beekeeb unveils minim, a slim aluminum split keyboard

Beekeeb unveiled minim as a direct answer to the complaints that keep split keyboards at home instead of in bags: too thick, too heavy, too fussy to carry. The new board pairs a left-right split ortholinear layout with an ultra-low-profile aluminum case, then comes in 48-key and 70-key versions to cover two very different kinds of adopters.

The 48-key build is the pure travel play. It leans hard into the minimalist split workflow, where layers do most of the work and every saved millimeter matters. The 70-key version feels like the more practical first split, keeping the same low-profile metal construction while adding enough extra keys to make daily use less of a leap for people who still want some direct access instead of jumping straight into a stripped-down layout.

That range fits beekeeb’s recent direction. Before the product page went live on June 2, the company had already been teasing a new low-profile split board with a metal case, then asking users which ultra-low-profile switches they preferred, Cherry MX ULP or Kailh PG1316S ULP. A later keycap image showed a grey-on-white aesthetic that reinforced the board’s clean, understated look. Beekeeb also planned to show minim at Tenkaichi Keyboard Waiwai Meetup Vol. 11 on June 6, putting it in front of the split-keyboard crowd most likely to scrutinize case height, switch choice, and how finished the board feels in person.

Minim also follows Toucan, beekeeb’s slim, lightweight, wireless ZMK keyboard with a touchpad. Toucan sold in 36-key and 42-key versions for $189.00, and that makes minim read less like a one-off experiment and more like the next step in a line of compact ergonomic hardware built around travel, low height, and less desk clutter. For split-ergo users who have spent years trying to make daily-driving splits less of a compromise, that aluminum shell is the whole point: it promises a board that packs smaller, sits lower, and asks for less setup friction every time it comes back out.