Like it or not, the Apple Magic Mouse is the mouse everyone else will have to face off against in the battle for the best mouse for Mac users. Unchanged since 2015 (except for the USB-C to Lightning update in 2024) and virtually little changed since 2009, the Magic Mouse is what Apple ships with every iMac (in seven accent colors) and Mac Pro (black), and it's one of two mice that can be purchased separately from the Apple Store (black or white).
The Magic Mouse is sleek and elegant, just like an Apple product should be. There are no old-fashioned buttons or scroll wheels to spoil the mouse's streamlined design, as the entire top multi-touch pad acts as a small touch trackpad. It works very well and cleverly combines the smoothness of a trackpad with the physicality of a mouse.
Some mice have scroll wheels, which can be noisy, but the top of the Apple Magic Mouse trackpad is silent in this regard.
The low-profile design won't suit those with larger hands, but the touch controls work very well, allowing you to scroll both horizontally and vertically by simply flicking your finger in the direction you want.
You can set up an extra button, rather than having to settle for a full press, on either side in the Mouse tab in your Mac's System Preferences.
Where the Magic Mouse stands out from the nest of Mac mice is in its gestures. You can control gestures, such as zooming and switching between apps and pages, using the Mouse Settings panel on Mac. Double-tap the screen with two fingers to launch Mission Control on Mac. In Settings, you can also enable pointer acceleration for faster and more precise mouse movements.
The lack of buttons also means that the Magic Mouse is suitable for both left- and right-handers – unlike the Logitech MX Master 3S mouse reviewed below.
The battery only lasts a month, which would be fine if it weren't for one thing… Apple finally got around to switching the Lightning connector to a USB-C connector to charge the internal battery, but it's still in the base of the mouse, meaning you can't use the mouse while it's charging since you'll have to turn it on its side to insert the cable.
Apple also sells a black version of the Magic Mouse for an extra $20/£20, which is a bit cheeky since no other mouse maker charges more for color choice.
