The author of this text is an Apple fan – but a product from the iPhone manufacturer would never come into his house.
I have an iPhone slumbering in my trouser pocket, I have an Apple Watch on my wrist and this text is written on a MacBook – I am an Apple fanboy and very satisfied with the products from the Apple Group. However, the mouse connected to the MacBook is not an Apple mouse. After all, you wouldn’t wish anyone an 8-hour working day on the computer with Apple mice. The reason: They are the worst product that the company has brought to market in recent years.
Because while the manufacturer’s other failures (Apple Pippin, Apple QuickTake) have now disappeared, these rodents are still lurking on countless desks and making life difficult for their owners.
Apple just can’t do mice
The problem: Apple just can’t build good mice. The reason for this appears to be Apple’s penchant for prioritizing mouse design over function. The company has repeatedly and impressively demonstrated that Apple’s minimalist design language repeatedly clashes with the ergonomic requirements of a computer mouse.
It doesn’t hurt if a piece of hardware looks good (however, one can argue about the design of Apple mice), but especially with a mouse that you have in your hand almost constantly and for hours when working with the computer, Ergonomics should also play a role. But Apple seems more likely to accept tendonitis from its customers, the main thing is that the mouse looks good on the desk.
Example 1: The “Hockey Puck”
The fact that Apple seems to be fundamentally at loggerheads with the computer rodents was already evident in the late 1990s. Along with the iMac G3 came the simply titled Apple USB Mouse, also nicknamed the “Hockey Puck”.
It’s easy to see why: the mouse is small, circular and has only one button. To “right-click” you had to hold down the CMD key on your keyboard—a key combination that still works today. In addition to the missing right mouse button, the “hockey puck” was also much too small, did not offer the right grip and led to cramps.
The “Hockey Puck” lasted two years until Apple replaced the mouse with the Apple Mouse. Now clearly elongated and with a conspicuously transparent design, this mouse was also an eye-catcher. But what was missing was still a right-click button – and you couldn’t find a scroll wheel either. Apple only delivered that with the Mighty Mouse.
It’s the mouse from Apple, which most people probably know from the workplace and whose shortcomings we’ve all come to know – as long as the employer uses Apple computers. It was included with every new iMac between 2005 and 2009 and remained on sale until 2016 as a cheaper version of its successor, the Magic Mouse. So it was on the market for a total of 11 years!
During this time, this mouse also revealed some serious weaknesses. The shape continued to be an elongated oval that offered little grip in the hand and made prolonged use a torment. The scroll wheel was just a ball that could be turned in all directions. Not only was this much too small, it also tended to get so dirty after just a few months of use that it no longer worked properly.
Once a Mighty Mouse was a few years old, chances were the scrollball wouldn’t work at all. Apple had finally given the Mighty Mouse a right-click. However, the pressure point was so spongy that you were never quite sure whether you had clicked right or left.
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Example 3: The magic of charging
And then there is the current mouse from Apple: the Magic Mouse 2. Even flatter than its predecessors, it has neither cables nor buttons. It’s like a single touch surface just waiting to be accidentally pressed. But what is probably Apple’s best design trick for the Magic Mouse 2 cannot be described, you have to see it:
That’s right: the Lightning connector, which charges the mouse’s battery, is located on the underside of the mouse. So if you want to load them, you have no choice but to turn the mouse to the side. Loading and using the mouse at the same time is simply not possible.
Okay, the Magic Mouse doesn’t need to be charged every day, it even lasts for several weeks on a single charge. However, the way this mouse charges is exemplary of the absurd design choices that regularly accompany Apple mice.
Apple’s best mouse isn’t a mouse — it’s a trackpad
However, Apple has not completely failed when it comes to input devices for the computer, because there is still the Magic Trackpad. A large version of the touchpad known from MacBooks and the best option if you want an Apple pointing device.
Photo: Getty ImagesPhoto: Getty Images
Thanks to high precision, practical multi-touch gestures and generous dimensions, Apple has actually managed to create an input device that you really want to use. The company simply didn’t have to build a mouse for this.