The Magic Mouse may be a mainstay in Apple's accessory lineup, but it's not without controversy.
Apple's wireless mouse launched 15 years ago in 2009 and was minimally refreshed in 2015 to swap out its two AA batteries for a rechargeable battery. On one hand, a rechargeable battery makes sense, but it also led to one fateful design choice: the charging port location on the mouse's underside. That means you cannot use the mouse while it's charging.
Naturally, that design choice has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way over the years, but according to recent rumors, the Magic Mouse ire may come to an end soon. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported in a recent Power On newsletter that Apple has recently started working on prototypes for a new Magic Mouse that'll actually address "longstanding complaints."
What could a redesigned Magic Mouse look like?
In this review of Apple's Magic Mouse by Creative Bloq, the mouse is praised for its sleek design, seamless pairing with Apple devices, and overall fantastic functionality. But the two features keeping it from greatness are its non-ergonomic feel and the position of its charging port.
I'd say those are the two biggest complaints I've seen against Apple's Magic Mouse among critics and consumers, and Gurman confirms at least one of these complaints will be addressed.
Gurman writes: "Apple is looking to create something that’s more relevant, while also fixing longstanding complaints — yes, including the charging port issue."
It'll be interesting to see how Apple plans to address the charging port issue. Will the company simply move the charging port so people can use the mouse while charging it? Or will Apple adopt a wireless charging system similar to Logitech's G Powerplay system? The latter would be much more impressive.
While Gurman doesn't confirm whether Apple is looking to make the new Magic Mouse more ergonomic, "fixing longstanding complaints" implies that Apple's paying attention to what its users currently don't like about the existing Magic Mouse, which includes its awful feel.
Having a sleek, thin device is great when we're talking about laptops or smartphones. But when we're talking about computer mice, a curved design that fits your hand comfortably is much more important.
According to Gurman, it could be another year to 18 months before Apple's ready to release its new Magic Mouse. Apple launched the 1st and 2nd Gen Magic Mouse in October, while the updated USB-C version from 2022 launched in March. If Apple sticks to this launch schedule, I'd imagine we might get a new Magic Mouse in October 2025 or March 2026.
