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The Magic Mouse is a sleek, wireless mouse that Apple bundles with most of its desktop computers. Whether I’m using my MacBook or Mac mini, it’s an essential peripheral that easily outperforms the competition.
The Magic Mouse Is the Perfect Weight and Size
When you’re using a mouse, possibly the most important factor is how it feels to hold and push around. The main reason I switched to a wireless mouse, after all, was to eliminate cable drag. A clunky, heavy, uncomfortable mouse is a recipe for RSI and related problems.
Conversely, a mouse that’s too small can be just as awkward to use, and one that’s too light can feel cheap and flimsy. For me, the Magic Mouse is the perfect compromise: weighty enough to feel premium, compact enough to feel like I’m not doing battle with it. I don’t have the largest hands, but the Magic Mouse is a perfect fit, and its understated symmetrical profile makes it an attractive desk ornament compared to most of the competition.
Simple One-Button Interface
While you may, of course,use a third-party mouse with your Mac, you’ll likely you’ll get a nagging feeling that something is just a bit out of place. To some extent, this will be true for any third-party peripheral, but a long-held Apple principle means it’s more applicable to the mouse you use with macOS. Macs descend from a line of computers that insisted on a one-button mouse.
There’s a strong argument behind this approach: users find it easier because they don’t need to remember when to use which button. Apple may have relented since the early days, adding support for a “Secondary click” long ago. But macOS still avoids relying on a second mouse button.
One of the Magic Mouse’s most striking design features is its seeming lack of buttons altogether. In fact, the entire surface is a button, although you can configure each side to emulate different buttons if you want. This feature means that not only do you avoid having to think about which button to click, you don’t even have to think about where on the mouse to click!
It’s Smooth and Accurate, Even on an Old Desk
I don’t get on with mouse mats, so I’m always using a mouse directly on my desk. The Magic Mouse rests on two thin strips of plastic which act as “feet”, allowing it to glide along a surface. And, boy, does it glide!
The mouse is so smooth and accurate that I never suffer from the kind of jumps and stops that can plague lower-quality mice. Even on a worn-out desk surface, the mouse pointer tracks perfectly and lets me use apps efficiently and accurately.
The one tweak I find myself using is in System Settings:
You may need to experiment with these settings carefully. In particular, a fast tracking speed without pointer acceleration can make the pointer very difficult to control.
The Touch Surface Makes Scrolling Easy
There’s one range of Apple peripherals that almost everyone agrees is superior: its trackpads. On laptops and as a standalone device, the touch surface is so responsive and accurate that it’s widely regarded as best in class.
The Magic Mouse uses the same excellent touch technology that makesApple’s Magic Trackpad so good. With an entirely touch-sensitive surface, Apple’s mouse enables smooth scrolling in any direction.
Themouse also supports a range of touch gesturesthat can act as shortcuts for common tasks. It’s not as comprehensive as the set that the Trackpad supports, but these are a useful addition, nonetheless.
It may take a bit of getting used to, but there’s no doubt you’ll be more productive with the Magic Mouse touch surface than a standard scroll wheel. It doesn’t matter which finger you use, or exactly where you need to place it, scrolling is always available when you need it.
Battery Life Is Good and It’s Quick to Charge
The modern Magic Mouse (Magic Mouse 2) has a built-in rechargeable battery which replaced the two AA batteries of the previous model. Fortunately, you won’t need to plug it into a power source anywhere near as often as you do your mobile phone—or your Macbook.
Your usage will vary, but many people report typical use of up to a month from a fresh charge. In normal day-to-day operation, I certainly find it difficult to remember when I last charged the mouse. It’s easy to check how much power remains, using the Bluetooth menu bar app.
More importantly, the Magic Mouse is quick to charge. Using a Lightning connector, a full charge takes about two hours. However, you don’t always have to charge the mouse completely. A quick top-up can be all you need to carry on working, and you should get around 10 hours of use from just a few minutes of charging.
The Magic Mouse Isn’t Quite Perfect
In general, the Magic Mouse is the perfect partner for your Mac, but there’s one small flaw that critics will often highlight: the charging port. For reasons never fully explained—but, almost certainly, due to aesthetics—the lightning connectoris underneath your Magic Mouse. This means you’ll have to stop using it when you need to charge it.
Mockery of this design decision persists because the solution seems trivial and images of upside-down Magic Mice look so ridiculous. But, in reality, this flaw is exaggerated. The long battery life and fast charging times mean your mouse will spend very little time looking like a flipped turtle.
With so many benefits, and so few drawbacks, I don’t hesitate to recommend the Magic Mouse to any Apple user. It’s a great companion to Apple’s other peripherals—the Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad—and, particularly in the Space Grey color scheme, it still looks like a mysterious, futuristic piece of tech on my desk.
