Why do split keyboards have few keys?

A normal, full-size keyboard commonly has 108 keys. That includes all the alphanumeric keys, function keys, modifiers, navigation keys and potentially others, too. Meanwhile, even the largest split keyboards usually don't have that many keys. Our most popular models often have fewer than 60. Why is that?

If you hold the Shift key on a normal keyboard, the numbers will output symbols when pressed. For example, on common layouts, pressing Shift and 2 at the same time will output @ instead. You can see this as a kind of "layer": a different meaning is layered on top of the keys while you keep holding Shift.

In the same way, on custom keyboards you can make your own layers. You can activate those layers both temporarily by holding a key, or semi-permanently by toggling them on or off.

Using layers is quite convenient! Layers have the power to place more functionality closer to your fingertips. Before long, people started moving to ever smaller keyboards. With the help of layers, a keyboard with few keys can quickly access a multitude of functions, removing the physical limitations of those original 108 keys.

Next to layers, different features exist to cater to your preferences, such as keys that do something different when you hold them instead of tapping them (tap-hold), keys that when held together output something different (combos and key overrides), and even keys that can perform different actions based on how many times you tap them in succession (tap dance). You won't have to use these right when you start: just know that if you think of something that could be cool, your keyboard can probably do it!