The good news is, there’s a new Magic Mouse in the works. I’m told that Apple’s design team has been prototyping versions of the accessory in recent months, aiming to devise something that better fits the modern era.
In a computing world now infused with touch screens, voice commands and hand gestures, the mouse isn’t as crucial as it once was. But it’s still the go-to input device when you need to make precise moves. Apple is looking to create something that’s more relevant, while also fixing longstanding complaints — yes, including the charging port issue.
As for when the mouse will arrive, I wouldn’t expect anything in the next 12 to 18 months. But the current Magic Mouse is nearing the end of its life, and Apple is working on a full overhaul. Once the design group settles on a final form, it will still take months or years of hardware engineering, software development and operations work to actually bring the mouse to market.
Interesting. I don’t want to draw too many conclusions from this because no one except Apple truly understands processes within Apple. That being said, the fact that it can take “months or years” of effort to release a mouse is kind of ridiculous. Counterpoint to myself: that’s what makes Apple different — their painstaking attention to detail.
I’m sure they know better than me (in fact, I guarantee it)…but that timeline caught me off guard.
I just want them to move the charging port on it to shut the tech press up about it. To this day they still like to mention how dumb it is. While I agree, when I used a Magic Mouse, the one time I ran out of charge at a bad time, I plugged it in for a minute while I went got a drink and it lasted the rest of the day. It was a non-issue.
I love the fact that they take this level of effort. Probably starting from first principles, thinking about how people will use it, ensuring that it will “fit” with all of the devices they sell, working with the software teams too.
Given how long the current design has been in use, taking their time to design a new one is time well spent.
I hope they take Ergo more seriously this time though so it’s usable by more people.
Strangely, Apple has never shipped an ergonomically friendly mouse, which is my biggest issue. The puck was arguably the worst, but there were many failures in this segment, with Magic Mouse indeed also not being the greatest here.
They can design AirPods that fit into ~99% of our individually shaped ears, yet they struggle with creating a mouse…
I like the fact that they take their time with these products. I may be in the minority, and it’s not as though the world is crying out for a lack of mice to use with our computers. I’d rather have something thoughtful and well designed than all of the options on Amazon from companies whose names are just a string of consonants. I do see the points made though.
True - they are, no doubt, actually making dozens if not hundreds of mice along the way, during their development process, and testing out sqazillions of software changes, but they’ll only release one or two mice.
You aren’t joking. The current design of the Magic Mouse dates back to 2009. So they really think they nailed it 15 years ago and there’s no way to improve? Or it takes 15+ years to do a new one? Yikes.
The mouse is clearly not a priority for Apple (otherwise they would have come up with an updated design in 15 years) but, on the other hand, one sort of expects from such a company to provide quality accessories as well, not just something that feels like an afterthought.
Given the brand loyalty that Apple typically enjoys, I suppose most power users and most regular users will first go and see what Apple offers in each particular segment so it’s a shame when they disappoint. Also, accessories are an easy additional sale that can be offered to customers (both online and in stores) who are already spending significant amount of money on the main product, so I suppose margins can be quite big on them and they should aim to move as much accessories as possible. For some reason they don’t feel that way about the mouse.
The sadness of being in that 1%. My AirPods fall out of my ears when I am sitting at my desk. Walking around is totally impossible.
Meanwhile, I am very happy with my Magic Mouse. I use other, highly rated, mice in other settings, and I do not like them as well. It is going to be hard/impossible for Apple to design a mouse that everyone likes. Different people dislike different things about the current Apple Mouse. There is a rich third-party selection – vertical mice, big mice, small mice, huge number of buttons mice…
As RunningBoris mentioned, recharging a Magic Mouse is actually not a biggie despite the endless harping on the issue by the press. It recharges to a working level very quickly if you happen to neglect recharging it for a long time. Recharging is required infrequently.
It reminds me of the current caterwauling about the position of the on/off switch on the new MacMini. Every reviewer feels compled to mention it, but it is really not a big deal.
I want the new Magic Mouse to be screen aware, and have an internal, cylindrical channel I can fill with Nerds or Pez. Every time I complete three pages of work, it will poop out a little candy.
I don’t like either of those phrases. What on earth is “a mouse for the modern era”? Why is the current one “irrelevant”? A mouse is a mouse. It tracks, it clicks. Job done. The only things they should be concentrating on are ergonomics and I suppose, as others have said, shutting up the tech press about the charging port.
This is exactly the type of thinking that Apple should be embracing. Until they integrate a Pez dispenser into the magic mouse, those words "can’t innovate any more, my arse’ just rings hollow.
My AirPods fall out of my ears when I am sitting at my desk. Walking around is totally impossible.
I use other, highly rated, mice in other settings, and I do not like them as well. It is going to be hard/impossible for Apple to design a mouse that everyone likes. Different people dislike different things about the current Apple Mouse. There is a rich third-party selection – vertical mice, big mice, small mice, huge number of buttons mice…