How Apple may repair its terrible M...

Apple likes to place itself as a daring and modern 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 is probably not 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. Think about Lightning, which it refused to jettison on iPhones till lengthy after different telephone makers had switched to USB-C. We would in all probability be seeing Lightning on some merchandise at this time if European laws 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, but it surely’s arguably one of many worst equipment Apple retains in circulation. It isn’t even laborious to think about how Apple may 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 folks know concerning 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 of to be one of many weirdest and least logical design selections ever made. If its inner battery runs dry, there’s merely no manner to make use of the mouse whereas it recharges. At finest, it is an pointless inconvenience, on condition that different wired mice put their USB ports on the again, the place they belong. At worst, it may truly stop you from doing all your job until you have obtained a trackpad or secondary mouse as a fallback. It is no surprise numerous 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 firms ought to take heed to buyer suggestions.

The plain design repair could be to modify to a back-facing port, however since Apple loves making the whole lot 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 occasion. Heck, I would like to see a mat that doubles as a USB-C/Thunderbolt hub, although that might in all probability improve the price 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 reap the benefits of contact gestures. There is a purpose 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 principle purpose the mouse is (comparatively) flat is to assist these contact gestures, however there must be a extra human-friendly strategy. Maybe Apple may transfer contact gestures to the facet of the machine, or make the shell bulbous solely the place your palm rests.

Personally, I would relatively Apple change contact gestures with scroll wheels, however the firm appears to hate buttons and wheels virtually as a lot because it does ports. There are exceptions — we have truly 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 chance.

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Suppose totally different, assume 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 must go attempting to find it for those who store on the firm’s on-line or brick-and-mortar shops. At $99, it is also overpriced for its specs. For across the identical price, 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, an excellent 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 manner while you’re utilizing it, however solely as a result of it is meant to be a seamless bridge between you and your laptop. That really interprets into numerous work on the producer’s finish, contemplating how folks truly use their units, and tailoring each final aspect to match. It is why bargain-basement mice are so horrible. You possibly can’t do the whole lot you need, the best way you need, and their flimsy shells are a relentless bodily reminder of that.

Will Apple be taught its lesson and ship us a brand new, totally redesigned mouse sooner or later? Maybe. It is not less than more likely to keep within the sport, since it will be unusual for Apple to promote Mac desktops with out an important manner of controlling them. However there’s additionally the likelihood it’s going to admit defeat and depart mice to different events that care extra. That is precisely what it did with Wi-Fi routers, in any case — it has been years since an AirPort product was available on the market, and few folks appear to thoughts nowadays.

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