How Apple might repair its terrible Magic Mouse

Apple likes to place itself as a daring and progressive firm, and generally, 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 on account of its absurd $3,500 pricetag, however firms like Meta and Bigscreen are however adapting their very own VR headsets to really feel extra like Apple’s.

At different instances, the corporate stubbornly clings to merchandise and concepts that everybody else acknowledges as horrible. Contemplate Lightning, which it refused to jettison on iPhones till lengthy after different cellphone makers had switched to USB-C. We might in all probability be seeing Lightning on some merchandise at present if European rules hadn’t compelled Apple’s hand. Whenever you’ve been regulated into utilizing higher requirements, one thing’s mistaken.

The Magic Mouse is one other instance of this angle. It has its followers, however 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 in regards to 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-about to be one of many weirdest and least logical design decisions ever made. If its inner battery runs dry, there’s merely no approach to make use of the mouse whereas it recharges. At finest, it is an pointless inconvenience, provided that different wired mice put their USB ports on the again, the place they belong. At worst, it might really stop you from doing all of your job except you have received a trackpad or secondary mouse as a fallback. It is no marvel lots of Mac homeowners 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 firms ought to hearken to buyer suggestions.

The plain design repair could be to modify to a back-facing port, however since Apple loves making all the pieces wi-fi, another could be to embrace that philosophy by supporting wi-fi charging. Firms like Razer and Logitech are already placing out mice with suitable charging mats — Apple’s simply late to the get together. Heck, I would like to see a mat that doubles as a USB-C/Thunderbolt hub, although that will in all probability enhance the fee to finish customers.

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Repair ergonomics when you’re at it

Contact gestures are meaningless with out consolation

Earlier than I even discovered 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 make the most of contact gestures. There is a purpose most mice maintain a bulbous form — it is an acknowledgment of anatomy, not outdated aesthetics, or a must pack in a ton of electronics. You could possibly construct a mouse with the scale of 1 / 4 if you did not have to grip it with a human hand.

Now clearly, the primary purpose the mouse is (comparatively) flat is to help these contact gestures, however there must be a extra human-friendly strategy. Maybe Apple might transfer contact gestures to the aspect of the gadget, or make the shell bulbous solely the place your palm rests.

Personally, I would fairly Apple change 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 received new buttons and wheels on the iPhone 16 and Apple Watch Extremely — however as a rule, Apple prefers to get rid of mechanical controls wherever contact is a chance.

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Assume totally different, suppose 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 it’s a must to go trying to find it in the event 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 similar value, you may get Logitech’s MX Grasp 3S, which is taken into account a gold commonplace within the business. It has a number of scroll wheels, a fantastic 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 approach if you’re utilizing it, however solely as a result of it is meant to be a seamless bridge between you and your laptop. That truly interprets into lots of work on the producer’s finish, contemplating how individuals really use their units, and tailoring each final component to match. It is why bargain-basement mice are so horrible. You possibly can’t do all the pieces you need, the way in which 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 a minimum of more likely to keep within the sport, since it might be unusual for Apple to promote Mac desktops with out a vital approach of controlling them. However there’s additionally the chance it will admit defeat and depart mice to different events that care extra. That is precisely what it did with Wi-Fi routers, in spite of everything — it has been years since an AirPort product was in the marketplace, and few individuals appear to thoughts nowadays.

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