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 might not be flying off the cabinets as a consequence of its absurd $3,500 pricetag, however corporations like Meta and Bigscreen are nonetheless 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. Take into account 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 as we speak if European laws hadn’t compelled Apple’s hand. Whenever you’ve been regulated into utilizing higher requirements, one thing’s incorrect.

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

Associated

Here’s why you should use Stage Manager on your iPad instead of split-screen

Your iPad can really feel much more like a Mac in case you embrace Stage Supervisor.

Repair charging by making it wi-fi

Undoing one of many strangest design selections in historical past

Apple

If there’s one factor folks 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 extensively thought of 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 forestall you from doing all of your job until you have obtained a trackpad or secondary mouse as a fallback. It is no marvel lots 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 apparent design repair could be to modify to a back-facing port, however since Apple loves making the whole lot wi-fi, an alternate could 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 get together. Heck, I would like to see a mat that doubles as a USB-C/Thunderbolt hub, although that will in all probability improve the fee to finish customers.

Associated

The 5 coolest-looking Macs you probably haven’t heard of

In case you’ve solely began utilizing Macs prior to now decade or so, you missed out on some wild experiments.

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 slim 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 reap the benefits of contact gestures. There is a motive most mice maintain a bulbous form — it is an acknowledgment of anatomy, not outdated aesthetics, or a have to pack in a ton of electronics. You possibly can construct a mouse with the size of 1 / 4 if you did not have to grip it with a human hand.

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

Personally, I would quite Apple exchange 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 eradicate mechanical controls wherever contact is a risk.

Associated

Why LG’s awful Magic Remote is a dealbreaker for me

Regardless of a useful voice function, LG’s Magic Distant makes navigation and management a ache.

Suppose completely 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 you need to go attempting to find it in case 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 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, 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 does 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 pc. That truly interprets into lots of work on the producer’s finish, contemplating how folks really use their gadgets, and tailoring each final ingredient to match. It is why bargain-basement mice are so horrible. You may’t do the whole lot you need, the best way you need, and their flimsy shells are a continuing bodily reminder of that.

Will Apple be taught its lesson and ship us a brand new, totally redesigned mouse in some unspecified time in the future? Maybe. It is a minimum of prone to keep within the sport, since it could be unusual for Apple to promote Mac desktops with out a necessary approach of controlling them. However there’s additionally the likelihood 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 available on the market, and few folks appear to thoughts nowadays.

Associated

4 tips for traveling safe and sound with your iPad

Do not simply seize your iPad and go, spend a while planning issues out.