TL;DR: Design is all about choices. Not everyone will agree on what is a good design. Buy what meets your definition of good design.
The fact that you figured out a workflow to not have to deal with issues doesn’t make it a good design. You’re luckily getting some warning from the os before you’re stranded but there’s plenty mice that can be charged and used at the same time - which certainly is the better approach from a product development standpoint.
That's the thing about competition - if you don't like one manufacturers design choices buy something you like. Every design involves tradeoffs, better is in the eye of the beholder.
To carry on about the mouse.
Do you see any difference in the 2 mice in the below photo? One has AA batteries, the other the built in battery. Weight difference is negligible. They both do exactly the same thing. For what good reason did Apple replace AA's in the mouse? Why fix what is not broken? What do we do when the built in battery fails? Buy a whole new mouse? Same goes for the BT keyboard and trackpad. Apple batteries don't exactly have the best track record.
Who knows? Less electronic waste?
Now in the next photo you can clearly see the difference in thickness between the 2 laptops, largely because they removed a part that few people use anymore, the CD drive. The rack of CD's you see in the background are mostly for show, I play more vinyls, and Spotify now. But it is true, I just don't need a CD player in a laptop anymore, so good design decision there.
That's the thing about dsign choices - good is relative. I don't miss the CD drive, especially since I can simply attach an external one when needed. But one person's good choice is another's bad one. I like the adition of an SD slot, but think Magsafe should hve been left out in favor of a 4th TB port; since Apple could make a Magsafe style USBC Cable to get the benefits of Magsafeand have 100W charging (240W with newer spec). Same with HDMI. Others, OTOH, find the useful. Neither opinion is wrong.
In the case of these phones, removing the AA battery pack you see in the big Nokia and redesigning the mobile phone in general was a good idea, because like a laptop, a phone is something we carry around, so smaller and lighter is always good. But when it comes to a mouse, it is something that slides just a few centimetres around on a desk, and does the same job it always has, with the same size hands we've always had.
Having had one of the old Motorola flip phones with an extended battery pack, I agree going smaller as battery tech improved was a good idea. Bt smaller is not alays better if usability is impacted. For example, I have a tiny USB HP mouse, about the size of a bite size candy bar. It is simply two small to use effectively. Similarly with keyboards.
The Apple Mouse is literally a non issue. It takes 2 minutes of charge to get 8 hours of battery and if you can't remember to plug it in once a month while you sleep, then that's on you. You shouldn't need to use the mouse while it's plugged in.
Exactly.
The MM charging port is a design flaw all over of course. User is unable to use the device while charging it, top notch UX right there.
We just clearly have a difference of opinion here.
Also it's battery capacity it's not that great either, we have cheap laser logitech mouses lasting about a year on 2 AA batteries, Apple's won't even last a month under strong usage.
Then get an AA powered mouse. No one is forcing you to use a mouse you think is flawed.
A mouse & charging stand have very different purposes.
My point was people complained about not being able to use the MM while charging and then offered soultions that do just that as well.
That's false, you don't get 8 hours after 2 minutes. Clearly you don't use one. Ergonomics are questionable as well.
My experience is you can.
"Plug it in while you sleep" - it's a mouse not a phone.
Eitehr way it will be charged when you are ready to use it. As for phones, I can't ise my EarPods and charge my phone at the same time, so I guess that is a flaw in the iPhone design as well?
For real. 2 minutes of charge will give you 8 hours of use.
Same experience here while I used my MM.
I mean once a month you can just plug it in before bed. Can't use your computer while you're sleeping anyway.
You assume some people sleep and not use their Mac 24x7...