Review: I Want To Love The Magic Mouse, But I Can’t

Leander Kahney ()

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I’m a multitouch junkie. Everything I touch has to be multitouch, or it just ain’t right. I can no longer use a regular laptop trackpad — there’s no two-finger scrolling. It irritates me no end if I can’t point, scroll and double-click with my fingers.

How long will it take then, to get used to the Apple’s new Magic Mouse? So far, it’s been frustrating. It seems like the Magic Mouse would be perfectly natural to use, but it isn’t.

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The big problem is that the Magic Mouse doesn’t operate completely like a little trackpad. Instead, it’s a hybrid between a regular mouse and a multitouch trackpad.

To move the cursor onscreen, you move the entire mouse, just like a traditional mouse. And when you want to scroll up or down a webpage, you swipe your finger across the multitouch surface.

So far, it’s been awkward. I keep wanting to scroll my finger across the top of the mouse, and have the cursor track across the screen — the way it does on the trackpad of my MacBook. I also keep trying to use two fingers to scroll up and down webpages, but I only need to use one.

My muscle memory is working against me. I keep making the wrong gestures, and getting frustrated as a result.

It’s obviously a question of getting used to it. But do I really want to? I would like to use the surface of the Magic Mouse like a MacBook trackpad. But then why have a mouse at all? I’d be better off with a multitouch trackpad like Wacom’s new Bamboo Touch Pad.

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The build quality of the mouse is excellent. It’s a beautiful piece of aluminum and plastic that resembles a highly-polished stone. The seamless top surface reminds me of an inductive cooktop for some reason — perhaps because it hides its nature.

It has a nice, satisfying clickiness when pressed, and moves buttery smooth because it’s so light.

DON'T MISS

Because it is so light, it sometimes moves when you scroll, especially if you make a sideways swipe to go back or forth through web pages. Then the cursor moves on screen, and has to be moved back again to hit a link.

But, who’s kidding who here? What do you guys care if I find it slightly awkward?

It’s a new Apple product! It may be expensive, but it’s utterly intriguing. It’s flying off shelves (I had to call a ton of stores to score one). It’s beautifully made and fascinating to pick up and play with, even if using it is not immediately natural. Pay no attention to my silly opinions, go out and buy it right now.

Rating: ★★★★☆


Company: Apple
Model: Magic Mouse
List Price: $69.00
Compatible: All Bluetooth-equipped Macs
Buy Now: The Magic Mouse is available from Amazon for $69.00 with free shipping.

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70 comments »

About the author

Leander Kahney

is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

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Posted in Apple, Hardware, Reviews, Top stories |

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  • Hans

    I simply can’t imagine how *anyone* could have a problem with scrolling, right clicks, etc. Best Apple mouse ever. Period.

  • Justas

    For anybody irked by the fact that the mouse’s software is lacking, you might want to look into one of these 3rd party applications:
    MagicPrefs http://vladalexa.com/apps/osx/magicprefs/
    or BetterTouchTool http://blog.boastr.net/

    Both are completely free and offer the option to completely customize the functions of your Magic Mouse; everything from middle-clicking to three- or four-finger swipes to activate Exposé or Spaces.

  • Dick Walters

    I tried it out and was very disappointed by the slow tracking speed range. Returned it. My favorite mouse for the Mac is still the Logitech Performance Laser.

  • Dick

    Hi, my name is Dick.
    Yes sometimes the Magic Mouse can be irritating because of its many gestures and etc.
    But I personally love the new magic mouse, but one of my problems were it was far too small.
    Mac Lover,
    D1CK.

  • UMASTIONO HUMAMAMAD ISUTANODELO

    HI MY NAME ISUMASTIONO HUMAMAMAD ISUTANODELO
    I LOVE MAGIC MOUSE!

  • Tango

    I second the notion of the “BetterTouchTool” and/or the “MagicPrefs”. These tools allow you to customize a bunch of the parameters of the mouse. there were a couple of things about the magic mouse that i didn’t like, and was able to fix all of them.

    in particular, i wanted the swipe/scroll gestures mimic the trackpad on my macbook (2 finger scrolling instead of 1 finger scrolling, 3 finger page up/page down in safari/firefox). also, the way i hold the mouse, i tend to click right on the middle of the mouse, so about 50% of the time, when i’d click, the mouse would register a “right click”. i was able to fix that too!

    now, if only there were a way to use the one finger gesture to move the mouse on the screen, then it really would be a mobile trackpad. :)

  • Ole Engholm

    Bought the Magic Mouse, liked the looks of it, tried for two days in vain to get used to its strange ways and began just hating it. Delivered it back to the shop and had a refund.

  • cb

    Not thrilled after 6 months of using the magic mouse. Web pages fly all over. InDesign files inadvertant travel across my screen. Google earth is a mess.

    There are many advantages of the Magic Mouse – but there seem to be an equal number of disadvantages.

    2 skulls out of 5

  • http://www.hiimlookingforajob.com Andrei

    I like the design and it fits perfectly in my hands HOWEVER, it is not friendly with programs like PHOTOSHOP, ILLUSTRATOR, ETC… IT SUCKS if you are a designer or an artist…. IT IS GREAT if you are a mom or an account executive.

  • Bill

    I have been a MAC user for over 15 years. I didn’t like the Magic mouse at first. After you get used to it, its not that bad. It kind of grows on you unless you’ve got gorilla hands. the batteries last at least a month. I hate the new track pads, I’ll stick with a mouse. One of the problems is what to do if the batteries fail or the device becomes disconnected? What to do if your wireless MAC mouse fails? I have found that the best solution if the mouse fails and you have no apparent control of the desktop is to turn the mouse power switch off and use a regular plug in mouse (keep one around, just in case). Plug it into your extra keyboard port or a USB port. The pointer will work, then scroll to mouse preferences, select connect feature, turn the mac magic mouse power switch back on, remove the wired mouse and you’re back in business. If you try to use both of them then some weird things will start happening, so as soon as you get a response from the magic mouse, unlug the wired mouse and you’re back in business. Works for me. You might have to do a restart to make everything work back to normal.

  • http://www,paulmurphyphots.com Paul Murphy

    I like the magic mouse but not as much as my old Intuos graphic pad. It gives significantly more control and ease of use. If you edit photos or are into digital graphics you need the tablet!!!!

  • Pammylu

    Well, with the release of the new Magic Trackpad, many of the comments on this site become moot. I bought the Magic Mouse a month ago, and like the author, I really wanted to love it.

    What I found is that I have become spoiled, comfort-wise, by a wireless trackball. The Logitech trackball that I use allows my hand to have a slight roll to the right to correctly position my fingers over the ball and switches, which is a natural rotation of the hand that eases the pressure within the carpel tunnel. I haven’t had any pain at all for years.

    Then when I tried the Magic Mouse at home, after about two hours, I started to get this small ache in my right wrist, presumably from the unnatural angle that my wrist takes on to grasp it with thumb opposing the other fingers. I even gave it an overnight rest and tried when there was no pain, but it crept back in after about an hour. Ouch. I’m not risking a carpel tunnel injury.

    Sad conclusion is that I had to return it the next day and got socked with a 20% restocking fee!!! That really chapped my hide! The original packaging was totally intact like new, no scratches or dirt after 36 hours of ownership (and only 3 hours of use!) That policy sucks! I’m looking forward to getting the Magic Trackpad this week, but I’ll give it a good workout in the store first.

  • Sam

    I got a new quadcore iMac a few months ago and it came with the magic mouse. This mouse looks great – sleek and shiny if a little difficult to get used to after years of using the mighty mouse, however It didn’t take long to get used to it and I really like the way it fits in my hand. As well, I really like some of the features such as ‘swiping’ when on the internet to go back and forward through web pages. However, I’m a graphic designer and spend a LOT of time in programs like InDesign and Photoshop which is where the magic mouse SUCKS. A lot of people gave the mighty mouse flak because the little scroll ball got gummed up so easily, but when it works, it’s so nice and accurate. The magic mouse on the other hand will go scrolling up and down pages seemingly for no reason at all, and if you’re doing really miniscule finesse work in Photoshop, forget it.

    I use the magic mouse for normal everyday use, but plug in my old mighty mouse when I need to get work done. Multi touch just doesn’t cut it (yet) for the kind of work I (and I’m sure many others) do.

  • Edzarius

    The paint on the bottom of my Magic Mouse is wearing away because it’s so poorly designed that it rubs against the desk top. Thumbs down, Magic Mouse.!

  • michael

    Magic mouse like Mac itself is flawed. Imac 27″quad overheats and is slow as all hell, the magic mouse is useless in apps like Photoshop and should be called “Mind of its own mouse. As soon as these apple products die I’ll be way happy as I can get back into PC world and get some work done!!!

  • Mvioni

     didnt your iMac come witha magic mouse?

  • Motorsport

    Mac’s mouse and keyboard are horrible, ergonomically wise. The keyboard is difficult to use for gaming and even general typing. This is the same story with macbook pro’s keyboard, its ridiculous; I have a 15 inch macbook pro and its hard to type especially with large hands. The mouse will hurt your hand if you have medium or large size. I really like what Apple is doing with their products but they’re not concentrating on ergonomics at all. And that is why I will not consider their mouse and keyboard.

  • http://www.facebook.com/terekidi Boris Terekidi

    Magic Mouse is total junk for gaming. When it comes to playing games, you need to have scroll, mid-button, left button, right button at the same time (jump and shoot for example). Instead, with this mouse you can only do 1 thing at the time only. Not to mention that the sensor keeps on messing up and considers right click as left click…

    I love Apple products, but this mouse is garbage.

  • Thelambmister

    If you want a gaming mouse, buy a USB traditional mouse, or better yet, a actual gaming mouse?! 

  • Betazero

    Apple needs to give a little on design and make a perfect mouse. It HAS to have a middle mouse wheel and button (not the dumb little ball from mighty mouse ) and they need to split the left and right buttons better. I do not care about side buttons but I need three physical buttons .  Next, like a good chair, you should be able to use the mouse all day long without hurting your hand. The magic mouse just does not fit at all to your hand. Lastly, do like the sony Playstation (xbox should also do this…) controllers and add a detachable wire to the keyboard and mouse. Personally I will pick wired all day long over wireless. Always on, better precision, I don’t have to replace batteries, never have to sync. This would give a wired or wireless option to all mice and keyboards.

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