Logitech unveils Craft keyboard with Crown dial

Peripherals specialist Logitech has announced Craft, a new keyboard which features a 'creative input dial' dubbed the Crown, with an eye on professional use in popular Windows and macOS software packages.

Designed for a very similar purpose as Microsoft's Surface Dial, but built onto a keyboard rather than floating around a touch screen, the Crown is the main selling point of Logitech's new keyboard. 'Our new flagship Logitech Craft keyboard is for all creators who spend a lot of time designing and creating [and] who want to work with greater precision and feel connected to their work,' explains Art O'Gnimh, Logitech's global head of keyboards, of the company's creation. 'The creative input dial gives you instant access to the functions you need, the moment you need them, allowing you to increase your productivity by simply touching the dial. Craft puts you in your creative element every time you sit at the desk.'

Located to the upper-left of the keyboard's aluminium body, the Crown ties in to Logitech's software to allow context-sensitive control of a range of software packages confirmed at present as: Adobe Photoshop CC, Adobe Illustrator CC, Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Adobe InDesign CC, all on both Windows and macOS, and Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, and Word exclusively on Windows. The dial can also be used for global controls including desktop switching, app switching, and volume control.

The keyboard itself includes automatically adjusted backlighting, a full-size layout, and slim keycaps featuring a rounded concave design looking not entirely dissimilar to those created by designer Rick Dickinson for the wildly unsuccessful Sinclair QL microcomputer. An 'Easy Switch' also allows for the keyboard to switch between wireless connections to up to three devices on-the-fly, with a choice of Logitech Unifying Receiver or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connectivity.

Logitech has confirmed an October launch for the Craft keyboard, with UK retail pricing set at £179 (inc. VAT.) More information is available on the official product page.