What if your keyboard could be a little more versatile than it currently is? The AutoKeybo is designed to allow you to switch between traditional keyboard keys, a number pad, and a touchpad as needed with a simple gesture. That’s right – the “keyboard” houses all those components in one, large device.
The Auto Key boat was on view at CES 2025, and I had a chance to check it out for myself. I have to say, it’s pretty cool, but in a weird way – and it’s probably not something I would ever use.
A split design
The auto-key bow is essentially split into two different halves, with the right half offering the right side of a traditional keyboard along with the touchpad, and the left half having the number pad and the left side of a typical keyboard. There’s also a version of the AutoKeybo that has a mouse built into it instead of a touchpad.
Credit: Christian de Looper
You can only use one of those components on each side at a time, but you can switch between them quickly and easily as needed with a simple movement of your hands that’s viewed by an AI camera to know when to make the switch. I tried making the keyboard switch a few times, and it worked decently well, though there was a bit of a learning curve, and I did find it to fail more often than I would have liked.
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The idea behind the keyboard is interesting. Essentially, it’s built to prevent you from having to move your hands between your keyboard, mouse, and any number pad.
Much more than a keyboard
But the AutoKeybo is actually much more than a keyboard and touchpad. In fact, it’s an entire computer built into one device. Under the hood is a Linux computer with a mini HDMI port on the left side and a USB-C port on the right side. That’s right, with the AutoKeybo, you don’t actually need another computer; you can simply use it as is.
Credit: Christian de Looper
The only problem with the AutoKeybo is that it’s relatively expensive at $700, and with all those mechanical movements, I can’t imagine it would last long without needing some kind of repair.
Regardless, I did like seeing a device like this on the show floor. Weird things like the AutoKeybo are exactly what makes CES more interesting.
