Keyboard giant Keychron unveils new Nape Pro trackball with programmable buttons — low profile design promotes ergonomic scrolling without leaving your keyboard
At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Keychron officially unveiled its Nape Pro trackball, designed in conjunction with Gizmodo Japan. The quirky-looking device is a trackball that nestles right up against any of the best gaming keyboards to give you instant access to a scrolling trackball and six programmable buttons without moving your hands.
Tom's Hardware stopped by Keychron in Las Vegas to get a closer look. The Nape Pro can sit either under your space bar or off to one side to perform the duties of a more conventional trackball/mouse. The Nape Pro is pretty diminutive, not taking up much more real estate than a regular mouse, and its rectangular shape actually makes it a bit more discreet for some setups.
As reported by Yanko Design, the Nape Pro's party piece is its OctaShift software, which can detect the orientation of the device (portrait or landscape) and adjust accordingly. YD reports the Nape Pro has a Realtek chip with a 1 kHz polling rate and a PixArt PAW3222 sensor to give the best wireless gaming mouse a run for its money. You can connect via Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz dongle, or USB-C. Firmware is ZMK, and Keychron also reportedly plans to release the 3D files for the keyboard. That means that users will be able to 3D print their own stands, caps, or other accessories.
The intense customization is a recipe that has served Keychron well in its other product offerings, so it's great to see that same philosophy on display here. The whole thing looks really unique and enticing, and I have to say that the idea of enhancing a desktop setup with a much more ergonomic trackball nestled alongside a keyboard is a great idea. Even as I type this, I'm flexing my thumbs in anticipation of how it might feel to reach for this trackball to do some scrolling.
Keychron hasn't shared any official information about pricing or release date for the Nape Pro. Elsewhere at CES, the company took the covers off its new Q UItra wireless keyboards with up to 660 hours of battery life and 8K polling. If that's not refined enough for you, the company also has a keyboard made of marble on display.
Stephen is Tom's Hardware's News Editor with almost a decade of industry experience covering technology, having worked at TechRadar, iMore, and even Apple over the years. He has covered the world of consumer tech from nearly every angle, including supply chain rumors, patents, and litigation, and more. When he's not at work, he loves reading about history and playing video games.
If that is supposed to be mounted to the side or front of a keyboard then the ball can't be very large. Small balls are not so comfortable to use.
BTW. Trackballs mounted to an ergonomic split keyboard have often been mounted so the ball could be rolled with the thumb of the hand on the side it is mounted on.
If that is supposed to be mounted to the side or front of a keyboard then the ball can't be very large. Small balls are not so comfortable to use.
The Yanko Design link in the article has a lot more pictures so you can get a sense of scale: https://www.yankodesign.com/2026/01/08/keychrons-nape-pro-turns-your-mechanical-keyboard-into-a-laptop-style-trackball-rig-hands-on-at-ces-2026/
