Apple Magic Mouse vs. Magic Trackpad

Hardware
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Just invested in a 12South stand and an Apple Magic Mouse to do some work at my desk at home on my MacBook Air M2, 2022.

Not per my usual self, I don’t do the research before such a purchase. I had grown a bit tired of the trackpad on the Mac when doing extended work, so I immediately opted for the Magic Mouse instead of the Magic Trackpad.

Having used it for a few hours today, I’m not totally convinced I made the right purchase and perhaps should have gone with the Magic Trackpad.

I have never owned either, so I didn’t really have a reference on either.

I consider myself a Mac power user (guess I’m in the right forum…) and I was wondering if the Apple Magic Trackpad really is the power users way to go to, where the Magic Mouse is more for the intermediate user.

Is this the case? What do people on here prefer: the Apple Magic Mouse or the Magic Trackpad?

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I don’t see it as a case of Pro v Not, it’s personal preference.

I’ve not used a mouse on my Mac for at least 6 years and never, ever miss it.

I’ve never consistently used a Trackpad on Windows (which I use for work) due to the fact that I’ve rarely seen a quality trackpad that would work well with Windows.

On the Magic Mouse, I know I’d find it too low profile and unergonomic, I don’t like mice which are small is dimensions (long, wide, height) I need something chunky to hold.

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I agree it’s personal preference. I stopped using a mouse years ago and have exclusively used trackpads. I find it far more comfortable. Lots of folks disagree and find the mouse more comfortable and more precise.

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The MacBook Air already has a trackpad roughly the same size so that should give you an idea of what the Magic Trackpad would be like.

The Magic Mouse is somewhat of an ergonomic disaster (for some reason Apple just can’t design a decent mouse). I find it tiresome to use unless I hold it lightly from the sides with my thumb and pinky finger. Then to get full advantage you need to program gestures on the surface, like you would for the trackpad. BetterTouchTool is a good way to do this.

That said, while I have both Magic devices I use neither. On my MacBook I use the built-in trackpad and on my iMac I use an inexpensive Logitech B100 mouse.

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I’ve tried both but I could never get used to the trackpad. Unlike most, I really like the Magic Mouse except, with the charge port on the bottom, I have to dig out my backup mouse every time the Magic Mouse runs low.

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Nothing right or wrong here, if the Magic Mouse fits your hand and you like using it, that’s great. I believe Marco Arment uses one and have done for a long time.

Ergonomics is a very personal thing. What others use can be an indication of an overall good product, but ultimately, if it doesn’t fit your way of using a pointing device, it won’t be a great experience in the long run.

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IMHO, the Magic Mouse is poorly designed.
It is a mouse that gives way too much to design, with an uncomfortable grip, especially for large hands.
The charging system is then dysfunctional.
I replaced it with a Logitech MX Master 3, with which I am very satisfied, both in terms of ergonomics and functions.

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I am with you on that, but … not everybody. About 2 weeks ago, the Süddeutsche Zeitung (quite a big daily newspaper over here) published a review of several mice solely answering the question “Which mouse is easy on my hand?”. And guess, which mouse did win?

According to Dr. med. Michael Nager (Dr. med. Michael Nager - Orthopädiezentrum München City, “specialist in orthopaedics and trauma surgery, sports medicine, chirotherapy, acupuncture, osteology (dvo)”):

Apple Magic Mouse
Availability: apple.com
Price: 85,00 €**
Rating: 9 out of 10 points

“The Apple mouse is the most conventional mouse in the test - but in my opinion it’s still the best. You don’t have to change your thinking when using it. It looks very good. And it’s flat. When I use it, there’s no danger of overstretching my wrist or having to turn it to an awkward angle. It feels as if my hand is flat on the table. My wife has been using this model for some time now. She sits at her home office all day - and she has never had any problems with her wrist. The mouse has a high-quality feel and look. The only drawback to the design is the location of the charging port. It is on the underside of the device. So you can’t use the mouse while it’s charging.”

I think that is very much depends on how you are holding and moving the Magic Mouse. (Yes, I know, the old and annoying “you are holding it wrong” moniker… :person_shrugging:)

His rating of other mice: between 1 (!) and at max 6 out of 10. I am using the Logitech MX Vertical because I have had issues with my wrist. His view on this mouse:

“Of the supposedly ergonomic and purely vertical PC mice in the test, the Logitech MX Vertical is the most comfortable to hold. The vertical shape of the mouse is actually intended to ensure the most natural hand position possible. However, vertical mice usually have the problem that the wrist is overextended due to excessive outward rotation. This one-sided strain can affect the elbow joint and lead to so-called tennis elbow, i.e. irritation and inflammation of the tendon insertions that connect the elbow to the extensor muscles of the forearm. In addition, the fingers cannot rest properly on the mouse buttons and are therefore always tense during use to prevent slipping. (…)”

Its rating: 4 (!) out of 10.

And you know what: I had elbow issues a few weeks ago… I have bought myself a https://customer.kensington.com/us/us/s/k72359ww/expert_mouse__wireless_trackball__k72359ww_ to try something completely different.

And I am using the trackball in combination with a mouse. It took some time to get used to but rotating between different input devices has helped me. No more issues.

To come back to the topic: Apple apparently does think that touch is the way to go. Its Magic Trackpad works great. If you really make use of the Magic Mouse’s touch capabilities and if you are not trying to handle it firmly/taking a firm hold of it, it may be a very good mouse for those who are handling it the way it is intended. I was not able to do that, so it was not for me. I have been using the Magic Trackpad for quite some time but for the desktop I do prefer something that I can hold in my hand or rest my hand on.

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There’s already a somewhat similar discussion over here for a couple of days:

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That’s what I’ve found. There was a time when I was using a Magic Mouse at work and at two computers at home. At one of the home locations, I found that it really bothered my hand and my arm up through my shoulder and neck, so I switched to a Logitech MX Master 3.

But I also wondered why the Magic Mouse didn’t bother me at those other two places. The best I could determine was that it had to do with the angle. The one that bothered me was being used on the lowest surface of the three. I think that may have affected my grip and the angle of my wrist enough to make the difference.

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I think the argument could be made that the trackpad is more “pro”-friendly than the mouse, because with BetterTouchTool there is much more you can program the trackpad to do when compared to the mouse.

But personal preference / comfort / ergonomics may be the more important factor.

Personally, I’ve always had trouble with Apple trackpads since they switched from a physical click to, what’s it called, the force-touch click? It’s why I’m holding onto my 2017 MacBook Air as long as I can.

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Well, I use them both. Trackpad on the left, mouse on the right, keyboard (with a number pad) right in the middle. I’m not sure “power user” is the way to think about it. Some things are better done with a mouse, some with a trackpad.