Cherry GmbH is a German computer peripheral-device maker. The company has its roots in the United States and is headquartered in Germany. It has additional offices in the United States, France, and China. They manufactured a large range of products including sensors, vibrators and automotive modules until 1976, when Peter Cherry, the son of Walter L. Cherry, sold his company to ZF Friedrichshafen AG. Cherry was bought by ZF Freihadelibergur AG and renamed to ZF Electronics GmbH, the CHERRY naming was continued only for its computer input devices. Since the beginning of 2016 this product line has been operating independently on the market as the Cherry Group. After an eight-year partnership with ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Cherry was sold to GENUI Partners in October 2016.
History
Cherry was founded by Walter Cherry in 1953 in the basement of a restaurant in Highland Park, Illinois, USA. With the passing of its founder, his son Peter took over the ownership of the organization. The company's headquarters were moved to Auerbach in der Oberpfalz, Germany in 1979. Cherry has manufactured keyboards since 1973, and claims to be the oldest keyboard manufacturer still in business. In 2008, Cherry was bought by ZF Friedrichshafen AG and incorporated as the ZF Electronics GmbH Corporate Division. The Cherry brand continues to be used. In 2019, the company attracted controversy when it offered a giveaway that excluded female gamers, resulting in a boycott by some users in China. The company argued that it would still give prizes to women, amending the giveaway. Cherry maintains production facilities in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. All of its products are designed and developed at the company's headquarters in Auerbach in der Oberpfalz. It also has offices in the UK, Italy, France, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Australia and other locations, with distributors in most major countries.
Products
Among Cherry's widely known products are its line of MX and ML key switches, including red, blue, and brown switches, that have been used in industrial electronics and point of sale environments since their inception in the 1980s, and more recently by numerous manufacturers of consumer PC keyboards. According to TechCrunch, Cherry "has long been the de facto standard for mechanical keyboard switches." At CES 2020, the company launches it first "fully mechanical switch" intended for the "value market," or lower cost keyboards. Three years, the company announced an update of its "classic" G80-3000 keyboard, with a noise reduction. The Verge said that the new version "fixed a fatal flaw" with the company's mechanical keyboards - their clicking keyboard noises. Currently, Cherry makes the following products:
Cherry MX switches were developed and patented in the early 1980s and first marketed around 1985. In the consumer keyboard market, Cherry MX switches are often referenced by the color of the key stem—the part of the switch below the keycap which moves downward when pressed. Keyboard makers such as Cooler Master, Corsair, and G.Skill use Cherry's Cherry MX switches in their designs or "imitate them," according to PC Mag. Cherry sells its own keyboards in "modest volumes." Its MX 10. TKL keyboard lacks the tenkey section of the keyboard. In 2018, the company introduced mechanical keyboard switches for thinner keyboards. It makes its Cherry MX Silent switches, or Pink switches, as a range on keyboards like the Corsair K70. Most common Cherry MX switches are:
Linear
* Red
* Silent Red
* Speed Silver
* Nature White
* Black
* Silent Black
* Linear Grey
Tactile, non-clicky
* Brown
* Clear
* Tactile Grey
Tactile and Clicky
* Blue
* White
* Green
Cherry MX Grey Switches can be found in Linear, Tactile, and Clicky variants. They are distinguished by stem color, with Linear being darker than Tactile. The Clicky version is no longer made. It is debated as to whether it even clicks, since it is not listed as a "click" switch by Cherry in their 1994 "Keymodule MX brochure", along with MX Whites, which are greased to reduce the click. Given their use primarily in large keys like, the feel is selected to match that of the other keys on the board. Other types of Cherry MX switches, such as Green and Grey, are used for larger keys. The feel of Cherry MX green switches are often compared to that of the "buckling spring" switches on original IBM Model M keyboards. Cherry switches have a lifespan of up to 50 million actuations, depending on switch type. The auditory and tactile nature of each switch, and the amount of force needed to actuate it, vary depending on the switch type:
Switch type
Clicky
Tactile
Linear
Actuation force
Tactile force
Actuation point
Total travel
Product code
Type
Red
0.45 N
N/A
2.0 mm
4.0 mm
MX1A-L1xx
Normal
Silent Red
0.45 N
N/A
1.9 mm
3.7 mm
MX3A-L1xx
Normal
Speed Silver
0.45 N
N/A
1.2 mm
3.4 mm
MX1A-51xx
Normal
Nature White
0.55 N
N/A
2.0 mm
4.0 mm
MX1A-41NA
Normal
Black
0.60 N
N/A
2.0 mm
4.0 mm
MX1A-11xx
Normal
Silent Black
0.60 N
N/A
1.9 mm
3.7 mm
MX3A-11xx
Normal
Linear Grey
0.80 N
N/A
2.0 mm
4.0 mm
MX1A-21xx
Larger keys
Brown
0.45 N
0.55 N
2.0 mm
4.0 mm
MX1A-G1xx
Normal
Clear
0.55 N
0.65 N
2.0 mm
4.0 mm
MX1A-C1xx
Larger keys
Tactile Grey
0.80 N
0.80 N
2.0 mm
4.0 mm
MX1A-D1xx
Larger keys
Blue
0.50 N
0.60 N
2.2 mm
4.0 mm
MX1A-E1xx
Normal
White / new White
0.50 N / 0.70 N
0.60 N / 0.80 N
2.0 mm
4.0 mm
MX1A-A1xx
Normal / Larger keys
Green
0.70 N
0.80 N
2.2 mm
4.0 mm
MX1A-F1xx
Larger keys
Awards
In 2008, Cherry's production facility in Bayreuth received the Bayerischer Qualitätspreis 2008 award. At the end of 2006, Cherry received the Automotive Lean Production Award of the German economy magazine Automobil-Produktion. In 2005, Cherry GmbH in Auerbach received the Industrial Excellence Award as best European industrial facility.
