared towards gaming precision. Nevertheless, if you're going to buy a premium gaming keyboard, you want to be able to make use of it wherever you are using whatever you've got, even if you're not going to be gaming. I mean, because that's the point of the keyboard, you're supposed to enjoy typing on it, whether you'd be typing on it on your phone, your tablet or your laptop or wherever. The falchion comes in Cherry MX switches made in Germany. My specific unit are the Cherry MX Reds. It is unclear to me if the falchion comes in different colored switches because based on their site, there should be four kinds of switches. However, I only see the Cherry MX Red versions being sold globally. Let me know in the comment section below if you've been able to buy the falchion in different switches. Here's how the Cherry MX Red switches sound like. A very handy feature is that the RGB profiles sync wirelessly as well. This is extremely welcome because if you need to plug it in in order to fully enjoy all the aspects of this keyboard, then it wouldn't be truly wireless. The Armory Crate software which I have discussed in the past is simple to use and I have never encountered any problems with it with respect to syncing with any of my prior ASUS products. It comes with all the basic RGB features you could think of. You can program the falchion to retain six RGB profiles even when it's away from the computer, something to keep in mind for those LAN parties which will never happen or if you plan on going to a coffee shop with your laptop computer and wish to use this instead. Remember, the falchion won't work at all with an iPad or any other device which doesn't have a USB support. Just as long as you have these RGB profiles saved into your falchion, you won't need the Armory Crate program to activate the RGB. You can instead press function and arrow keys to switch between profiles on the fly. So that laptop you bring to the coffee shop doesn't need to carry Armory Crate itself. The falchion retails locally in the Philippines for 7,700 pesos while it retails in the United States for $150. This is definitely a lot of money for a keyboard, especially a keyboard which isn't a complete one. As someone who isn't into compact keyboards, this is something that isn't meant for me as I really cannot stomach having to press function and then zero if I want to press F10. The extra steps for me are maddening. In conclusion, the Armory Crate falchion is a good looking, albeit familiar compact keyboard which improves the look of your gaming setup by minimizing on clutter but at the cost of occasional hardware hiccups. Your experience may vary when it comes to the keyboard cutting out. What I can say is that when it finds a port that it likes, it will work as promised for the most part. The touchscreen side panel might be one of the best reasons to get the falchion if you are into compact keyboards because it adds additional functionality on such a small surface. However, bear in mind you may find that the touch panel may not be as responsive as actual keys. Cherry MX switches are always wonderfully fun to type on and to game with. And finally, the case cover is a major plus in its favor which makes me wonder why other premium keyboard companies aren't providing similar ones. At the end of the day, we are given the RG falchion a 7 out of 10 for being gorgeous and handy but at the cost of occasional wireless cutting. We would have given the falchion a higher rating had it been priced within the $5,500 or $40 range. With all that said however, I must say that ever since I began using the falchion I've had this illogical desire to want one simply because I love waking up in the morning and looking at the case before removing it to start my day. If you're a keyboard nut, you may want to look more into the falchion. And you want to give a special shout out to our top fans, Dom H, Liam Magnae, Ian Meru, Richard Ongkinko, IDX Addict, John Oscia, and Christian Espinosa. Again, thank you so much for all your support and for tuning in to our live stream. I see a lot of you. Till next time guys!