Keyboard Review: Womier WD75 v2 UKIYOE Edition

I believe in "love at first sight". It happened to me when I met my wife for the first time, and it happened again when I saw the ultrasound image of my son. It then happened again when I saw the ultrasound of my daughter. It's definitely real! But what I'm getting at is that, whilst not on a similar level, I too fell in love at first sight when I saw this keyboard, specifically the Ukiyo-e edition.

Womier WD75 v2

• Construction - Pre-built
• Build - Wood 
• Colourway - Walnut Wood
• Keycaps - Ukiyo-e MOA Dye-sublimation PBT
• Switches - Womier POM Mint Blizzard, Factory-lubed
• Battery Size - 8000 mAh
• QMK/VIA Support - Yes
• Features - Wireless, Walnut Wood Construction
• Price at time of purchase - £75
• Womier Keyboard Store via AliExpress - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008701989861.html

As you can see, the unique selling point (USP) of this keyboard is how it's built out of wood. But that's not all, the highlight is the Ukiyo-e keycaps set. For the price, it's well within what would be the upper-budget territory.

This keyboard is targeted to those who love a combination of all of these features, and the reason I'm reviewing it is in the hopes that someone finds this review useful in their purchasing decision.

The keyboard is a pre-built package from Womier. Before seeing this keyboard, I was unfamiliar with the brand, but knowing more about them and using the keyboard, I can say that I'm a fan now. I can see mechanical keyboard enthusiasts eyeing this keyboard and adding it to their collection. A lot of folks are fans of Japanese culture and aesthetics, and this keyboard pretty much nails that look.

It's a 75% layout design (82 keys), arguably the "sweet spot" as far as keyboard layouts go. Because the case is built out of wood, you can somewhat say that your keyboard will be unique. It's got a nice weight to it, and the best thing about it is that it doesn't feel cheap.

Tapping on the case, you can hear and feel that it's proper wood. I like it a lot! But it's not all positive, as there's one immediate thing I have to nitpick on.

The keyboard comes with the Womier POM Mint Blizzard switches, and they're excellent, smooth linear switches. Alas, they're a little too smooth for my liking. I can assume that the switches are great if you're gaming, but not the best for typing, in my opinion.

I have since then swapped them out for HUANO Sakura v2 switches, and not only do they feel better, but the sound has drastically improved as well! Typing on the keyboard is very satisfying, and I am making this a regular on my rotation.

Of course, these factors are subjective, and I have watched many videos of folks who are perfectly happy with the stock switches. Check out how they sound:

The keycaps look great, and they're in the MOA style. The designs on each key are clear and legible. It also has the indents in the F and J keys, and the printing of the Japanese characters on the spacebar, Enter, tab, backspace, and shift keys looks nice.

Since this is a mechanical keyboard, modding is something that you may want to consider and there's room for various potential mods here. I personally am happy with the keyboard, but you can do some mods if needed.

The keyboard is also compatible with VIA, which is a huge positive. You'll have to grab the JSON file from the Womier website to do so.

To sum it up, this is a great keyboard. Do you like the design? Then it's a no-brainer. Costing well below £100, this is a keyboard that I can personally recommend for daily usage, and I'm happy to have in my collection.

Sunken - And that is happiness...

Probably one of the most powerful songs I've ever had the privilege of listening to.

It's one thing listening to it, the emotion, the vocal delivery, the melodies, the structure of the song, the crescendo, the nadir, the exhaustive build-up, and the torturous climax. 

And then I listen to it again, but this time, I read the lyrics alongside it...for the first time, and I reach the following part:

Find, om du kan, bag den fæle råddenskab (Find, if you can, behind the foul decay)

Den søde duft af frihed (The sweet scent of freedom)

Husk, tungsindighed til trods (Remember, despite melancholy)

På dit næste morgengry (At your next dawn)

Og vid, mod al intuition (And know, against all intuition)

At det altid kan blive værre (That it can always get worse)

My hair stands on end. This is why I listen to black metal. This is why I love this genre so much. It taps to something really deep within me, and it soothes that tormented soul hiding inside.

But the song isn't finished, not at all, it's actually where you strap on for the ride as we're just about to go through where it gets the heaviest.

"Og det var lykke" (And that was happiness)

I take a few moments before I gather myself and reflect on what I just experienced. 

The album is of excellence. One of the best releases of 2025. It easily gets a seat in the Hall of Fyrtek.

Support the band by giving their Bandcamp page a follow and purchasing their records: Lykke | Sunken

A Very Well-Timed Upgrade: Why I Finally Bought a New Laptop

 

Acer Swift Edge AI 14

Finally, a new laptop. It's been five years since I last purchased (upgraded?) my main laptop. The device that I purchased back then was the Apple MacBook M1. That M1 chip, I tell you, it's one of Apple's best ever releases, and probably in all of tech too.

Over two years ago, I sold the device to my wife, and she's been using it since then. I wasn't using a laptop much back then, so it was better for the machine to be with someone who would be using it. A few months after that, I purchased an old but refurbished Dell laptop.

The Dell laptop had an ancient Intel i5-8325 CPU, but thankfully, because it was a machine designed for a corporate environment, it had some security features enabling me to use Windows 11 with it, barely.

I never really got along with it. It was a decent machine, don't get me wrong, but the major painpoint for me was the battery life. It would last just barely over an hour in Battery Endurance mode. I've upgraded it to have 32GB of RAM, so it's still going to be used at some point in the future.

So what made me purchase this new laptop? Here are the main factors:

• Intel Core Ultra 7 258V - A processor on the Lunar Lake platform. What was an initially expensive proposition from Intel that didn't match competitors' price/performance ratio actually excelled in efficiency. The new platform is Panther Lake, and it's going to be a departure from Lunar Lake.
• OLED Matte Anti-Reflective 2880 by 1800 resolution screen. After using this laptop for a few weeks now, I am going to find it hard to go back to anything else as my main laptop.
• The price. What used to be a £1500 laptop, I was able to get it for £680!
• But the biggest factor that made me pull the trigger: the current RAMPOCALYPSE. This laptop comes with 32GB RAM, and that somewhat future-proofs this. Another thing - because this is running on Lunar Lake, the 32GB of RAM is LPDDR5X!

Yes, it's the RAMPOCALYPSE that's ravaging the tech world at the moment, that pushed me to make this purchase. And I'm very glad that I did as the situation has become dire. So much that businesses that refurb laptops/computers are also feeling it. That's the second hand market!

So far, I'm really enjoying using this computer, more so because this was such a very well timed purchase.

Long-term Review: Two Years with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

I purchased the Galaxy S24 Ultra in January 2024. The phone is now two years old, and it remains an absolute powerhouse.

At the time of its announcement, I was using a Google Pixel 7 Pro. I liked the Pixel a lot, but Google’s aftersales support - particularly in the UK - was almost non-existent. That became a deal-breaker. As much as I loved the photos I got from it, I decided I wouldn’t upgrade to another Pixel device. But I digress.

When Samsung announced the S24 Ultra, one thing immediately grabbed my attention: the square corners. Finally. It’s something most people don’t realise, but heavily rounded corners may improve comfort while quietly eating into usable screen real estate. Just look at the corners on an iPhone. The S24 Ultra avoids that entirely. On top of that, Samsung introduced an excellent anti-reflective display coating. Once again, Samsung claimed the top spot for screen quality. I was sold.

I pre-ordered the Natural Titanium model with 1TB of storage. Even then, I suspected this might be the last square-cornered flagship we’d see from Samsung - or anyone else - for a long time. So far, that assumption has held true.

I genuinely love my Galaxy S24 Ultra. It represents exactly why I enjoy technology, and why I’m so interested in smartphones.

That said, it isn’t perfect. What follows is pure nitpicking.

The downsides (minor ones):

1. Battery life
   It isn’t outstanding. I’m a heavy user and regularly push the phone like a handheld computer. Performance never suffers, but battery drain is noticeable. I use Maximum Battery Protection (charging capped at 80%) and typically recharge once it hits around 30%, which naturally limits endurance.

2. Camera character
   The camera is good, but it’s a step behind the Pixel and iPhone. It’s very capable, yet somewhat clinical. Pixels and iPhones make me want to take photos. The S24 Ultra doesn’t inspire me in quite the same way.

3. Good Lock frustrations
   Good Lock is excellent overall, but when I contacted the Camera+ team to request custom aspect ratios for photos, I received no response. A small annoyance, but an avoidable one.

Again, this is nitpicking. On battery life alone, I could easily double my endurance by being stricter with social media usage.

To finish, here’s a quick barrage of positives:

1. It still looks as good as the day I bought it. I’ve always used a case and a tempered glass screen protector - and I’m only on my second one.

2. It remains fast and stable. I’ve never needed to factory reset it.

3. Samsung DeX is genuinely brilliant and comes in clutch whenever I need to be productive.

4. LDAC support, paired with Wavelet and AutoEQ presets, makes it a surprisingly serious music player.

5. It was crowned MKBHD’s 2024 Phone of the Year. Mic drop.
   

All things considered, I’ll happily continue using the Galaxy S24 Ultra as my workhorse for a few more years. Samsung will provide OS updates for another three years, with security updates continuing beyond that - and that long-term support still matters.

Mechanical Keyboards - I Get It Now

My first ever mechanical keyboard, the Epomaker RT85

For a long time, I was more than happy with my keyboards. I owned three Logitech MX Keys models -two full-sized and one MX Keys Mini. They were quiet, low-profile, dependable, and easy to live with. They did their job well, and I never felt short-changed. As far as I was concerned, mechanical keyboards were loud, bulky, and unnecessary.

That changed almost overnight.

I stumbled across a video by HipyoTech talking about thocky keyboards. Then another about creamy keyboards. Until that point, I didn’t even realise keyboards could be described that way. Curiosity took over. One video led to another, and before long, I was learning about switches, sound profiles, stabilisers, mounting styles, materials, and mods. My initial scepticism didn’t slowly fade - it flipped.

What really hooked me wasn’t performance or productivity gains. It was enjoyment. Mechanical keyboards aren’t just tools; they’re experiences. The way they sound, the way they feel, and the way they invite interaction is deeply personal. Every small choice changes the outcome, and that sense of control is strangely compelling.

This is the moment it clicked for me. Mechanical keyboards didn’t make me more productive in any measurable way. They made productivity more enjoyable. They made sitting down to write, plan, and think feel intentional rather than routine. And when work feels better to do, you naturally want to do more of it.

This is why I like mechanical keyboards. Not because they’re faster or more efficient, but because they turn everyday productivity into something I actively look forward to.

I'm going to try and catalog this journey of mine in the hopes of sharing this enjoyment to others. I’ll start off by reviewing the first mechanical keyboard I bought, the Epomaker RT85. This was followed by the second mechanical keyboard I bought, a Womier WD75. I also have a third on the way, and a fourth that I’ll be assembling myself from parts. Yup, I'm very much going deep into this rabbit hole. Someone send help!

Part One: Where It All Began

This is the first part in a series where I will be retracing my musical journey as an avid lover of music. I will try to remember as much as I can, but it will definitely highlight only those that I associate a core memory with.

Late 80s to Mid 90s

I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember.

Certain melodies didn’t just entertain me — they stayed with me. They shaped how I felt, how I thought, and in some ways, who I became.

I’m 43 now, and when I look back, that connection to music has always been there. This is the first part of my musical journey — the years where it all started to make sense.

Tears for Fears: The First Connection

The earliest memory of me loving a song so much was singing to my grandma the song "From a Distance" by Bette Midler. I got teased so much by my brother back then that I stopped singing and questioned my taste in music. I did end up singing again, fronting for a few bands, even, but that's another story for another time.

The earliest band I can confidently say I was a fan of was Tears for Fears.

Their song “Sowing the Seeds of Love” sits firmly in my personal category of songs that changed me for the better. It was bold, melodic, and emotionally rich in a way that felt different to most of what surrounded me at the time.

Tears for Fears were never just a pop band. Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith were heavily influenced by psychology — even the band name comes from primal therapy. That depth showed in their music. It wasn’t afraid to be political, emotional, or introspective.

Over time, I came to love many of their songs, but “Woman in Chains” stands above the rest for me.

That song shaped me as a human being.

I grew up with three sisters, and by the time I was 13, I became the legal guardian to all three. “Woman in Chains” isn’t subtle. It’s about empathy, inequality, and emotional responsibility. Looking back, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the song resonated so deeply with me.

Nirvana, MTV, and the Shock of Grunge

Then came Nirvana — and with them, MTV properly entered my life.

We’re now at the start of the 90s. Grunge had officially landed.

To the ears of a young boy raised mostly on pop-rock, Nirvana sounded harsh. Unpolished. Almost confrontational. And that’s exactly why it hit so hard.

It was a revelation.

Suddenly, music could be messy. Loud. Uncomfortable. Honest in a way I didn’t know I needed. It scratched an itch I didn’t even know existed.

Nirvana didn’t just change music — they changed the culture around it. They made vulnerability loud. They made alienation visible. And they proved that you didn’t need perfection to make something meaningful.

Metal Was There — Just Out of Reach

Around the same time, bands like Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth were gaining serious momentum.

But access mattered.

Metal lived on the fringes back then. MTV only really played it during Headbanger’s Ball, usually in the early hours of the morning. Radio wasn’t much better. So while the seeds were planted, I mostly had to settle for Grunge.

In hindsight, that wasn’t a bad thing at all.

Pearl Jam and a Core Memory

If I’m honest, Nirvana didn’t hold the top spot for me during the Grunge years.

That honour belongs to Pearl Jam.

The song that cemented them in my heart forever was “Jeremy”.

Looking back now, I can say without hesitation — it was a core memory.

The song itself was haunting, but the 1993 MTV Awards performance took it to another level. Pearl Jam performed “Jeremy” live and walked away with four awards that night.

That moment tattooed them into my musical identity — and yes, that’s a deliberate nod to “Black”.

“Black” and the Beauty of Shared Misery

“Black” sits in the highest tier of my personal playlist.

Even now, I still return to it.

It’s bleak. It’s devastating. And somehow, it’s comforting.

There’s something profoundly human about shared misery — a deceptively beautiful, quietly tragic feeling. Pearl Jam captured that perfectly. Eddie Vedder’s delivery wasn’t performative. It was raw, restrained, and deeply personal.

That emotional honesty planted a seed in me.

At the time, I didn’t realise it. But that seed would go on to shape my musical taste in a major way in the years that followed.

That, however, is a story for another day.