MakerM0's Upgraded MagiClick S3 Is the Smartest Single-Key Keyboard You're Likely to Find
New update brings easier 3D printing and a simplified circuit design — and plans are afoot for a variant with a circular display.
Pseudonymous tinkerer "MakerM0," formerly known as "Modular," has released an upgraded version of the MagicClick S3 — a single-button macro keyboard with an integrated display and speaker, built around the Espressif ESP32-S3 microcontroller.
"It has been over half a year since the last keyboard project was released, and it's high time for some adjustments and improvements," MakerM0 writes of the new and improved MagiClick S3. "With the popularity and widespread use of 3D printing, I have redesigned the appearance to minimize unnecessary supports during the printing process, making it easier to print. The color scheme can be freely customized to present an even better effect. To facilitate production and assembly, the circuit board has been simplified by removing redundant components and reducing the number of PCBs to just one."
The core of the project is unchanged since MakerM0 unveiled it back in September last year: a single-button mechanical keyboard, based around the popular Cherry MX switch format, which is programmed in CircuitPython — with MicroPython and Arduino as options, if you'd prefer. Where it differs from rival macro buttons is in the inclusion of an integrated speaker and a color display at the top: a 0.85" square-format TFT panel, with plans for a circular version in the works, which can be programmed to read out anything from the time to system stats or to display custom animations.
Powered by USB or an internal battery, the new MagicClick S3 even comes with support for games — at least, ones you can play with only a single button. "I've developed a small game designed to assess an individual's temporal perception skills, specifically focusing on the precision of second estimations and their awareness of the passage of time," MakerM0 explains, while also showing off an implementation of the infamous Flappy Bird.
Firmware and software for the project are available on GitHub under an unspecified license, with the hardware design published to PCBWay and GitHub under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license; the 3D-printable parts are available on Maker World under the same license. Alternatively, MakerM0 is taking orders for assembled units via Elecrow at $27.90; hardware is expected to begin shipping on August 22nd.
Additional information on the project is available on Hackaday.io.