How Apple might repair its terrible Magic Mouse

Apple likes to place itself as a daring and revolutionary firm, and typically, that is true. Even within the post-Jobs period, we have seen merchandise just like the Apple Watch and the Vision Pro wield an outsized affect. The Imaginative and prescient Professional will not be flying off the cabinets because of its absurd $3,500 pricetag, however corporations like Meta and Bigscreen are however adapting their very own VR headsets to really feel extra like Apple’s.

At different occasions, the corporate stubbornly clings to merchandise and concepts that everybody else acknowledges as horrible. Take into account Lightning, which it refused to jettison on iPhones till lengthy after different telephone makers had switched to USB-C. We would in all probability be seeing Lightning on some merchandise at this time if European laws hadn’t pressured Apple’s hand. While you’ve been regulated into utilizing higher requirements, one thing’s mistaken.

The Magic Mouse is one other instance of this perspective. It has its followers, nevertheless it’s arguably one of many worst equipment Apple retains in circulation. It isn’t even exhausting to think about how Apple might repair the product.

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Repair charging by making it wi-fi

Undoing one of many strangest design selections in historical past

Apple

If there’s one factor individuals know concerning the Magic Mouse, no matter whether or not they personal one, it is that its charging port is on the underside — one thing broadly thought of to be one of many weirdest and least logical design selections ever made. If its inside battery runs dry, there’s merely no manner to make use of the mouse whereas it recharges. At greatest, it is an pointless inconvenience, on condition that different wired mice put their USB ports on the again, the place they belong. At worst, it might really forestall you from doing all of your job except you’ve got obtained a trackpad or secondary mouse as a fallback. It is no marvel quite a lot of Mac house owners go straight for third-party mice.

Much more baffling is that Apple switched the product from Lightning to USB-C in 2024… and stored the charging port the place it was, regardless of loads of public criticism as much as that time. It is Exhibit A for why corporations ought to take heed to buyer suggestions.

The plain design repair can be to modify to a back-facing port, however since Apple loves making every little thing wi-fi, another can be to embrace that philosophy by supporting wi-fi charging. Corporations like Razer and Logitech are already placing out mice with appropriate charging mats — Apple’s simply late to the celebration. Heck, I would like to see a mat that doubles as a USB-C/Thunderbolt hub, although that may in all probability enhance the price to finish customers.

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Repair ergonomics whilst you’re at it

Contact gestures are meaningless with out consolation

Earlier than I even realized about its charging port, I found that the Magic Mouse is uncomfortable to carry. It is too slender for me, and since it is so flat and skinny, nearly everybody has to carry their hand in an unsupported arch, particularly in the event that they wish to benefit from contact gestures. There is a motive most mice hold a bulbous form — it is an acknowledgment of anatomy, not outdated aesthetics, or a have to pack in a ton of electronics. You would construct a mouse with the size of 1 / 4 if you did not have to grip it with a human hand.

Now clearly, the principle motive the mouse is (comparatively) flat is to assist these contact gestures, however there must be a extra human-friendly method. Maybe Apple might transfer contact gestures to the facet of the system, or make the shell bulbous solely the place your palm rests.

Personally, I would slightly Apple substitute contact gestures with scroll wheels, however the firm appears to hate buttons and wheels nearly as a lot because it does ports. There are exceptions — we have really obtained new buttons and wheels on the iPhone 16 and Apple Watch Extremely — however as a rule, Apple prefers to remove mechanical controls wherever contact is a risk.

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Assume totally different, assume efficiency

What’s a mouse for?

A part of the issue is that Apple treats the Magic Mouse as an afterthought. It is bundled with iMacs, however nothing else, and you must go attempting to find it when you store on the firm’s on-line or brick-and-mortar shops. At $99, it is also overpriced for its specs. For across the identical price, you will get Logitech’s MX Grasp 3S, which is taken into account a gold customary within the business. It has a number of scroll wheels, an awesome really feel, and even serves as a superb gaming mouse, with sensitivity settings starting from 200 to eight,000dpi. I discover something over 2,000 to be overkill — however the Magic Mouse is believed to be capped at 1,300, and would not even present you what DPI you are at when adjusting settings.

A mouse ought to by no means be handled as a minor accent. It ought to really feel that manner once you’re utilizing it, however solely as a result of it is meant to be a seamless bridge between you and your laptop. That really interprets into quite a lot of work on the producer’s finish, contemplating how individuals really use their units, and tailoring each final ingredient to match. It is why bargain-basement mice are so horrible. You’ll be able to’t do every little thing you need, the best way you need, and their flimsy shells are a continuing bodily reminder of that.

Will Apple study its lesson and ship us a brand new, absolutely redesigned mouse sooner or later? Maybe. It is not less than prone to keep within the sport, since it could be unusual for Apple to promote Mac desktops with out an important manner of controlling them. However there’s additionally the chance it will admit defeat and go away mice to different events that care extra. That is precisely what it did with Wi-Fi routers, in any case — it has been years since an AirPort product was available on the market, and few individuals appear to thoughts lately.

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