Epomaker teases Hack70, a larger VIA-ready ortholinear keyboard

Epomaker’s Hack70 cuts across the usual 60, 75 and TKL cycle by going ortholinear at a larger size, and that is what makes the teaser worth watching. Straight-column key placement is still a niche choice even inside mechanical keyboard circles, but it solves a different problem from the standard staggered board: a more symmetrical hand path, less familiar motion for the fingers to relearn, and a layout that can feel especially appealing to users who want a cleaner, more deliberate typing grid.

The company has not formally launched the board yet, but the reveal has already shown enough to sketch the direction. Hack70 was teased in social posts and in a recent YouTube unboxing livestream, where Epomaker framed it as a bigger take on the ortholinear idea used in smaller boards such as the Luma40. The hardware list points to a budget-conscious but fully featured build: tri-mode connectivity with USB-C wired, Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz, a plastic case, two-stage flip-out feet, and a polycarbonate gasket-mounted plate. It will also support 3- and 5-pin MX-style hot-swap switches, ship with Epomaker Creamy Jade switches, and include per-key RGB.

Keycap support matters in a board like this, and Hack70 leans into the format with uniform-height XDA-profile dye-sublimated PBT keycaps. That should make the layout easier to live with, whether the board becomes a daily driver or a platform for experimentation. The presenter’s mention of a JSON file on the product page is the other major signal here, because it points to VIA programmability. For a board that already asks users to adjust to an ortholinear grid, easy remapping and layer work could make the difference between a curiosity and something people actually keep on their desks.

Epomaker has already shown it can sell ortholinear ideas in smaller form. The Luma40 is listed at $115.99 as a compact 40% keyboard with tri-mode connectivity and a customizable ortholinear layout, and its product page says it supports VIA macros, remaps, layouts, Mod Tap and any-key functions. VIA itself is built around quick browser-based configuration for compatible boards, and OLKB continues to define ortholinear keyboards around models like the Planck, Preonic and Subatomic. Hack70 now looks like Epomaker’s bid to stretch that concept beyond compact-board novelty and into a larger, more approachable package.

That is the real question hanging over Hack70: whether a bigger ortholinear board, backed by hot-swap sockets, VIA-ready firmware and familiar wireless features, can move far enough past the usual 60, 75 and TKL rotation to feel less like a stunt and more like a lasting option.