MX Master vs. Magic Mouse

The Apple Magic Mouse was first introduced 2009 and drives macOS brilliantly. The multi-touch gesture control provides a seamless connection to the natural feel of scrolling and movement which make macOS so visually friendly and efficient. The Magic Mouse is magic. The top subtly pushes down and acts as the input button. The polycarbonate top cover acts as a smooth surface to swipe and slide to initiate gestures. It’s not all perfect, many reviewers disagree with the design, which sides with minimalism over ergonomics and practicality. After 8 years of almost daily use, I still believe this is a great mouse however with the most recent update being disappointing, I decided to check the alternatives.

The Logitech MX Master is easily the most recommended mouse on the internet. Its popularity amongst the wider online community and it’s recent discount makes it a great candidate to replace the ageing Magic Mouse.

Feel

The Magic Mouse has a low profile and quite small in the hand, although not as narrow as many portable mice. It’s clean design is almost hostile to the chaos of life, with so many different dimensions of the human hand, the MM doesn’t even try to imitate it. In my time of using the MM, I never found it uncomfortable. I think so many do, because they want to rest their hand on it, instead you should treat it like a pen: grip it with your finger tips, and your hand should curve around it appropriately. When using it this way, multitouch gestures and general use becomes smooth and playful.

Almost every review of the MX shows a Logitech product design video, which has a designer carving a piece of wood into the beautifully shaped rest for the hand, and it succeeds in that for comfortable use. A button on the thumb rest acts as the gesture control, push down with your thumb, then move up/down/left/right to trigger predefined actions. This is truly unnatural and kind of difficult. I can’t compare it to anything you would do in the real world. That said, I’m use to it - it’s bad, but I think about it less now. Finally notable difference is the scroll wheel, which has resistance until you spin it, when it mechanically loosens to allow the wheel to spin freely until stopped. This is actually fun, and I find myself doing it subconsciously.

Connectivity

Both mice connect via Bluetooth. Additionally, the MX has a USB Receiver that can be used for desktops or other cases where Bluetooth isn’t possible. From what I can tell from the documentation, there’s no performance or battery life to using one over the other. The underside of the MX has numbered indicator lights and a button, which allows you to switch the computer it’s connected to - probably super useful if you have multiple computers on your desk. Most Bluetooth mice will remember the last 3 devices it has connected to, but it can be witchcraft (or physics?) to control which device you’ll pair with if they’re all in your vicinity.

Settings

Once you’ve paired your Magic Mouse, macOS will automatically extends the ‘Mouse’ pane in System Preferences, with additional settings for gestures and video tutorials. The MX will work immediately once paired, but to make use of all the features the Logitech Options app is required, which can be downloaded from the Logitech website. During the installation, manual intervention is required to grant the App a special privilege, which grants additional control to the system which Apple doesn’t want every applications to have. Apple have complete control of their ecosystem and one of the benefits is the seamless experience which comes with it, Logitech simply can’t compete with the simplicity that Apple have, although they come pretty close.

1 month in

I’m still using the Logitech MX Master at work. I carry the Magic Mouse in my bag, as it’s a practical portable.