Magic Mouse 2: How Good is This Mouse?

The Magic Mouse 2 is the second version of the Magic Mouse. It underwent a change in the battery and its performance. It also has improved Bluetooth pairing. Even with these improvements, the Magic Mouse 2 has a few shortcomings. If you're thinking about upgrading to the Magic Mouse 2, here's what you should know about it.

Magic Mouse 2 Charging

Instead of AA batteries, the new Magic Mouse has an internal rechargeable lithium-ion battery that provides up to a month of use between charges. That's about twice the amount of time most users get on rechargeable alkaline batteries used in the original Magic Mouse.

A full charge takes as little as two hours, while a quick two minutes of charging is enough to give you nine hours of use before the mouse needs a refill.

You charge the mouse through a Lightning port on the bottom. The removable battery cover used in the original Magic Mouse is gone. Now, there's a solid aluminum bottom with a single Lightning port between the guide rails.

Apple supplies the Lightning-to-USB cable for charging, and your Mac can provide the power needed to keep the batteries charged. The downside is that the location of the Lightning port on the bottom of the mouse means that you can't charge and use the mouse simultaneously.

Bluetooth Pairing

Ever have problems getting a Bluetooth device, such as the Magic Mouse, to pair with your Mac? The Magic Mouse 2 uniquely solves that problem. If the Magic Mouse 2 is unpaired, as it is when you first receive it, or if you manually unpair the mouse using your Mac's Bluetooth preference pane, it can pair instantly by connecting the mouse to the Mac using the Lightning-to-USB cable.

Glide Movements

Other improvements for the Magic Mouse 2 include a smoother glide over surfaces. With the removable battery door gone, Apple was able to tweak the glide sleds for enhanced handling. That said, the original Magic Mouse glided across most surfaces without skipping, sticking, or producing tracking errors.

The Misses

While it's fun to look at the improvements Apple made in the Magic Mouse 2, it's also important to note the lack of significant updates. Sure, it has a new rechargeable battery that has plenty of staying power and quick charge time. Still, you must plug it in to charge it, and you can't use the mouse while it's charging.

Experts were expecting Apple to provide an inductive charging system, possibly in the form of a mouse pad that charged when you placed the Magic Mouse on it.

There are also no new gestures, no significant or different gesture surfaces, and no Force Touch to produce a third type of click that the Mac could detect and use. The Force Touch system is in the new Magic Trackpad 2, so why not the Magic Mouse 2?

Final Thoughts

The Magic Mouse 2 is a helpful upgrade, maintaining the well-liked capabilities of the original Magic Mouse and adding a rechargeable battery system. But we won't be tossing our original Magic Mouse away anytime soon. The changes aren't compelling enough to convince us to upgrade from our current Magic Mouse. However, when our Magic Mouse no longer works, then yes, the Magic Mouse 2 will more than likely be its replacement.