Cherry MX Emerald Reef gives the silent tactile a lighter finish
Cherry’s new silent tactile uses the Illuma platform. Here’s how it compares with MX2A Honey, and what Illuma Red and Brown change about the classic MX switches.
Announcement date: October 22, 2026
Cherry announced the MX Emerald Reef, MX Illuma Red and MX Illuma Brown on October 22, 2026. Emerald Reef is the silent tactile of the three. It uses the Illuma platform and dampens impacts at both ends of the keystroke, when the key bottoms out and when it returns.
The closest comparison is Cherry’s own MX2A Honey, which also combines tactile feedback with internal dampening. The largest difference in Cherry’s published specs shows up at the end of the stroke. Emerald Reef is rated at 60 cN there, compared with 110 cN for Honey.
Emerald Reef starts like Honey and ends lighter
Both switches start at 30 cN. Emerald Reef registers at 41 cN and 2.0 mm, while Honey registers at 45 cN and 1.9 mm. That makes the difference near the start of the stroke modest. The larger gap in end force suggests that people who routinely press all the way down are more likely to notice the change.
Cherry lists Emerald Reef’s tactile peak at 60 cN. That is the resistance at the bump. The separate 41 cN figure describes the force at electrical actuation. The published figures give a few points on the stroke. A full force curve would show where the bump sits and how long it lasts.
| Specification | MX Emerald Reef | MX2A Honey | MX2A Brown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actuation force | 41 cN | 45 cN | 45 cN |
| Actuation point | 2.0 mm | 1.9 mm | 2.0 mm |
| Total travel | 3.8 mm | 3.7 mm | 4.0 mm |
| End force | 60 cN | 110 cN | 80 cN |
End force is Cherry’s figure for the end of travel. It is separate from the tactile peak and does not measure how hard the impact feels.
Less stem play, with dampening on the way down and back up
MX2A already introduced factory lubrication, refined stem guides and, on models including Honey, a barrel spring. For Emerald Reef, Cherry describes a new spring, revised lubrication and tighter clearance between the stem and housing. That tighter fit is intended to limit sideways movement. The internal dampening targets the impact at the bottom and the sound when the stem returns to the top.
Emerald Reef uses Cherry’s Gold Crosspoint contacts, a standard-height MX body and a five-pin PCB mount. Its integrated lens directs light from the keyboard’s RGB LED. Cherry rates the switch for more than 50 million actuations in its launch announcement.
Illuma Red and Brown keep the familiar MX2A numbers
Illuma Red stays linear and Illuma Brown stays tactile. Each retains the force and travel figures of its MX2A counterpart. Both register at the same force and depth, while Red requires more force at the end of the stroke.
The main changes are in how the switches guide the stem and fit around a keycap. Cherry lengthened the stem guide, narrowed internal clearances and reshaped the top housing to reduce the risk of keycap interference. MX2A RGB already directed light toward the keycap. Illuma revises that light path and offers Red and Brown variants with and without an integrated lens.
| Specification | Illuma Red | MX2A Red | Illuma Brown | MX2A Brown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switch type | Linear | Linear | Tactile | Tactile |
| Initial force | 30 cN | 30 cN | 30 cN | 30 cN |
| Actuation force | 45 cN | 45 cN | 45 cN | 45 cN |
| Actuation point | 2.0 mm | 2.0 mm | 2.0 mm | 2.0 mm |
| Total travel | 4.0 mm | 4.0 mm | 4.0 mm | 4.0 mm |
| End force | 100 cN | 100 cN | 80 cN | 80 cN |
Cherry lists a 55 cN tactile peak for Illuma Brown, separate from its 45 cN actuation force.
What remains to be measured
The published numbers put Emerald Reef’s clearest departure from Honey late in the stroke. The size of the real-world sound difference and how sharply the bump feels are still open questions. Keebpedia has not tested the switches side by side. Cherry’s MX Experience Box 2nd Edition includes Emerald Reef, both Illuma switches and MX2A Honey alongside six other MX switches.