ESR MagMouse review: a wireless mouse that sticks to your MacBook

Macworld

At a glanceExpert's Rating

Pros

Magnetically clamps to your MacBook

Integrated USB-C charging cable

Cons

Requires a magnetic base to be stuck to the laptop

Forward and Back buttons don’t work with Mac

Our Verdict
This is a more-than-capable portable mouse with the unique ability to stick to and hitch a ride on your MacBook when you’re on the move.

Price When Reviewed
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If you’re an-on-the-go laptop user who carries around a mouse for trackpad-less efficiency, you’ll know it’s easy to leave at home when travelling, or drop on the floor when moving too quickly between meetings, between classes or going for that much-needed coffee.

Now there’s a mouse that can magnetically clamp to your MacBook, making accidental drops far less likely. It could be the mouse you never knew you needed.

ESR claims that its MagMouse is the world’s first magnetically attachable wireless mouse. We tried it out to see if it would become our go-to mouse when on the move or when rooted to a desk at home and the office.




Simon Jary

Magnet magic?

The magnetic claim is not quite as magic as it sounds. The ESR MagMouse doesn’t magnetically grip to your MacBook without some assistance.

It comes with a 3M adhesive base that you must first stick to the laptop. It peels off quite easily and without leaving a mess of glue, so it doesn’t ruin your precious MacBook’s looks when removed. ESR claims that it is reusable, and it certainly retained its adhesion after a few trial sticks and removals to the front of the laptop. That said, if it’s going to be effortless, you’ll need to keep the 0.48cm base attached to the front of your MacBook all the time.

The magnetic connection between base and mouse uses a force of 600 grams, according to ESR.  




The MagMouse requires you stick a removable metal plate to the front of your laptop.Simon Jary

Using a separate plate rather than clamping to the metal by itself seems a bit of a cheat, but the magnetic base is smarter than it first appears. It includes two small nodules that pop up when you move the mouse towards the base, then clicking into the matching holes beneath and physically locking it in. ESR calls it “Snap and Go”.




Simon Jary

Design and operation

The MagMouse is a small but still handy size and lightweight at just 2.5oz (74g). Symmetrical, it feels ambidextrous—although the side buttons are placed so a right-hander can use their thumb to click while a leftie must use their ring finger. My left-handed wife wasn’t a fan. As we’ll soon discover this side-button placement doesn’t really matter for Mac users.

There are five buttons in total, including the scroll wheel but note that those side-mounted Forward and Back buttons don’t work with a Mac—which is a Mac limitation. That leaves three buttons, which is still two more than Mac users are accustomed to if they have used only Apple’s Magic Mouse up till now.

The buttons aren’t as customizable as those you find on mice with their own apps, which can often turn Mac-unfriendly Forward and Back buttons into other useful functions.

That said, Mac users are quite reconciled to single-button mice, and most wouldn’t use them even if they were an option.




Simon Jary

There is one possible exception: the scroll-wheel. While the Apple Magic Mouse can push the cursor in different directions with small swipes, after using a mouse with one or more scroll wheels—my usual mouse is the multi-buttoned and two scroll-wheel Logitech MX Master 3S for Mac—I find the Magic Mouse rather limited. See our full list in the best Mac mouse roundup.

The MagMouse has a decent scroll-wheel where you can feel the notches of movement through your finger unlike some smoother wheels. I find that quite handy on delicate scrolls where you will be less likely to whizz past where you wanted to end up.

You can scroll not only up and down but also nudge from side to side (lean the button to the right to scroll left, and to the left to scroll right), which is useful when acting with wider documents, especially spreadsheets and zoomed web pages. This works surprisingly well but nowhere near as smoothly as a second scroll-wheel does.

Either side of the scroll-wheel are the Left and Right buttons. Mac users will be used to the actions of the Left button that operates just like a normal press on the Magic Mouse. The Right button will be more familiar to Windows users, as the Mac requires you to click your keyboard’s Control key to reach the same options (dependent on the application you’re using at the time).

There are six levels of sensitivity ranging from 800dpi to 4800dpi: 800/1200/1600/2400/3200/4800dpi. These are selected via the DPI button below the scroll-wheel and shown by counting the flashing lights in the DPI indicator: one flash for 800dpi, two for 1200dpi, three for 1600dpi and so on up the scale. The default sensitivity is 1600dpi, which will be fine for most users.




Simon Jary

Battery convenience

The MagMouse’s built-in rechargeable battery has a 500mAh capacity that ESR claims will run for 160 hours before requiring a recharge, which takes 45 minutes. One minute of emergency charging should keep it operational for a few hours at least.

There’s no battery to change but also no USB port. Instead, the MagMouse has its own built-in USB-C cable, which is very short but more convenient than requiring a separate cable.




You can give the MagMouse a quick charge up via your laptop as well as any USB-C charger.ESR

Price

The ESR MagMouse costs $39.99 / £39.99 / €42.99. It is also available from Amazon; check our price-comparison for the latest live prices.

There are three colors: white, black and gray. The gray version is available only direct from ESR. The adhesive base comes in the same color as the mouse.




The MagMouse could come in useful when moving between classrooms or offices from one meeting to the next.ESR

Should you buy the ESR MagMouse?

The most striking thing about the ESR MagMouse is its innovative ability to clamp onto your MacBook or other surface once you’ve attached the sticky magnetic base. While I wouldn’t swap my usual mouse—admittedly a much more expensive seven-button champion—for it on a day-to-day basis, it’s a more-than-capable portable mouse with the unique ability to stick to and hitch a ride on your MacBook when you’re on the move.