The Newman GM610 might be my new favorite budget mechanical keyboard — and it costs less than $50

The idea of a wireless mechanical keyboard below $50 is unthinkable to most, yet Newmen has somehow pulled it off. The Newmen GM610 ($39) exists as a bold challenge to expensive mini gaming keyboards by offering a complete suite of features at incredible value. While the cut corners are plain to see, the GM610 has impressed me with the wealth of functionality available at such a low barrier of entry, and gaming performance is nothing to sneer at, either.

l give the GM610 plenty of credit where it’s due. At $39, getting a full set of switches (plus 4 spare!) on a board is definitely worthy of praise. Add in wireless functionality, plus customizable RGB backlighting and you have a bargain of a keyboard at your fingertips. Typing and gaming performance on the GM610 is definitely decent, and the ability to hotswap switches and customize your setup with the included full set of keycaps is great to see. 

However, the problems with the GM610 are apparent before you even start using the keyboard. From the ugly design to the poor materials used, the GM610 isn't winning any prizes for looks. When you actually start to use this keyboard frustrations quickly begin to pile up, owing to poor sound and connection issues. Cut too many corners as a keyboard manufacturer and trouble quickly brews, and you can definitely notice the sacrifices that have been made to keep costs low.

While these quality concerns would make the Newmen GM610 a slightly tough recommendation, there simply aren't many cheap wireless keyboards out on the market that are worth your time. Looking for a better budget board? The stellar Cherry KC 200 MX ($89) comes in at the higher end of the budget keyboard section, offering a much more complete package for gaming and productivity.

While the Newmen GM610 isn't good enough to be considered one of the best gaming keyboards, it might be one of the best value for money boards I have come across due to its low price and wireless capability.

Keep reading to see my full Newmen GM610 review.

Newmen GM610 review: Specs

Newmen GM610 review: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? A wireless 60% mechanical keyboard
• Who is it for? Those looking for a low-budget mechanical keyboard, who will only settle for wireless
• What does it cost? A miraculous $39!
• What do we like? It’s practically unheard of to find a fully functional, mechanical wireless keyboard at this price, and this model even comes with some bells and whistles, like hotswapping support and a nifty companion app
• What don't we like? The glaring cut-corners with the cheap construction lead to lackluster looks and sound, with some responsiveness issues on top

Newmen GM610 review: The ups

In terms of value for money, the GM610 is a knockout success — the core functionality works great, and for the price this is all I could ask for. And there are even some extra bonuses on top of that. Namely, the additional shortcut functionality beyond that of a normal mini keyboard and the level of customization available out of the box.

Functionality

The GM610 doesn’t sacrifice the conveniences of a full-sized keyboard, thanks to the secondary keys accessed by holding the FN-key. The positioning for some of these keys feels a little off, making it less convenient than I would like in order to use the keyboard for productivity. The array of shortcuts available are intuitive to use — being able to quickly switch between Windows and macOS function keys at a single press of ‘FN - Ctrl’, is great while taking advantage of the ability to pair with up to three devices at once. As a feature that would be great to see on any full priced wireless keyboard. I’ve been blown away to see productivity functionality like this on a wireless gaming keyboard for $39.

Companion Software

As well as being impressive for the price, the GM610 features a wealth of customization options. For visual customization, the companion software allows you to select between 18 different RGB presets, plus a per-key lighting mode, which is great to see. The software also allows you to remap keys and set up macros — it is very simple and intuitive to use, despite the relatively barebones interface. There aren’t really any surprises in terms of settings, but everything you would expect from a mechanical keyboard is here.

Portability

Thanks to its decent battery life, coupled with the GTM610’s lightweight and small size, this is a surprisingly solid keyboard for taking to the office. At only 21 ounces, and with a 11 x 4-inch size, the GM610 is one of the smallest and lightest mini keyboards I have seen; making it perfect for taking this board on the go. This is a great consequence of the cheap, fully plastic body — the lack of metal keeps the weight low. 

Extras

The GM610 ships with a full set of replacement keycaps in blue and red, and includes four spare switches. This is beyond what is often seen with gaming keyboards, and is certainly nice to have. As an entry-level budget keyboard, the ability to replace switches and caps freely thanks to the hot-swappable configuration gives the keyboard some longevity that it would not otherwise possess, and I can see this being a great entrypoint for beginner keyboard modding, especially thanks to the price.

Newmen GM610 review: The downs

You may be already sold on the premise of a wireless mechanical keyboard for $39, but a word of warning: there are numerous issues with the GM610 which prevent me from being able to recommend it without some reservations. The common trend here is cost-saving, and a lot of the cut corners here are indicative of this. Visual design and build quality take the biggest hit for the $39 price tag, while problems with the Bluetooth connection and the sound of typing have impacted my enjoyment with the GM610.

Design

The visual style that Newmen has gone for with the GM610 is questionable. The keys and casing feature go with an off-white color, which is reminiscent of a ‘90’s computer lab. As for the other keycaps they prove to be an odd mix of red and dark blue, which don’t look very good on the board. A band-aid to this issue is an alternative, fully white model, available for an extra $10, but this still suffers from shiny, poor quality plastic.

The colors do nothing for the RGB lighting either, which comparatively fail to properly illuminate the keys while being too harsh. Even more so than other gaming keyboards, the default rainbow preset reminds me of budget fairy lights in the way the hues diffuse poorly.

Connection Issues

My experience using the GM610 has also been somewhat soured by a variety of problems with the responsiveness of keys, ranging from delays to missed inputs. In my first game of Valorant using the keyboard, I’ve experienced several instances where I felt like my key presses weren't being read properly, or occasionally having a noticeably delayed input. A firmware update did not fix this for me, and it’s worrying to see this issue crop up so early into my time with the keyboard. It’s more consistent when connected via USB-C, but this should concern anyone looking to make the most of the GM610’s wireless capability.

Sound

There is a big problem with metallic pinging with this keyboard, due to its cheap materials. Much of the noise generated by the GM610 is a result of its hollow construction, and the reverberations caused by keys hitting the plastic top cover. This hollow metallic noise is frustratingly caused by the case design, so heavy modification would be required to resolve it, at which point a higher quality keyboard would probably become affordable anyway.

Each key sounds very different when pressed, resulting in an uneven and annoying sound. Again, this emphasizes how much empty space there is within the keyboard, but the low quality of the ABS keycaps don’t help matters. I have a personal preference for Red switches, both for productivity and gaming, but the combination of the metallic click of the Blue switches combined with the metallic reverberations can prove highly distracting.

Typing

Beyond the sound quality, I struggle to use the GM610 for work, despite the functionality aspects I like. The keycaps have a significant concave design which feels good to rest your fingers on, and is comfortable for the WASD keys in games. Yet for typing it feels awkward as my fingers often struggle to glide naturally across keys. I find it harder than I usually would for my fingers to locate the right keys in games, partially due to this aspect of the design.

The lack of any feet, adjustable or otherwise, also affect my typing comfort. The keyboard only features anti-slide measures underneath, but there is no additional elevation to be had beyond the slightly raised profile towards the back. This boils down to preference and doesn’t make the keyboard unusable, but I see it as one of the numerous cost-saving measures that have really hindered the GM610.

Outemu Switches

The switches used for this board are from Outemu, and while I like the fact there’s a choice of three different switches and that they are hot swappable, my experience with the Outemu Blue switches has been quite negative. The switches are loud and annoying (even for blue clicky switches) with a high-pitched, metallic sound. If this is your first keyboard, you likely won’t find the same issues as me, but compared to Gateron or Cherry switches, I’ve experienced a huge gap in quality.

Newmen GM610 review: Verdict

Understandably, the Newmen GM610 doesn’t hold a candle against other mini keyboards, such as the Apex Pro Mini ($199) or the Razer Huntsman Mini ($150) due to the cheap feel and look. The GM610 cuts a lot of corners, but the result is a miraculously cheap Bluetooth keyboard that should be a consideration for any budget gamer. The wireless connectivity has proven to be hit or miss, but the overall performance and functionality has been akin to a premium keyboard over $100.

It may be a bit too much of a downgrade to go from an expensive keyboard to the GM160 just for the sake of wireless compatibility. Cheaper wired keyboards like the MageGee Sky87 ($29) can feature a similarly plastic-centric construction but with a sleeker finish. Regarding the GM160’s performance and construction woes, you can’t go wrong with the Keychron C3 Pro ($37), which represents fantastic value for a well-built wired keyboard that shows how far ABS plastic can go.

On balance, the Newmen GM610 is perfect for when your budget is tight and you want to venture into the world of mechanical keyboards, or if you are in need of a cheap alternative option away from your desk. It has some obvious flaws around its build quality but nevertheless, the GM610 is fantastic value for your money, and just might be the budget keyboard you've been waiting for.