Apple's Magic Mouse: one button, multitouch gestures, Bluetooth, four-month battery life
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted Oct 20th 2009 12:01PM
posted Oct 20th 2009 12:01PM
Update: Check out our hands-on!
Apple Introduces Magic Mouse-The World's First Multi-Touch Mouse
CUPERTINO, California-October 20, 2009-
Apple® today introduced the new wireless Magic Mouse, the first mouse to use Apple's revolutionary Multi-Touch™ technology. Pioneered on iPhone®, iPod touch® and Mac® notebook trackpads, Multi-Touch allows customers to navigate using intuitive finger gestures. Instead of mechanical buttons, scroll wheels or scroll balls, the entire top of the Magic Mouse is a seamless Multi-Touch surface. Magic Mouse comes standard with the new iMac® and will be available as a Mac accessory at just $69. "Apple is the Multi-Touch leader, pioneering the use of this innovative technology in iPhone, iPod touch and Mac notebook trackpads," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Apple's Multi-Touch technology allows us to offer an easy to use mouse in a simple and elegant design." Magic Mouse features a seamless touch-sensitive enclosure that allows it to be a single or multi-button mouse with advanced gesture support. Using intuitive gestures, users can easily scroll through long documents, pan across large images or swipe to move forward or backward through a collection of web pages or photos. Magic Mouse works for left or right handed users and multi-button or gesture commands can be easily configured from within System Preferences. The Magic Mouse laser tracking engine provides a smooth, consistent experience across more surfaces than a traditional optical tracking system. Magic Mouse uses Bluetooth wireless capabilities to create a clean, cable-free desk top and its secure wireless connection works from up to 10 meters away. To extend battery performance, Magic Mouse includes an advanced power management system that works with Mac OS® X to automatically switch to low power modes during periods of inactivity. The wireless Magic Mouse is powered by two AA batteries which are included.
Pricing & Availability Magic Mouse comes standard with the new iMac and is available at the end of October through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), at Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $69 (US).
Magic Mouse requires Mac OS X Leopard® version 10.5.8 or later. Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.
CUPERTINO, California-October 20, 2009-
Apple® today introduced the new wireless Magic Mouse, the first mouse to use Apple's revolutionary Multi-Touch™ technology. Pioneered on iPhone®, iPod touch® and Mac® notebook trackpads, Multi-Touch allows customers to navigate using intuitive finger gestures. Instead of mechanical buttons, scroll wheels or scroll balls, the entire top of the Magic Mouse is a seamless Multi-Touch surface. Magic Mouse comes standard with the new iMac® and will be available as a Mac accessory at just $69. "Apple is the Multi-Touch leader, pioneering the use of this innovative technology in iPhone, iPod touch and Mac notebook trackpads," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Apple's Multi-Touch technology allows us to offer an easy to use mouse in a simple and elegant design." Magic Mouse features a seamless touch-sensitive enclosure that allows it to be a single or multi-button mouse with advanced gesture support. Using intuitive gestures, users can easily scroll through long documents, pan across large images or swipe to move forward or backward through a collection of web pages or photos. Magic Mouse works for left or right handed users and multi-button or gesture commands can be easily configured from within System Preferences. The Magic Mouse laser tracking engine provides a smooth, consistent experience across more surfaces than a traditional optical tracking system. Magic Mouse uses Bluetooth wireless capabilities to create a clean, cable-free desk top and its secure wireless connection works from up to 10 meters away. To extend battery performance, Magic Mouse includes an advanced power management system that works with Mac OS® X to automatically switch to low power modes during periods of inactivity. The wireless Magic Mouse is powered by two AA batteries which are included.
Pricing & Availability Magic Mouse comes standard with the new iMac and is available at the end of October through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), at Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $69 (US).
Magic Mouse requires Mac OS X Leopard® version 10.5.8 or later. Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.
Yeah, I'll stay with my regular mouse.
Apples trackrecord of mice still holds. No decent mouse, only mongrel genetransformed limping bastards.
This looks like nice one, on paper, but no tactile feedback from buttons, no multitouch so no double button press. It's a mongrel i say.
I actually agree with the Apple whiners about the Apple Mouse. It's almost a tradition to immediately put the Apple Mouse aside and buy something from Logitech or even *gasp* Microsoft. Kinda like when Windows users run Internet Explorer that one time so that they can download Firefox (darn, I just can't help myself!).
Be that as it may, this mouse looks sweet enough that I'll buy it just for the novelty. If I like it, great, I'll keep it. If I don't, well, it'll always look good when the girlfriend comes over.
I won't put it down completely until I try it, but it looks too thin. Looks uncomfortable to hold like every other Apple mouse.
Agreed. This mouse looks great for many applications but having a number of actual buttons is important to me for gaming and general convenience. My Logitech Revolution has nothing to fear.
you have to give it to Apple, guys! That actually looks quite delicious. But as for usability or features.... well, I won't be too fast to judge until someone actually give us the low-down on this Magic Mouse.
PS: the designer might have been on some Magic Mushroom...
This thing is garbage, but im sure all of the iSheep will run to the store to get it right away. Losers
Yeah tell me about it. Also 4 month battery life my arse! I guess it has some kind of internal nuclear power plant! Or 4 months if you dont use it because of it being a massive fail.
Yeah, none of you have held one yet you're already proclaiming it as crap.
I'm happy with my Arc Mouse.
You have to love how this mouse has been known about for 1.5 hours and – with no actual hands-on in sight – people are already praising it as the best thing since sliced bread or bashing it as the worst thing since this recession. Honestly, guys, it doesn't speak to your credibility.
I want to try one! Wonder if there will be any way to use this on a PC. Personally it's gonna be hard to displace my Logitech Revolution MX!
Judging by the photo gallery on apple website, it looks a bit uncomfortable to make the gestures
http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/
@SewerShark: I think most of them look fine except the 360 scroll and the two finger swipe. Basically anything that requires swiping to the left or right will cause pain.
WHAT!?!?! no built in battery??? how dare they!
That's not the Apple I know
It bears pointing out: Apple could have released some kind of gimmicky multi-touch support for the iMac and Cinema displays, you know, like Microsoft. Microsoft got all scared after Apple released the iPhone and immediately threw multi-touch into Windows 7, thinking that's where Apple was headed. But once again, Apple is original. They decided to incorporate the tech into trackpads and mice instead, in a way that people might actually use it.
That is why people say Apple innovates.
I love my mac and I feel apple’s programs are generally very solid, but I have never been impressed by their mouse department. Just give me two buttons, dammit, and make the scroll ball larger than the size of a pinhead? Why is this so hard lol? It’s like nobody there has ever used such a device.
Scrolling my fingers across the surface of the actual mouse just seems like it would have the chance of moving the mouse itself, as well as causing discomfort. I’m trying it right now on my mouse and it hurts. I’ll stick to my wheel thank you.
@Detox
You are the cancer that perpetuates these useless devices... You admit that it is probably junk, yet you're going to buy it because it is pretty... Female?
"It bears pointing out: Apple could have released some kind of gimmicky multi-touch support for the iMac and Cinema displays, you know, like Microsoft.
blah blah blah blah blah
They decided to incorporate the tech into trackpads and mice instead, in a way that people might actually use it.
That is why people say Apple innovates."
Rough translation from Detox Chapel to English:
This is no different from what MS did. I'm just going to proclaim this "innovative" because it has an Apple logo on it, and the other a "gimmick" because they got to it before Apple.
Now, if Apple does what MS did in the future, I will say it is innovative so I may keep the meme going that Apple invents everything while others just steal their stuff.
Providing multi-touch support for a display IS a gimmick and you guys know it. I don't know anyone who wants to be touching their screen for hours on end, smudging up the screen and straining their arms. And just so we're clear, put me on the record when I say this, it will continue to be a gimmick even if Apple ever does it (though they probably won't).
Thug life!
"And just so we're clear, put me on the record when I say this, it will continue to be a gimmick even if Apple ever does it (though they probably won't)."
Just like Apple would not sell out and focus on games, correct?
I don't know about everyone else but i keep my fingers rested on the mouse buttons, just not applying pressure, while using it. If i keep my fingers rested on this mouse without applying pressure will that be registered as button presses? or is the sensitivity adjusted to only read my fingers on the touch interface once i exert a certain amount of pressure downward on the surface of the mouse?
Why you Haters be hatin'? Can't we be friends?
"Providing multi-touch support for a display IS a gimmick and you guys know it."
No, it's a "gimmick" because Apple didnt do it first, Chapel. The fact is that before Windows7 had it built in, many Apple fans were hoping that Apple eventually would do it.
And "and you guys know it"?
What are you, 10?
Step 1: Attack, Attack, Attack
Step 2: Call names such as hater, troll, or fanboy
Step 3: Pretend to want to bring happiness to the world, be friends with everybody
Step 4: Act like the misunderstood victim
Step 5: Pretend you won
Step 6: GoTo Step1
@DigitizedSociety: From Apple's MM page: "It even knows when you’re just resting your hand on it." So I would venture a guess that they did think of that.
@Look_Around_You: The fact that "many Apple fans" weren't smart enough to realize how horrible the ergonomics of a vertical multitouch display would be doesn't change the fact that it just plain wouldn't work for day-to-day use. Windows, Mac, Linux, whatever. It could be a great idea, but its lack of accessibility is what relegates it to "gimmick" status, not the fact that MS came out with it (though I'm sure Paul might disagree). If Apple finally comes out with that multitouch tablet everybody's been jizzing their pants about for years, it won't have that particular problem because, unlike an all-in-one desktop, it could be held in any position (which, of course, brings up the equally large problem of finding a comfortable position for it). If I'm going to have some kind of multitouch on my desktop machine, I'd rather have it down where my arm is resting than up where I have to reach for it.
@Shunnabunich: The good thing about touch in the OS is that it is available everywhere. While using it in a desktop in the form factor that is commonly used today (standing upright rather than flat on the desk) does have limited functionality, it will be very usefull in the laptop form factor, the tablet form factor. That is not to say that the upright desktop form factor is not bad, there are many times when I have had 3 or 4 people standing around my computer. When you are standing, being able to touch the screen is better than holding the wrists in an awkward position trying to type or use the mouse.
But integrating it directly into the OS gives more opportunities than the angle Apple is taking: restrict it to only a few hardware devices, don't allow people to use it in all the different ways that they may wish to. And when you restrict people, when you keep them from using a paradigm in different ways, then you are restricting, not encouraging innovation.
Funny I actually like it. I wonder if it will work on a PC with track pad drivers.
Yeah, I dont think its going to be better than normal mice. Multitouch works on some things but not on others. This is one of those others.
Didn't Microsoft show off their prototype for this several weeks ago?
My hand hurts just looking at it.
And...wow, a highranked post by Detox...?
Wow, this is getting ridiculous. No wonder Paul isn't the only one getting down ranked.
There's just one reason why I would buy this...http://www.yazbo.com/art-and-stuff/oh-that-magic-mouse
Apple mouse designers must have some of the strangest-shaped hands in the world.
It's the only explanation why their mice continue to be so anti-ergonomic.
To me, multi-touch served as a way to make navigation easier when a mouse wasn't around. Bringing it to the mouse is a very backwards step in my eyes.
Not to mention, I don't even want to imagine the finger and hand cramps involved after using it.
@Barri
"Also 4 month battery life my arse! I guess it has some kind of internal nuclear power plant!"
They probably just mean after 4 months the battery will die completely and you'll have to buy a new mouse because you can't open it to replace the old battery.
most of you are overlooking one major issue - the way you hold the new mouse. The correct way to position your hand on a 2 button mouse with a scroll wheel is to hold it between your thumb and pinky. However most of the older user find this quite awkward and tend to move their middle finger between the 2ndary button and the wheel. Well here you don't have to do that since the wheel is everywhere on top of the mouse. Hence all those users will really like the new mouse. It's really easy to bitch about how shitty apple design is because it's different and sometimes goes against the grain but this time Apple has actually done a good job. Also there is a tactile feedback when you press on the mouse ( i think ). You know how the new glass touchpad had no buttons yet you can click it and it does feel just like a click? When this is based on the same technology if you can believe what apple says.
Yes if you are a gamer this is not a good mouse but do you really think hardcore gamers use a Mac? Last I checked a lot of games still don't run on OS X.
I want!!!
wow a 69 dollar mouse...
seems a bit much.
Me too, and $69 for a highly featured mouse is not over the top.
To counter some of the points above (many are obviously opinion and not based on actual useage):
I have used a Mighty Mouse daily for almost 3 years
It is very ergonomic, fits my hand great
The build quality seems great, no issues at all
I literally use it 8-10 hours per day, and I get 6 months out of a good set of batteries
I may pick one of these up, and relegate the Mighty Mouse to home duty only!
Sorry, but I use a mighty mouse for school, and I've actually resorted to bringing my Sidewinder everyday, just so my hand will stop hurting while I'm using the computers.
Perhaps if you've got pint-sized hands, but for me, my fingers and heel of my hand overhang a mightymouse by a good inch, so I have to 'claw' my hand quite drastically to use it properly, to say nothing of right-clicking.
This new one, while probably innovative, is nearly flat, how are you supposed to rest yout palm on those sharp edges? You're probably not supposed to anyway, because you'd have to keep your clicking fingers raised in the air like an adgitated funnelweb if you don't want to be accidentally scrolling everywhere...
Every other company's idea of 'innovation' is to take an existing design, and make it easier to use, look at something like logitech's VX Nano - it's tiny, but still ergonomically shaped. Or Microsoft's ARC Mouse.
The last ergonomic mouse Apple made would probably be the 'hockey puck' mouse that came with the original iMac, if only because tou could get an attachment that made it a full-sized mouse.
Holy shit!
That looks awesome!
Does it work for PC?
I can only assume they'll have drivers for Boot Camp, so I'm sure it will work for Windows in time, at least partially.
I cant see why it looks so awesome. Not only does it looks unconformable, but the lack of a real scroll wheel makes it almost useless for anyone doing more than the most casual web browsing. I have a logitech mouse with the smooth scrolling wheel on a bearing, and after I got used to it I noticed a large increase in my productivity, and a decrease in finger fatigue while browsing more than an hour. The apple mouse seems to be going backwards when you look at it from a usability standpoint.
As for the no-click touch surface there is no logical reason to go this route since click mice priced over $25 almost never go bad due to mechanical problems. The failure point is usually optical or electrical. Also whats with bragging about the 4 months battery? My mouse is 2 year old tech, with more than average use, and I get over 6 months battery life.
Holy cow!
Apple genuinely innovated here!
All the folks who just got the old version are gonna be ticked....
I agree, it does *look* awesome. Maybe the sexiest Apple mouse so far. I hope it also has the best usability so far, but not much needs to be done to improve *that* aspect of Apple's mice. I wonder how they have been able to suck so hard at making mice all these years.
Looks very nice indeed!
Reminds me of the Logitech MX Air in some ways.
i am looking forward to checking it out that's for sure
if only cause my partner was watching the video this morning and shouts out "bloody fantastic, no more having to clean my balls every day"
then he realized that he said it outloud. and how it sounded.
Wow they released this information before the apple store updated.
Looks like engadget were 'made aware' of these updates to post them all at once...
That's fine, but why pretend they didn't know anything, and fiegn excitment about the store going down, what's coming etc...?
Maybe a non-disclosure agreement?
Agree with MS. Why have a post pretending like they don't know anything and then drop 4 fully written posts on us before the store is even re-opened? I feel cheated.
maybe page views?
Guys, the store is still down, but all of this info just went up on their main page, apple.com. No inside scoop here. Take it easy.
Why do news sources or tech blogs do anything? To inform their user bases in an entertaining way. Regardless of whether or not Engadget knew about the updates, I'd rather have them write in an entertaining fashion than just provide a ticker-line update. That's why I (and I'd imagine most people) read Engadget.
I recall the editors commenting that they tried installing win 7 on their MacBooks. I'm sure they all have MacBooks that were provided gratis by apple. Maybe engadget is in bed with apple after all.
There's no such thing as unbiased journalism. And the NBA is fixed and Santa claus isn't real.
Meh.
All posts went up, perfectly formatted and edited at 12.01. In the publishing and news world non-disclosures abound, and like I said earlier that is fine. In the Macbook post they've had hands on as well, there is no problem with any of this.
What is a bit silly is for Engadget, supposedly a tech news blog reporting all that's fit to report, to open a piece on one hand about the store going down and pretend like they know nothing about what is going on, and on the other already have the details available.
I don't feel cheated, in fact I could hardly care less, but please Engadget, be a bit consistent...
I guess Apple didn't tell them about the new aluminum remote.
Seriously guys, if you've checked the latest tech announcements from Engadget it is clear to see they are told this stuff way in advance, but they feign any knowledge of it. Case in point:
PS3
Zune HD
Sony VAIO X Series
When you're one of the biggest internet blogs and have more then a handful of workers in Redmond, Cupertino etc. who are willing to spill details on yet to be announced or released gadgets, software etc. it pays to give Josh, Nilay and the rest, info in advance so as to keep more information private.
Heck I'm pretty sure Engadget knows more about Windows Mobile 7, Mac Tablet, or Project Pink then they're willing to disclose..
@Raptor: A NDA by definition prevents you from revealing something before time -- it does not tell you to build anticipation and hype.
Sweet!!! I love it! How much?
Article says $69...
There's plenty of mice on Amazon much more expensive - up to $400!
learn2read
video recording and mms in 2012
I've never met an Apple mouse I've *liked*. Pass.
I'd kind of have to agree. I love their keyboards, but their mice are overpriced and hard to like. I love Apple, but their constant push to make things more simple is annoying when it comes to a mouse. I have 5 fingers on my hand, I'm not too stupid to use them, so you don't have to keep removing buttons. We'll see how this one does though. I'll give it a try before placing an opinion on it.
The puck mouse was a complete fail, obvious obvious reasons
The mighty mouse I didn't like at all, maybe if they had added a second button. I know it right clicks, but it was uncomfortable. The scroll wheel was also too slow.
Now the MAGIC mouse. Terrible name and no tacticle feedback. No thank you. Just feels even more dumbed down for me. I won't put it down completely until I try it, but it looks too small to be comfortable to use. Looks like it's going to be making a lot of sore hands.
Just make a normal freaking mouse, you don't need to, nor are you going to, re-invent the damn thing.
@ Jordan,
Apple was the first company in the world to innovate the original mouse idea and bundle one with all Macs, in 1984.
The PC fanboys at the time laughed and said "who's going to use that??" The PC fanboy legacy lives on to this day, they fail to understand innovation when they see it.
No need to make a generic mouse when you can have something better.
@Win_mo:
I think you're just trying to start a flame war. At no point did I even mention who boxed the mouse with what first. All I simply stated was how horrible all of Apple's attempts to "reinvent" the mouse have been.
"No need to make a generic mouse when you can have something better."
This statement would be true, if only Apple could make something better. They so far have not.
Will apple please stop designing mice? Seriously please work with Logitech to come up with something decent and brand it.
That would require them to think different.
Done and done.
looks like something a person used to scrap dead skin off their foot.
Ped Egg FTW
Question: Anyone know if the right click can be simultaneous (unlike the old Mighty Mouse)?
Meaning: if you left-click hold, will the right-click still work (I'm thinking nade-cooking in CoD; yeah, I know. I'm ancient.)
Thanks.
Actually, the mighty mouse was worse than that, in the 2 minutes I played with it in an Apple Store (never used the one that came with my desktop). If you right-click while your finger is LAYING on the left side, it'll left-click.
so, to right-click you have to LIFT your left finger as you right-click. It's a strange, straining motion that would probably get old REALLY quick.
I had that same experience too, hence why it's my travel mouse, instead of my 'regular' mouse (which right now is the small Logitech V470), which albeit usable, its dimensions leave it pretty cramp-y.
@Unix: Yeah, that'd be my biggest worry. Besides the fact that I believe that when the choice is between real buttons/wheels/dials/switches/anything and virtual all of that, the real ones are always easier to use, the Mighty Mouse could have been Apple's first usable mouse. Unfortunately, the bluetooth had too much lag, so it always felt slow, and couldn't reliably detect right clicks if you don't lift your left finger.
I'm not going to condemn this mouse before I try it, as they may have fixed that (Maybe the multitouch adds accruacy to that), but I'll approach this with cautious optimism. This would be great for my Media center. Bluetooth for better range, no cracks on top, so it's easy to clean, and sleek looking to go with AV equipment. My MX Revolutions have nothing to fear on my other computers, though...
@UnixSystemsEngineer
:shakes head: ever thought of lifting your index finger and clicking with your middle finger (hence, left click - index finger, right click - middle finger) :shakes head:
@iomatic
I dont think the Mighty Mouse is configured to work that way. A lot of it is software controlled, but I dont believe the sensor is capable of identifying multiple inputs. I personally love the mighty mouse (HATE the dirt magnet scroll ball), but I wouldnt recommend it for gaming.
I am so glad the scroll ball is gone.
yea me too... its ease of use totally gets in the way of me trying to look cool while surfing the internet...
No, he means the scroll wheel never worked terribly well, and attracted dirt and grit far more than standard scroll wheels. This certainly solves *that* problem; what new ones it introduces we'll have to see (knowing Apple mice, I'm sure there will be "quirks", to put it mildly).
I am, too. I've had two Mighty Mouse(s) and on both of them, the scroller ball stopped working. My question is what to do about older PPC Mac Pros that don't have Bluetooth. Are we just not able to use this?
The scroll ball on our iMac's mouse barely works anymore. I think it gets clogged with dust very easily.
Agreed. When I worked in an office that used Macs, it eventually got to the point where I hunted through every mouse in the closet to find one with a working scroll ball, and got one that could scroll down and, on rare occasions, from right to left. The ball was a piece of crap.
4 months is pretty crappy. My Logitech Nano works brilliantly and the battery lasts a full year!
Wow u must use future batteries cuz in my nano they only last like 3 months.
I use energizer lithiums in my nano and get probably 5-6 months
i bought my lodgitech nano in January, ive yet to change the batteries.... oh, i use my computer almost daily.
I have a rocketfish mouse I bought last summer. Changed the batteries once so far.
Nothing fancy here.
didnt microsoft do something like this?
They had some prototypes using various techniques that they were showing off at one point, yeah. No actual released products as of yet.
How did engadget get all of this info / pictures so soon?
The store may be down but they have updated the mac section of the website ( http://www.apple.com/mac/ )
Everything looks good except... 4 month battery life? Please say this thing at least has a rechargeable battery/charging stand.
Exactly what I was thinking.....i'm pretty sure even Apple isn't crazy enough to think we will replace an mouse every 4 months....BTW it looks nice as hell
On a side note, I can see some of the straight forward and backward motions being ok, but from trying some of these gestures on my existing mouse, the scrolling to the side is pretty much the most awkward thing you can do with your hand in that position. I'm guessing people won't use that one too much.
Well I'm sure there has to be a charger stand for this?
That would be insane if you had to send this in for a replacement battery every 4 months.