This Foldable Keyboard Is Actually A Mini PC Rocking A Zen 4 Ryzen CPU
Many people have created their own takes on the 'cyberdeck' concept, but there haven't been many professional efforts at creating such a system. Well, perhaps the first truly perfect 'deck' product is finally on its way to the worldwide market: the "Lunar" 2-in-1 folding keyboard mini-PC, sporting some serious horsepower thanks to an integrated Ryzen 7 8840U "Hawk Point" SoC.
What you're seeing in the pictures is for real: it's a tiny mini-PC not unlike those you'd buy from Minisforum, Beelink, or Geekom, except that it also unfolds into a scissor-switch mechanical keyboard. There's a tiny integrated trackpad, and while the nominal power limit of the Ryzen APU inside is just 15W, the manufacturer will apparently let you unlock it all the way up to 50W, which should drastically improve performance.
Who is the maker? Shanghai Shoujie Technology Co. Despite the name, the Lunar appears to originate from a subdivision of that company that is based out of Hong Kong, at least according to the Kickstarter campaign. This device already launched earlier this year, exclusively in China, which is probably why the Kickstarter campaign's goal was a paltry $1,674.
That's barely the price of three of the cheapest models, which come with 16GB of LPDDR5X memory and a 512GB NVMe SSD for $579. The price isn't bad, but remember—this is basically the same specifications as the original ROG Ally, and that machine comes with integrated game controls, speakers, and a 120-Hz 1080p screen for less than $100 more.
That's not to say that the Lunar doesn't have any advantages of its own, mind you. This device can be had with up to 1TB of storage and a full 32GB of RAM, even more than the ROG Ally X. It also has much more external connectivity than the gaming handhelds, with a pair of USB Type-C ports and a USB Type-A port. One of the Type-C ports is even USB4, apparently. There's no memory card slot, but the integrated battery has a 59-WHr capacity, putting it smack between the 40-WHr Ally and 80-WHr Ally X.
If you're interested in a pocket-sized folding mechanical keyboard that includes an eight-core Ryzen SoC inside, head over to Lunar's kickstarter page to put in your order. The company says that it expects the first units to ship overseas in January.
