In the grand scheme of things, no, it isn't that big of a deal. But it showcased a stereotype people associate with Apple: aesthetics over function. The plug could have gone in the top of the mouse, so you could use it just like you would a wired mouse while it charged. But no, the plug must be invisible, damn the inconvenience.
That was the whole purpose of putting it in a bottom. The thing works several months on a single charge and it takes just a couple of hours to recharge. And it starts giving notification at least a day before battery's depleted.
It's not aesthetics over function mantra, but realisation that they can't be decoupled or developed by separate divisions.
That's what concerns me about Ive leaving. He and Jobs evidently had enough courage to ignore public opinion to make things the right way and in most cases it turned to be excellent decisions. With no successor I'm seriously afraid they'll eventually resort to safe decisions and become another Samsung/MS/Android/whatever..
But... why? Logitech managed to build a significantly more comfortable mouse that can still be plugged in while charging. It's a nicer, more usable and practical product.
Aren't you really going out there on a severely stretched limb to defend this mouse design?
idk exact reasoning, but it seems like they've decided to maximise design focus on primary user experience from device sacrificing almost nothing.
> Logitech managed to build a significantly more comfortable mouse
Can you please prove it by a link? I had to build a specific PC for a work-related project about a year ago, wasn't a pleasure.
> Aren't you really going out there on a severely stretched limb to defend this mouse design?
I honestly don't understand the popular kind of critics that Apple receives. Those details and choices are what hooked me into their products. When I see somebody complains about no CD-ROM in laptop or that mouse charging thing or that monitor stand, it feels more like trolling.
I mean really, more comfortable mouse? Which one is that?
But if you want more concrete models - Logitech's MX Master 2 is incredibly comfortable once you put your hand on it and it's significantly better than anything Apple ever did in mouse area. I can't understate how good it felt to switch away from the Apple's mouse to the Master. And it can even charge while in use and remain connected via both USB receiver and Bluetooth to three devices (which is very useful because you can just leave the USB receiver in the monitor hub and avoid the BT pairing process everytime someone else sits down on a workplace).
If you want a smaller, laptop portable, alternative, MX Anywhere 2 is again a rather comfortable mouse (although nowhere near the Master due to its smaller size) and can still charge while being used.
> I honestly don't understand the popular kind of critics that Apple receives. Those details and choices are what hooked me into their products. When I see somebody complains about no CD-ROM in laptop or that mouse charging thing or that monitor stand, it feels more like trolling.
I don't understand what kind of details are there in the Magic Mouse? It's not comfortable, it doesn't give very clear click feedback, the gestures are finnicky even on macOS... Which mouse are you comparing it to?
After that I'll contact you in this thread and share the results if you're interested. I don't expect your or mine opinion changed, but I guess it'll be stupid not to test.
Strain problems with the originally expensive Lightning cables.
That's the easiest thing to do, yes. But you can bring it to apple care, they do battery replacement for smth like $35 I guess. And if it's factory problem they just replace it, afaik.
> Remember this was a wireless mouse at a time when wireless was definitely not the preferred choice
At the time it had regular batteries you could replace by yourself and we were talking about latest versions. But anyway, I don't see how it can be relevant.
The bad keyboards and no hardware escape key are real problems. Magsafe was a real loss (although of course they lost MagSafe to standardize on a third party standard with usb-c).
Now they're on Chromebooks, WinTel machines, and the Raspberry Pi.
If the rumor is true, it was a really smooth move by Apple.
It would be an extremely Apple-esque thing to hack an industry-wide movement just so that your laptop could be charged by any power brick made by any manufacturer at any time (even if your competitors get this functionality too).
That's messed up.
We could live in a universe where, when the "battery low" notification pops up I take a few seconds to plug in my mouse and go back to whatever I was working on. Instead, Apple purposefully chose to make me unable to use my mouse for a significant duration of time, at a moment that is NOT of my choosing.
On a laptop this is fine as I have the trackpad. On a desktop workstation (where my time is more valuable!) this means getting up and taking a walk, or getting a cup of coffee at the very least. Those are good activities to do, but only when they fit into my routine. As a sudden abrupt interruption, it is actually a cost. And at my hourly rates, a particularly high one greater than the amount I paid for the mouse in the first place.
So yeah, I do consider that "purposefully screwing over" the user. They could have made another perfectly reasonable design choice that would have had greater functionality, but opted not to for purely ephemeral reasons of branding and image.
I’m very thankful Apple doesn’t always listen to what “people” want. True creativity (especially in a pervasive aesthetic sense) is rare and most can’t envision new concepts or feelings before experiencing them.
This is literally the stuff people make jokes about when they talk about Apple.
It’s much more pervasive than you think.
That and sticking the Apple Pencil into the iPad’s Lightning port are two of the most baffling design decisions to come out of Apple in recent memory. Well, I take that back, I completely understand why they did the Apple Pencil that way. It’s because doing it the right way would require redesigning the iPad, so ehhh, just stick it in the Lightning port. Another brilliant design by Ive and company!