Satechi’s new Slim EX keyboards are the kind of small CES announcement that quietly hits on a big frustration a lot of people have with modern gadgets: the sense that everything is sealed, disposable, and designed to be tossed the moment the battery gives up. With the Slim EX1 and Slim EX3, Satechi is trying something a little different — staying in that clean, low-profile Apple-adjacent aesthetic, but sneaking in a user-replaceable, rechargeable battery so the keyboard doesn’t have to die when the cell does.

On the surface, both Slim EX boards look like the usual ultra-thin wireless keyboards you’d pair with a Mac mini or park under a Studio Display: slim metal-style chassis, chiclet-style scissor switches, and neat, modern lines. The Slim EX3 is the full-size option with a number pad and dedicated navigation keys, while the Slim EX1 trims things down into a compact layout for people who want more desk space or are carrying this in a bag with a laptop or tablet. They charge over USB-C and are rated for up to about five weeks of runtime on a charge, which should be more than enough for most people to forget when they last plugged it in.​

The interesting bit is hidden underneath. Instead of a built-in cell that slowly fades over a few years and eventually forces you to replace the entire keyboard, Satechi has put the lithium battery in a compartment on the underside. You pop out a Phillips head screwdriver, remove a small screw, slide off the door, and the battery is right there, ready to be swapped when it eventually degrades. It’s not as instantly swappable as, say, AA cells or the old-school removable batteries on early wireless keyboards, but compared to most sealed Bluetooth boards on the market, this is a big step toward repairability and longevity.

Functionally, Satechi is aiming these at people who live in multiple ecosystems or juggle several devices all day. Both the Slim EX1 and EX3 can connect to up to four devices at once and hop between them, whether that’s a Mac, a Windows PC, an Android tablet, or an iPad. The keyboards automatically remap keys depending on whether they’re talking to macOS or Windows, so you don’t have to memorize where the Command and Alt equivalents are when you switch machines. If you’re the kind of person who’s constantly bouncing between a work laptop, a personal desktop, and maybe a tablet on the side for notes, that multi-device pairing is arguably just as important as the battery story.

Typing-wise, Satechi is sticking with quiet scissor switches — think laptop-like, low travel, and tuned more for office and coffee shop use than for someone expecting a mechanical click. That makes sense for the audience here: these are clearly meant to live next to MacBooks, iPads, and sleek ultrabooks, where a slim profile and quiet keystrokes matter more than deep travel or custom switches. The full-size Slim EX3 will appeal to spreadsheet warriors and people who need that numpad, while the EX1 is portable and minimal for smaller setups.​

Pricing is pretty aggressive for what they’re offering. The Slim EX3 comes in at $69.99, and the smaller Slim EX1 is $49.99, which puts them well below premium options from Apple and some mechanical brands while still offering a metal-heavy, premium-feeling design. Satechi’s also rounding out the lineup with a Slim EX Wireless Mouse that follows the same logic: wireless, rechargeable, and built around a replaceable battery for $29.99. All three accessories come in black or silver and are available now from Satechi’s own site and Amazon.

The replaceable battery decision also ties into a bigger conversation happening around sustainability and right-to-repair in consumer tech. Lithium cells inevitably lose capacity over time — a few years in, a sealed keyboard that once lasted weeks might barely limp through a few days. With most wireless boards, your options are basically: live with it plugged in all the time or throw it out and buy a new one. By making the pack user-accessible and covering it under warranty, Satechi is giving people a third option: keep the hardware and just refresh the battery when it starts to fade. It’s not a fully modular, repair-everything design, but for a thin desktop keyboard aimed at the Apple crowd, it’s a notable shift.​

It also quietly acknowledges a reality of modern desk setups: a lot of people are investing in “nice” accessories again. Instead of the $20 throwaway keyboard, there’s a willingness to pay for something that looks good on the desk and should last longer than a couple of OS cycles. With the Slim EX line, Satechi is trying to hit that sweet spot where design, multi-device convenience, and a bit of repairability all coexist, without blowing past the psychological $100 barrier that turns a keyboard into a Serious Purchase. For anyone tired of treating input devices as semi-disposable, a slim board that’s actually designed to outlive its first battery is a refreshing change.