Aptmak Blue

Aptmak is a highly effective keyboard layout designed by Eve (Apsu) in 2022. Evolving from her previous layout, Apt, it integrates the best features of Colemak and is meticulously optimized for the geometry of split ortholinear keyboards. However, while the original Aptmak excels for English, the Aptmak Blue modification takes it a step further, tailoring the experience for the multilingual user.

Developed by Moosy in early 2024, Aptmak Blue features a mirrored layout with surgical adjustments to the alpha keys. The name 'Blue' is a nod to the Japanese word aoi, representing the vowel cluster on the left home row (A-O-I), which serves as the core of the layout’s efficiency.

Why Aptmak Blue?

For the bilingual professional switching between English and Dutch, standard layouts often feel like a compromise. Aptmak Blue is designed to eliminate that friction through three core principles:

• The Thumb Revolution: In both languages, 'E' is the most frequent character. Aptmak Blue moves 'E' to the thumb—the strongest and most agile digit—radically reducing the workload on your other fingers.

• Linguistic Balancing: English prioritizes 'T', while Dutch relies heavily on 'N'. This layout balances both on the home row, ensuring that common Dutch suffixes (-en) and English structures are handled with minimal finger travel.

• The "Aoi" Flow: The 'Aoi' cluster isn't just about speed; it's about mental load. By separating vowels and consonants, the brain develops a 'left-right' rhythm that reduces typos and allows for faster bilingual context switching.

Honest Considerations & Trade-offs

True optimization requires honest choices. Every layout has a "flavor" of friction; in Aptmak Blue, these were calculated decisions:

• The 'UI' Vertical Jump: In this configuration, 'U' and 'I' are positioned on the same middle finger. While this creates a "Same-Finger Bigram" (SFB) for Dutch words like uit or huis, it was a deliberate decision to avoid the lateral index stretch—a major contributor to RSI and general hand strain.

• The 'CH' Engine: The 'C' and 'H' relationship is preserved to facilitate high-speed rolls. This is the "secret sauce" for both English (the, which) and Dutch (school, achttien).

• The Learning Curve: You are essentially rewiring 20 years of QWERTY neural pathways. The first few weeks require discipline, but the result is a "quiet" typing experience where the hands stay still while the fingers do the work.

The Verdict

Aptmak Blue isn't just about speed; it’s about ergonomics. It is a layout for those who have spent decades on QWERTY and are ready to stop fighting their hardware. It respects the frequencies of both your languages, offering a stable typing experience that feels as fluent as you are.

Key Improvements: The Evolution of Aptmak Blue

Aptmak Blue is not a mere shuffle of keys; it is a systematic redesign of how your fingers interact with two distinct languages. It addresses the inherent "English bias" of modern layouts by applying three specific structural changes.

1. The Power of Mirroring
Traditional layouts often relegate less-used English letters to the hardest-to-reach keys. However, in Dutch, letters like 'V', 'J', and 'G' are far more common.

• The Logic: By mirroring the original Aptmak design, we reposition the workload. This aligns with Lillian Malt’s Maltron philosophy, placing the dominant 'E' on the left thumb and shifting the high-frequency consonant load to the stronger, more flexible right hand.

• The Result: A more balanced distribution that prevents the left hand from becoming "overloaded" during long Dutch passages.

2. Strategic Pinky Offloading
The pinky is the weakest finger, yet QWERTY and many alt-layouts tax it heavily with common letters or lateral stretches.

• Left Pinky: Remains in a familiar position, easing the transition for QWERTY veterans.

• Right Pinky: We repositioned the 'X' key specifically to solve the 'VR' bigram conflict in Dutch. By moving 'X' out of the way, the right pinky is no longer forced into awkward, high-strain combinations.

3. The "Aoi" Home-Row Optimization
The name "Blue" comes from the A-O-I vowel cluster on the left home row.

• The Logic: Grouping these vowels facilitates high Hand Alternation. When vowels are on one hand and major consonants on the other, you create a rhythmic "ping-pong" effect between hands.

• Refined Bigrams: This specific row allows for lightning-fast handling of Dutch-specific trigrams and bigrams like 'ij', 'ou', and 'jul' (as in jullie).

4. Punctuation & Familiarity
Transitioning to a new layout is mentally taxing. Aptmak Blue reduces this friction by keeping certain elements intuitive:

• The Swapped Dot/Comma: By swapping and shifting the dot and comma to the lower row, we prioritize the "flow" of prose while keeping the most-used punctuation within a familiar reach.

• Familiarity: Compared to the standard Aptmak, the Blue variant maintains a higher degree of QWERTY-adjacent logic in its secondary keys, making the "unlearning" process significantly faster.