Apple Magic Mouse

[Quillz]

Apple has long been notorious for the various mice it has released over the years. They?ve either been overly simplistic (most of their one-button mouse), infamously uncomfortable (the ?puck? mouse) or very difficult to keep clean (the Mighty Mouse.)

Come October 2009, and Apple has now released the Magic Mouse, their latest and greatest mouse. Or is it? The Magic Mouse, poised as the successor to the (wireless) Mighty Mouse, sees Apple bringing its Multi-Touch technology onto a mouse for the first time. Multi-Touch debuted on the iPhone and then worked its way onto Apple?s notebook trackpads. It was really just a matter of time before it worked its way onto the mouse.

Like all things Apple, the Magic Mouse is both beautiful and extremely simple. Like the Apple Pro Mouse from 2000, the Magic Mouse, at first glance, appears to be a ?no-button? mouse. But, as we?ve now come to expect, the entire upper polycarbonate shell is a button. When the Pro Mouse was first released back in 2000, this upper shell could only register as a single-click zone. When Apple released the Mighty Mouse in 2005, this upper shell could now register two click zones, allowing for primary- and secondary-clicking. The Magic Mouse now goes the distance: not only can any part of the upper shell be registered for a click, but it can handle multiple clicks at once.

As you?d expect, you click anywhere to do a basic primary click. But by going into System Preferences and accessing the newly updated Mouse area, you can also turn on secondary clicking. Once it?s enabled, either the right or left half of the mouse will allow you to perform secondary functions via the context menu. Because most people are right-handed, most people will want to restore familiar right-click functionality. However, left-handers should not have much difficulty using this mouse because of both its design and that it?s possible to allow the left side of the mouse to ?left-click? into the context menus.

The Magic Mouse, in terms of external buttons, is actually a step backwards from the Mighty Mouse. The pressure-sensitive ?squeeze? buttons that were once on the sides have been removed. There is no more scroll ball, although you don?t lose any functionality due to its absence. As I said earlier, the Magic Mouse is about as simple as you can make a mouse: an aluminum chassis, with a white, polycarbonate shell on top. There are no side buttons, no glowing lights and really? nothing much else. This mouse has an extremely low profile, by far the lowest profile mouse I?ve ever used. It?s going to be polarizing in that regard. It?s either going to be very comfortable or very uncomfortable. Unlike mice released by Logitech and other major manufacturers, the extremely low profile design doesn?t seem to allow for various ?styles? when it comes to gripping the mouse. That is, this is the kind of mouse you have to use with your fingers. There?s just not enough room to palm the whole thing, as some like to do. Because I?m in the latter, it took me quite some time to get used to the ?finger mouse? style. I didn?t find it comfortable at first, but now I?m a bit more used to it.

Another important factor for some is that this mouse is very light. Don?t be fooled by the aluminum? It?s a light metal and thus the whole package weights quite a bit less than more typical, all-plastic mice. The mouse I was using before the Magic Mouse was a Microsoft mouse that had a BlueTrack laser. It was designed for right-handed use and felt considerably heavier than does the Magic Mouse. One of the problems with lightweight mice is that they have the tendency to go ?flying,? especially when moved quickly along a slick mouse pad or other surface. For some people, a lightweight mouse will be a deal breaker, while others prefer lightweight mice. Again, the only way to get a conclusive opinion on the matter is to go to your local Apple Store and demo the Magic Mouse.

So, let?s get into those gestures! I?ve already mentioned one? Being able to replicate both primary- and secondary-clicking. But the coolest gesture, in my opinion, is the ?virtual scrolling.? Just like on Apple?s trackpads, you simply slide your finger along the surface of the mouse to scroll. You can scroll up, down, left and right. The Multi-Touch sensor within the Magic Mouse is perfect. There is absolutely no delay whatsoever, nor does it seem to ever misinterpret which direction you intend to scroll. And, for those of you who used a Mighty Mouse, you might be pleased to know that the ?360? scrolling? has been retained. (You can scroll in a circular fashion, which is sometimes useful when looking at large Excel tables or images.) Another nicety that Apple has borrowed from the iPhone is momentum-based scrolling. Enabled by default, it basically means that the faster you slide your finger across the mouse, the faster the page will scroll. The slower you slide your finger, the slower the page will scroll. Just like on the iPhone, a very quick flick of the finger will scroll so quickly that it's nearly the same as using function keys to instantly reach the bottom or top of a page. Clicking is very accurate, as is scrolling. But one gesture that isn?t so accurate is panning. Just like on Apple?s trackpads, you can slide two fingers left and right to pan. The problem isn?t with the sensor, which continues to be very accurate, but with the design of the mouse. Because it?s so lightweight, as mentioned earlier, panning often causes the mouse to become unstable and physically move, making it very hard to pan. I?ve found the best way to pan is to just barely touch the surface of the mouse with your fingers. Even applying the most minimal amount of pressure will trigger the sensor. Panning differs from the other gestures in that what it does depends on the application. In web browsers, for example, it will let you go back and forward between web pages. In iTunes, you can move back and forth between songs. And in photo applications, you can move back and forth between photos.

Another annoyance of the Magic Mouse are the plastic rails on the underside of the mouse. Akin to the ?feet? on most other mice, they have a somewhat cheap feel to them, and moving the mouse around even on a cloth mouse pad seems to be very sluggish. The rails provide too much friction, I think. Mac OS X already has very slow default mouse tracking, but even turning it all the way up, tracking is still much slower than in Windows, and I think it?s because the mouse itself just tends to move somewhat slow, even when pushed. I haven?t tried the Magic Mouse on a wooden surface, and probably won?t. I would strongly recommend you use a mouse pad when using the Magic Mouse, because those cheap rails look like they?ll very easily get dinged up on a wooden surface.

Honestly, there?s not much else to say about the Magic Mouse. It uses a laser tracker. These were all the rage a few years back but now are pretty ho-hum, especially when compared to newer technologies like BlueTrack. Laser tracking has some major disadvantages, like being unable to work at all on glass or other glossy surfaces. But, on a regular mouse pad or wooden table, the tracking should be fine, no better or worse than any other laser mouse. The Magic Mouse uses standard AA batteries, which Apple claims will last up to four months on average use. One nice thing about the Magic Mouse is that it powers down after three minutes of inactivity, but then powers back up instantly upon being moved or clicked.

For the time being, the Magic Mouse only works on Mac OS X. And even then, you have to be using 10.5.8 at a minimum. So, if you?re still on Tiger or an older build of Leopard, you either need to upgrade or use a different mouse. Even if you meet the requirements, you will still need to download a software driver from Apple. However, said driver will be built into 10.6.2, the upcoming Mac OS X build, which should be released in the near future.

Overall, at $69, the Magic Mouse is neither the cheapest nor most expensive mouse. Some will dismiss it as a gimmick, but after using it for a couple of days, I must say I think it?s a really interesting concept, and I?ve gotten use to both its ergonomics and quirks. Considering that $69 used to buy you the inferior wireless Mighty Mouse, I?d say this is certainly a good improvement when compared to Apple?s previous attempts at mice. The Magic Mouse is beautiful and functional, and I think it will work just fine for the vast majority of people who end up using it.

NOTE: The Magic Mouse is bundled with every new iMac. Only those with older iMac models will need to buy this separately.

Edited October 30, 2009 by Quillz

[silverboy31]

Just got mine delivered from ups... So far i'm loving it very smooth scrolling and 2 fingered gesture works awesome for forward and back in Safari ....... I'm very happy finally a great mouse from apple .

[Guest]

Thanks for the review, really want to get this to replace the Mighty Mouse since its pretty bad at scrolling due to dirt that has built up. However, it doesn't work with Windows under bootcamp, which I need for Uni so I need to hold off :(.

[Rudy]

I just got my new iMac (first thing I posted since I turned it on :)) and the mouse feels great, might take an hour or so to get used to it but it works pretty good

[KoL Veteran]

Thanks for the review. Not sure how good it is for a lot of hours of work in Photoshop. I guess I'll have to try it.

One question this doesn't work with Windows right?

[Guest]

One question this doesn't work with Windows right?

Nope - Apple Magic Mouse: Up or down scrolling and swiping do not work on Windows with Boot Camp :(.

[Quillz]

Thanks for the review, really want to get this to replace the Mighty Mouse since its pretty bad at scrolling due to dirt that has built up. However, it doesn't work with Windows under bootcamp, which I need for Uni so I need to hold off :(.

Thanks for the review. Not sure how good it is for a lot of hours of work in Photoshop. I guess I'll have to try it.

One question this doesn't work with Windows right?

Nope - Apple Magic Mouse: Up or down scrolling and swiping do not work on Windows with Boot Camp :(.

Apple claims they will be releasing Windows drivers "soon," although that could mean a year from now. But considering they just delivered the Magic Mouse Software Update 1.0 on Monday, I'm sure it won't be all that long before there are proper Windows drivers for use on a PC and in Boot Camp.

[Rudy]

The only issue I'm having so far is the lack of middle button (can't quickly open new tabs from links in Firefox)

[Quillz]

The only issue I'm having so far is the lack of middle button (can't quickly open new tabs from links in Firefox)

Yup, that seems to be the biggest issue. I don't why Apple couldn't have designed the Magic Mouse to accept a middle-click by clicking down on the mouse with both fingers. You'd think with Multi-Touch, it'd be possible.

Oh, well, maybe a firmware update can enable some of these things.

[SojIrOu]

Just got my magic mouse today together with my 15" macbook pro. I tried it out with my main pc (not bootcamp on macbook) and it can do the basic left and right click but no scrolling in windows and the sensitivity is very high (I estimate around 1600dpi) compared to my regular mouse (running at 800dpi).

The packaging is similar to the ipod touch (clear plastic with nice rounded edges) unlike the cardboard apple keyboard/magic mouse boxes.

[Xero]

Yup, that seems to be the biggest issue. I don't why Apple couldn't have designed the Magic Mouse to accept a middle-click by clicking down on the mouse with both fingers. You'd think with Multi-Touch, it'd be possible.

Oh, well, maybe a firmware update can enable some of these things.

I assume most of our problems will be solved by a firmware update. In addition to my beloved middle click I want pinch zooming :) and the ability to customize the gestures just like keyboard shortcuts are handled would be amazing.

I really like the mouse, scrolling is quite spectacular on Snow Leopard that is. ;)

[_neutrino Veteran]

I sampled one of these last weekend At the apple store in columbus Ohio and it worked out rather well however I was expecting more from the multi touch abilities of the mouse feels nice thigh and at a reasonable price for an apple product

[Rudy]

I'm hoping someone will be able to find hidden multi touch settings or something, that would be great ;)

[Quillz]

I'm hoping someone will be able to find hidden multi touch settings or something, that would be great ;)

I don't think any hidden settings really exist. But I would assume that firmware could add and/or modify certain Magic Mouse settings.

[Wannes]

No fancy, real life photos included? Nice review and I'm waiting to get my hands on mine.

[0nyX]

Definetely buying one for my Hack's :D

[spenumatsa]

I got one on friday and have been using it. I am pretty impressed with the design though it takes a while getting used to it. Though it is not a big deal, the rails beneath the mouse seem to be odd looking. As someone commented on using this mouse on wood, i dont think it is that bad. I am using it at home on my desk which is wood and i don't see any issues with it. The functionality is impressive. I will post any issues, if at all any.

[what]

Just got mine delivered from ups... So far i'm loving it very smooth scrolling and 2 fingered gesture works awesome for forward and back in Safari ....... I'm very happy finally a great mouse from apple .

That must be pretty awkward compared to using the side buttons most mice have.

[Hot]

I was excited about this mouse but I tried it and did not like it one bit. It is extremely small and I like big mice with mass to glide and volume to grip for hours on end.

More importantly, the gestures (which is what makes this mouse special) are in all honesty just a nuisance. I thought they would improve productivity by allowing one to do more with one's mouse, but they are not the same as MacBook gestures.

All they do is the same commands that other multi-button mice do already. Except that instead of a simple click of the back or forward mouse button, or a flick of the scroll wheel, you have to keep making unnatural hand shapes and finger movements.

If you want a mouse to sit there and look pretty, by all means go buy this and sit at Starbucks with it looking all important. If you want a mouse to actually mouse, look elsewhere.

[Quillz]

Just a quick update... I've had the mouse for almost two weeks now, and I'm starting to notice the top shell is a bit more wobbly than it used to be. When Apple says you can click anywhere, they aren't kidding. Even the very back edge (near the Apple logo) can be pressed down with minimal effort.

Now, I'm not sure what holds the top shell onto the aluminum chassis, but I'm quite sure it's very durable and won't come apart. The fact that the top shell is a little wobbly doesn't change the fact that mouse is well-built. I would assume it has to be wobbly by design, but just keep in mind that even light pressure will be enough to make the shell vibrate. So this might be a deal-breaker for some.

[kazuyette]

The magic mouse sucks ! This pwns everything !

:D :D

[Shasoosh]

^ i think it's the first time that a product made me sick.

I'm serious! :x

[kazuyette]

^ i think it's the first time that a product made me sick.

I'm serious! :x

ha ! Have you read the comments ? They're golden :)

[Shasoosh]

I'm sorry to go off topic, but is it real?

[ncoday]

I tried using one of those at BestBuy yesterday, they were horrible in my opinion. Might be ok for light use {email/sending pics of the grandkids} but for a power user who might spend 8+ hrs a day at the computer, I would have a hard time seeing it being comfortable.