It’s been more than a year since I last got the Apple Magic Mouse 2. I got it because I wanted a unified experience. It went into storage for a few months before coming out from storage again because I decided to give it another chance after using Razer DeathAdder Elite mouse for nearly a year.

Usability

I put the mouse in storage was due to its poor ergonomics. The mouse is too low and won’t be comfortable for someone to use if they grip their mouse like how one would when playing first-person shooter games. That’s how I use my mouse and didn’t know any other way.

The other issue was its capacitive touch surface. The mouse tends to send a whole bunch of signal to the computer that could cause the computer to perform a variety of unintended actions. For example, zooming on a webpage that you are reading, or having the context menu show up even though you performed a left click. If you are someone with sweaty hands, the mouse will also not respond very well.

Pricing

The price is another aspect of the mouse some of you may find fault with. For S$118, you could get a decent mice from a reputable company like the G603 gaming mouse from Logitech. Microsoft also makes equally functional and comfortable mice that cost much less like the Microsoft Modern Mouse or the Sculpt Comfort Mouse

Power

The mouse on a single full charge can last you anywhere between four weeks to six weeks depending on how often you use it. That’s a good thing. The charging method is a little unconventional and if you have the iPhone charging dock from Apple, it could make life easier. And when the mouse is on charge, you can’t use it but the charging time isn’t that long. A single charge of fifteen minutes allow you to use the mouse for at few hours.

On the topic of power, mouse like the Sculpt Comfort Mouse from Microsoft last about three weeks on two AA batteries. The only issue is you have to carry batteries with you. Gaming wireless mice are a whole different thing because of the high-powered lasers and won’t last longer than a week before needing a charge.

Overall design and size

The other good thing is its simplistic design and remains functional. If having a unified aesthetic is important to you, this mouse is for you because it matches very well with grey MacBook Pro or iMac. If you are using the new 2016 or 2017 MacBook Pro and have them in Space Grey, the mouse may look a little out of place. Gaming mice with good ergonomic don’t look that nice in my opinion.

Lastly, magic mouse 2 is small, smaller than some of the mouse I have used. That could be a saving grace too since it will fit nicely in a small carry case or even your laptop carrying pouch. But it is also not a good thing for those with bigger hands. In my case, it’s alright.

How I use it?

I have also since learned a new way to use the mouse and that’s by gripping it with my thumb and pinkie finger and the rest of the fingers rest on top.

It’s surprisingly useable once you got use to the new way of holding your mouse. After you are comfortable with the new way, you can easily switch to using gestures if you enable them for your Mac or back to treating it like a normal mouse.

If you are using a MacBook Pro like me, the mouse is only useful if you want finer control like dragging stuff around in a document. If you are using a iMac, it’s the mouse that you get right out of the box. So you don’t really have much of a choice unless you decided to buy a different mouse.

Conclusion

You either hate or like it. To make any decision, you have to actually use it. But if you got it and discover that you don’t like it, you would have wasted your money. So it’s a catch-22 situation. So the general advice is this: get wireless mouse from Logitech, Razer or even Microsoft. Most bluetooth mouse should work fine with the Mac just fine.

But if you don’t mind spending the money, are willing to learn a new way to use the mouse and like the overall design of the mouse, then you should give Magic Mouse 2 a chance.