Microsoft has designed and sold a variety of ergonomic keyboards for computers beginning with the Microsoft Natural Keyboard released in 1994, which was the company's first computer keyboard. They are typically distinguished with their "gull-wing" geometry with a split layout, prominent central arch and concave key beds. Since 2024, the product line has been licensed by Microsoft to Incase who maintain it and manufacture the keyboards branded as "Incase".
Purpose In general, ergonomic keyboards are designed to keep the user's arms and wrists in a near-neutral position, which means the slant angle (the lateral rotation angle for the keys in each half relative to the axis of the home row in a conventional keyboard) is approximately 10 to 12.5°, the slope (the angle of the keytop surfaces starting from the front edge closer to the user towards the top of the keyboard, relative to a horizontal plane) is -7.5°, and the tent or gable angle of each half (the angle of the keytops from the center of the keyboard towards its left and right edges, relative to the horizontal desk surface) is 20 to 30°.
Microsoft began planning an ergonomic keyboard in 1993 with the acknowledgment of concerns regarding carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive strain injury in the age of computing. That same year, Microsoft released the Microsoft Mouse 2.0, an ergonomic mouse. There had been a number of lawsuits at the time in the United States claiming that bad keyboard designs from manufacturers were causing injury to individuals. In August 1994, shortly before the launch of Natural Keyboard, both Microsoft and Compaq announced that they will put safety warning stickers on their keyboards. However there was no peer-reviewed evidence yet that the split-keyboard layout prevented long-term musculoskeletal injuries. Models comparison table +Microsoft ergonomic keyboards Name Dates Connectivity Features Chassis Notes Intro. Status Keys Nav/Edit cluster Numpad Media hotkeys Lock status lights F-Lock Legs for positive tilt Riser for negative tiltColorsWeight Natural Keyboard 1994 wired PS/2 104 3×2 beige Natural Keyboard Elite 1998 wired PS/2 104 2×3 black, white Arrow keys layout is diamond-shaped Natural Keyboard Pro 1999 wired PS/2 and USB-A (dual) 123 3×2 white Built-in two-port USB hub Natural MultiMedia Keyboard 2002 wired PS/2 120 2×3(2) rowspan=2 rowspan=2 rowspan=2 rowspan=2 rowspan=2 white Wireless Natural MultiMedia Keyboard wireless using USB corded receiver black Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 2005 wired USB-A 123 3×2 rowspan=2 rowspan=2 rowspan=2 rowspan=2 rowspan=2 black Zoom rocker between alphanumeric banks Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 7000 2007 wireless using USB receiver stick Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard 2013 wireless using USB receiver stick 84+20 2×4(2) black Split spacebar; fabric-covered palm rest Surface Ergonomic Keyboard 2016 wireless via native Bluetooth 111 3×2 gray Split spacebar; Alcantara-covered palm rest, aluminium top body part Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard 2019 wired USB-A 126 3×2 black Fabric-covered palm rest Compact Ergonomic Keyboard2025wireless via native Bluetoothblack
Notes
History Microsoft ergonomic keyboards have gone through eight major revisions. Earlier models shipped with a 3.5" floppy disk or a CD-ROM containing the Microsoft IntelliType software. Wireless keyboards sold in bundles with a mouse would also contain the IntelliPoint software.
In 2023, Microsoft announced that it will stop manufacturing own-branded keyboards and mice as part of an effort to focus more on its premium Surface-branded accessories. However in January 2024, Microsoft announced that it would license the design and manufacturing of these products, including the Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard and Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard, to Tustin, California based company Incase who would continue to make and sell them. Since the transfer, around early 2025, the keyboards are now sold under the "Incase" branding but are marketed and packaged with the "Designed by Microsoft" moniker.
Natural Keyboard
The first generation of the Microsoft ergonomic keyboards, named the Natural Keyboard, was officially introduced on September 6, 1994, and released in October with a list price of . It was designed for Microsoft by Ziba Design with assistance and manufacturing by Key Tronic. The Microswitch division of Honeywell, which was responsible for that company's keyboards and was acquired by Key Tronic in early 1994, is also credited with design input. The keyboard has a PS/2 connector but also shipped with an AT (5-pin DIN) adapter in the box.
The keyboard uses a fixed-split design, with each half of the alphanumeric section separated, laterally rotated, and tilted upwards and down from the center of the keyboard. This key arrangement was ergonomically designed to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive strain injuries associated with typing for long periods of time. Another innovation was the integrated wrist pad helping to ensure correct posture while sitting at the computer and further reducing strain on the neck, arms and wrists.
It is officially certified to work with Microsoft Windows 95 and Novell NetWare. This keyboard also introduced three new keys purposed for Microsoft's then-upcoming operating system: two Windows logo keys () between the and keys on each side, and a key between the right Windows and Ctrl keys. The three Num Lock/Caps Lock/Scroll Lock status lights are arranged vertically between the two halves of the alphanumeric section. Microsoft offered a software named IntelliType bundled with the keyboard, allowing Windows users customize the function keys and modify keys fairly extensively, such as enabling Caps Lock at boot, typing sound effects, and using the numeric keypad as a mouse. The Windows logo key for Windows 3.1 and NT 3.51 users would be mapped to open the Task List, made to be an easier alternative than the existing + combo.
Although it was not the first ergonomic keyboard, it was the first widely available sub-$100 offering. The keyboard gained popularity quickly, exceeding Microsoft's forecast of 100,000 units sold by the end of 1994. Microsoft soon asked Key Tronic to ramp up production to 100,000 per month in 1995, and the Natural Keyboard sold over 600,000 per month at its peak. Production halted by about December 1997 to prepare for its successor, the Natural Keyboard Elite, with reportedly over 3 million units of the Natural Keyboard having been sold.
Natural Keyboard Elite
After the Microsoft Natural Keyboard, the company announced a successor on November 17, 1997 named Natural Keyboard Elite, released in February 1998 at a retail price of . Like the original Natural Keyboard, the Elite was manufactured by Key Tronic, who also assisted in its development. The Elite has a reduced footprint (by 18%), some redesigned keycaps, and its microchip upgraded to natively support the USB protocol for modern and future systems.
The Elite features a nonstandard layout of the six-key navigation/edit key cluster normally found above the cursor keys (/, /, and /). The arrow keys' inverted-T layout has been changed into a cross-like layout, with left/right arrows keys side by side and up/down keys bracketing them from above and below, increasing the distance between the vertical keys. There had been some criticism that this layout was a tight squeeze. Another significant change was the keyboard's adjustable feet. While the original Microsoft Natural Keyboard had feet in the front to generate reverse tilt, the Elite and its next couple of successors have their feet in the back.
The Natural Keyboard Elite was manufactured in at least two different color schemes; white with black lettering and black with white lettering. After the Natural Keyboard Pro was introduced, the Elite was repositioned as an entry level model and had its price reduced to about MSRP. It continued to be available for several more years at discounted prices targeting bulk buyers.ftp://ftp.jameco.com/Archive/PreviousCatalogs/Catalog%20261/Computer.pdf
Natural Keyboard Pro
The third iteration was the Natural Keyboard Pro, introduced on June 22, 1999 and released in October that year at a retail price of . The Natural Keyboard Pro restored the standard inverted-T layout of the cursor keys and six-key nav/edit cluster 2×3 layout, following criticism of the unusual layout on the Elite. The Natural Keyboard Pro's cord has both USB and PS/2 terminals.
The most notable new features are the added row of program shortcut keys along the top edge of the keyboard (above — and the numeric keypad), including multimedia keys and power management keys, amid the Internet and PC multimedia hype of the late 1990s. The Natural Keyboard Pro also included an internal two-port USB hub on the side of the keyboard, designed for easily connecting other USB peripherals such as a mouse or trackball to a computer by passing through the keyboard. At the time this was a key selling point since many PCs were limited to only a single USB port. This feature was dropped in subsequent iterations of Microsoft's ergonomic keyboards.
Vista and Windows 7 have the ability to customize shortcut key behavior without additional software when using the "internet keyboard" keyboard layout. Some other modern operating systems, such as FreeBSD and most Linux distributions, have comparable configuration options.
Natural MultiMedia Keyboard
In September 2002, Microsoft introduced the redesigned Natural Multimedia Keyboard (sometimes styled as MultiMedia) at a retail price of . The Natural Multimedia Keyboard modernized the aesthetic look with an "Astral blue" color, reworked the row of multimedia buttons, and once again used a lightweight chassis as the Natural Keyboard Elite. It notably included the controversial F Lock feature, which originally debuted in the Microsoft Office Keyboard in 2001, to toggle from standard software-defined functions.
Although the bunched arrow keys of the previous Elite model has been fixed by returning to the standard inverted T layout, the six-key nav/edit cluster has been changed to a 2x3 vertical layout, with moved to the F-Lock function of , and key expanded to double height. This became a common criticism. On the Natural Multimedia Keyboard, the status indicator lights for Num lock, Scroll lock, and Caps lock were moved from between the banks of alphanumeric keys to a more traditional location above and to the right of the backspace key.
The Natural Multimedia Keyboard was manufactured in at least three different color schemes, including white with blue accents, black with silver accents, and white with black accents.
Wireless Natural MultiMedia Keyboard The Wireless Natural MultiMedia Keyboard was introduced at the same time and was sold alongside a wireless optical mouse (the Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer) as part of a bundle product named Wireless Optical Desktop Pro, at a retail price of . This keyboard is a specialized wireless version of that keyboard with a black and silver accent finish. The keyboard uses 270 MHz high frequency (HF) radio and communicates with an included USB receiver, plus an adapter was also shipped to convert the plug for use with legacy PS/2 systems. One other change in the keyboard was that the indicator lights (Num Lock/Caps Lock/Scroll Lock) were moved to the receiver rather than the keyboard to conserve battery power.
Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
On September 6, 2005, Microsoft introduced the Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 at a retail price of . This keyboard provides a significantly changed ergonomic design, including an integrated leatherette wrist rest, noticeably concave key banks, and a removable front stand to generate negative slope, which Microsoft claims to help straighten the wrist and allowing the fingers to drop naturally onto the keys. Microsoft referred to this design, with a 14-degree gable, as "gull wing".