Cherry AG

Type| Public company (Aktiengesellschaft)

Traded as

| Template:Fwb
Industry| Electronic switches
Computer hardware
Founded| 1953; 73 years ago (1953)
Founder| Walter Lorain Cherry
Headquarters|

Auerbach in der Oberpfalz

Germany

Key people

| Rolf Unterberger (CEO), Bernd Wagner (CFO)
Revenue| €167.5 million (2021)[1]

Operating income

| €27.6 million (2021)[1]

Net income

| €9.3 million (2021)[1]
Total assets| €411 million (2021)[1]

Number of employees

| 400 (2021)
Website| www.cherry.de

File:Clicking a 1959 Cherry mechanical keyboard switch.webm File:Cherry Mx reds sound for cherry gmbh wikipedia page.wav File:Cherry mx blue sound for ncherry company gmbh.wav Cherry AG (formerly Cherry Corporation and stylized as CHERRY) is a German computer peripheral-device maker. The company has its roots in the United States and is headquartered in Germany.[2][3] It has additional offices in the United States, France, and China.[3] They manufactured a large range of products including sensors, vibrators and automotive modules until 2008, when Peter Cherry, the son of Walter L. Cherry, sold his company to ZF Friedrichshafen AG, a German supplier to the automotive industry. Cherry was renamed ZF Electronics GmbH, while the Cherry brand 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.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Products
* 2.1 Cherry MX
* 2.2 Cherry ML
* 3 Awards
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## History

A keyboard by Cherry Production facility in Bayreuth

Template:Pic Cherry was founded by Walter Lorain[4] Cherry in 1953 in the basement of a restaurant in Highland Park, Illinois, USA.[5] With the passing of its founder, his son Peter took over the ownership of the organization.

Among the 37 victims of a 1971 US Army CH-47 helicopter crash in Germany was Pfc. Samuel Mansfield[6] Cherry, one of the three sons of the founder. In 1979, the company's headquarters were moved to Auerbach in der Oberpfalz, West Germany, which is located between the crash site at Pegnitz and Grafenwöhr Training Area. Cherry has manufactured keyboards since 1973,[2] and claims to be the oldest keyboard manufacturer still in business.[7]

In 2008, Cherry was bought by ZF Friedrichshafen AG and incorporated as the ZF Electronics GmbH Corporate Division. After an eight-year partnership with ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Cherry (the computer input device manufacturer) was sold to GENUI Partners in October 2016.[8] In October 2020, Cherry was acquired by the private equity firm Argand Partners[9] and as of June 2021 is now listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as C3RY.[10] 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.[11]

## 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 (~2008) by numerous manufacturers of consumer PC keyboards.

At CES 2017, 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.[12] According to TechCrunch, Cherry "has long been the de facto standard for mechanical keyboard switches." Three years later, the company launched its first "fully mechanical switch" intended for the "value market," or lower cost keyboards called Cherry Viola.[13]

Currently, Cherry makes the following products:

* Keyboards
* Mice
* Card reader
* Peripheral
* MIX Technology

### Cherry MX

Cherry MX Blue switches on a keyboard with its keycaps removed Cherry MX switches—Cherry MX Blue, assembled (left) and Cherry MX Brown, opened (right) Akwox Cherry MX 9 switch sample board

Cherry “Mechanical X-Point” ("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 downwards when pressed.[14]

PKM 1B reed switch next to two Cherry MX

Keyboard makers such as Cooler Master, Corsair, and G.Skill use Cherry's Cherry MX switches in their designs or "imitate them,"[15] such as Razer's Kailh Green switches in the first Generation Razer Black widow Chroma.[16] Cherry sells its own keyboards in "modest volumes." Its MX 10.0 TKL keyboard lacks the tenkey section of the keyboard.[17] In 2018, the company introduced mechanical keyboard switches for thinner keyboards.[18] It makes its Cherry MX Silent switches, or Pink switches, as a range on keyboards like the Corsair K70.[19]

The most common Cherry MX switches are:

* Linear
* Red
* Silent Red
* Speed Silver
* Nature White
* Orange
* Black
* Silent Black
* Black Clear-Top
* Linear Grey
* Tactile, non-clicky
* Purple
* Ergo Clear
* Brown
* Clear
* Tactile Grey
* Tactile, Clicky
* Blue
* White
* Green

Cherry MX Grey switches can be found in linear (which provides a smooth, consistent feel sans feedback),[20] 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.[21] 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 (, , , etc.). The feel of Cherry MX Green switches are often compared to that of the "buckling spring" switches on original IBM Model M keyboards.[22] Cherry switches have an advertised lifespan of up to 100 million actuations, depending on switch type.[23]

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 | Actuation force | Tactile force | Actuation point | Total travel | Product code | Type

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Blossom | No | No | 0.35 N | N/A | 2.0 mm | 3.8 mm | MX2A-LC9D | Normal
Speed Silver | No | No | 0.45 N | N/A | 1.2 mm | 3.4 mm | MX1A-51xx | Normal
Northern Light | No | No | 0.45 N | N/A | 1.6 mm | 3.7 mm | MX2A-8C7D | Normal
Silent Red | No | No | 0.45 N | N/A | 1.9 mm | 3.7 mm | MX3A-L1xx | Normal
Red | No | No | 0.45 N | N/A | 2.0 mm | 4.0 mm | MX1A-L1xx | Normal
Nature White | No | No | 0.55 N | N/A | 2.0 mm | 4.0 mm | MX1A-41NA | Normal
Orange | No | No | 0.55 N | N/A | 2.0 mm | 4.0 mm | MX2A-LC3W | Normal
Silent Black | No | No | 0.60 N | N/A | 1.9 mm | 3.7 mm | MX3A-11xx | Normal
Black | No | No | 0.60 N | N/A | 2.0 mm | 4.0 mm | MX1A-11xx | Normal
Black Clear-Top | No | No | 0.635 N | N/A | 2.0 mm | 4.0 mm | MX2A-61NW | Normal
Linear Grey | No | No | 0.80 N | N/A | 2.0 mm | 4.0 mm | MX1A-21xx | Larger keys
Purple | No | Yes | 0.35 N | 0.55 N | 2.0 mm | 4.0 mm | MX2A-V1NW | Normal
Ergo Clear | No | Yes | 0.40 N | 0.55 N | 2.0 mm | 4.0 mm | MX2A-Hxxx | Normal
Brown | No | Yes | 0.45 N | 0.55 N | 2.0 mm | 4.0 mm | MX1A-G1xx | Normal
Clear | No | Yes | 0.55 N | 0.65 N | 2.0 mm | 4.0 mm | MX1A-C1xx | Larger keys
Tactile Grey | No | Yes | 0.80 N | 0.80 N | 2.0 mm | 4.0 mm | MX1A-D1xx | Larger keys
Blue | Yes | Yes | 0.50 N | 0.60 N | 2.2 mm | 4.0 mm | MX1A-E1xx | Normal
White / new White | Yes | Yes | 0.50 N / 0.70 N | 0.60 N / 0.80 N | 2.0 mm | 4.0 mm | MX1A-A1xx | Normal / Larger keys
Green | Yes | Yes | 0.70 N | 0.80 N | 2.2 mm | 4.0 mm | MX1A-F1xx | Larger keys

### Cherry ML

Cherry ML switch and keycap

Cherry Mechanical Low-profile (ML) switches are available in a tactile variant, with force and operating characteristics similar to that of Cherry MX Brown switches, but with shortened travel. The rated service life of ML switches is 20 million keystrokes, approximately ​1⁄5 that of the rated MX life.[24] The ML switch was developed to reduce the overall height above the board; while the MX switch stands 15.6 mm (0.61 in) above the board, the ML switch shortens that to 6.9 mm (0.27 in); in addition, the total travel is reduced to 3.0 mm (0.12 in).[25] The nominal actuation point is approximately halfway through the total travel, at 1.5 mm (0.059 in), with 0.45 N and 0.50 N actuation and tactile point forces, respectively.[26][27]

In 2018, Cherry introduced the MX Low Profile switch to supplement the ML switch.[18][28]

## Awards

In 2008, Cherry's production facility in Bayreuth received the Bayerischer Qualitätspreis 2008 award.[29] 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.

## See also

* List of mechanical keyboards
* Alps Electric

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Annual financial report 2021". https://ir.cherry.de/media/document/71641edc-412c-4007-be3e-30d231eeace0/assets/DE000A3CRRN9-JA-2021-EQ-E-00.pdf.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "About us". https://www.cherryamericas.com/about-cherry.html.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Locations". http://cherryamericas.com/contact-us/locations/.
4. ↑ "US, Germany hold memorial for soldiers killed in 1971 crash" (in en). 2021-08-18. https://www.thealbertan.com/lifestyle/us-germany-hold-memorial-for-soldiers-killed-in-1971-crash-4231662.
5. ↑ "Cherry" (in en-US). https://www.ineltro.eu/_product-overview/system-solutions/cherry/.
6. ↑ "Cherry, PFC Samuel M. notice of death (WCC, Winnetka)". Chicago Tribune: pp. 67. 1971-08-21. https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-cherry-pfc-samuel-m-no/36760831/.
7. ↑ "cherry.de - Über Cherry". http://www.cherry.de/deutsch/cherry_unternehmen/company.htm.
8. ↑ "GENUI Acquires ZF Subsidiary Cherry" (in en). https://press.zf.com/site/press/en_de/microsites/press/list/release/release_26752.html.
9. ↑ "Argand Partners Acquires Cherry" (in en). https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/argand-partners-acquires-cherry-301145102.html.
10. ↑ "Argand Partners' Cherry Completes Successful IPO" (in en). https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/argand-partners-cherry-completes-successful-ipo-301322319.html.
11. ↑ "German keyboard maker faces Chinese boycott after ‘men only’ giveaway" (in en). 2019-06-03. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3012931/chinese-gamers-threaten-cherry-boycott-after-storm-over-keyboard.
12. ↑ Gartenberg, Chaim (January 5, 2017). "Famed switch manufacturer Cherry is making its own silent mechanical keyboard". https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/1/5/14185626/cherry-mx-silent-mechanical-keyboard-red-black-ces-2017.
13. ↑ Lardinois, Frederic (January 10, 2020). "Cherry goes downmarket with its new Viola mechanical keyboard switches". https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/10/cherry-goes-downmarket-with-its-new-viola-mechanical-keyboard-switches/.
14. ↑ "Cherry MX". 2013-09-06. http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX. Retrieved 2013-09-11.
15. ↑ "The Best Keyboards for 2020" (in en). https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-keyboards.
16. ↑ "Best Mechanical Switches for Gaming in 2021" (in en). https://www.protechreviewer.com/best-mechanical-switches-for-gaming/.
17. ↑ Sexton, Michael (February 13, 2019). "Cherry MX 1.0 TKL Review". https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/cherry-mx-10-tkl.
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lardinois, Frederic (January 12, 2018). "Cherry's new low-profile switches may help bring mechanical keyboards to more laptops". https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/12/cherrys-new-low-profile-switches-may-help-bring-mechanical-keyboards-to-more-laptops/.
19. ↑ "The best gaming and media keyboards, according to Polygon staffers". March 6, 2020. https://www.polygon.com/2020/3/6/21166537/best-keyboards-gaming-mechanical-wireless-2020.
20. ↑ "The Comparative Guide to Mechanical Switches". https://input.club/the-comparative-guide-to-mechanical-switches/.
21. ↑ "Cherry MX Click Grey". https://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX_Click_Grey. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
22. ↑ Kowaliski, Cyril (March 7, 2013). "A first look at Cherry's MX green key switches: Eat your heart out, buckling springs". http://techreport.com/review/24461/a-first-look-at-cherry-mx-green-key-switches. Retrieved October 22, 2017. "In both feel and specifications, though, the greens are closer to the buckling spring switches of IBM's iconic Model M keyboards. That makes them uniquely appealing to old-school geeks."
23. ↑ "Cherry MX Red data sheet". September 8, 2020. https://www.cherrymx.de/_Resources/Persistent/b7ab2f72bd5686e1e1e759a9f3703536d7fb1e18/EN_CHERRY_MX_RED.pdf. Retrieved September 8, 2020. "Durability: > 100 million actuations"
24. ↑ "Our technologies". https://cherryamericas.com/about-cherry/our-technologies.html.
25. ↑ Li, Cory (May 11, 2016). "Keyboard Science with Cherry MLs". https://cory.li/cherry-ml/.
26. ↑ "Keymodule ML". Cherry AG. https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/71/Keymodule_ML_EN-462672.pdf.
27. ↑ "Keymodule ML". Cherry AG. https://datasheet.octopart.com/ML1A-11JW-Cherry-datasheet-13689277.pdf.
28. ↑ Colaner, Seth (January 12, 2018). "Cherry Joins The Low-Profile Switch Game". Tom's Hardware. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/cherry-mx-low-profile-rgb-mechanical-keyboard-switches,36328.html.
29. ↑ "StMWi: Wirtschaftsministerium Bayern". Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140413155550/http://www.bayerischer-qualitaetspreis.de/preistraeger.shtml.

## External links

* ZF Switches & Sensors website (previously Cherry Switches)
* Overview of Cherry mechanical switches
* Cherry MX mechanical switches guide (with sounds of each switch)

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