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New iMac: Magic Mouse 2 or Magic Trackpad 2 (+$50/£50/50€)

  • Magic Mouse 2

  • Magic Trackpad 2 (+$50/£50/50€)

  • Both (+$129/£129/129€)


Results are only viewable after voting.

sirHydra

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 27, 2021
41
26
What would you pick if you were getting one?

Personally, there are only 2 Apple toys I hate. The Magic Mouse 2 and the old Apple TV remote.
 
Neither. I have a trackball I'll be mostly using. Magic Mouse-thing for limited use only.
 
This is really a personal choice and IMO you need to put hands on both to see what you like.

I tried the trackpad and hated it. I found it very difficult to make precise selections like when you want to highlight a few words to copy.

I used the Magic Mouse for quite a while and it worked well, but my hand tended to cramp up from holding it in the eagle claw position so long. I switched to a Logitech MX3 mouse that I find much more comfortable.
 
I'd take the Magic Mouse 2. Then sell it on eBay and get a Logitech. Same with the keyboard (although maybe not Logitech for the keyboard). But that's just my preference.

The Apple mice and keyboards aren't very comfortable to use. I also hate the idea of charging a mouse. Plus not being able to use it when charging.

If your only choice is one or the other. I'd take the track pad. Apple's done an excellent job with trackpads.
 
Ideally a 3rd party mouse (almost any mouse will be ergonomically better than the magic mouse).

I never understand how people can use the extremely un-ergonomic magic mouse. Even Craig had difficulties using it in during the live keynotes. Add on the location of the lightning port.

Based on that, I guess the choice is the trackpad, especially reading how well Macbook trackpads are. I have not used the magic trackpad though.
 
I have both the Magic Mouse 2 and a wired 3 button Dell mouse on my work iMac.

Wired mouse makes it easy to "replicate" Microsoft Remote Desktop use when I log into the many servers at work & on the cloud (Dell servers).

Going to do the same setup on the new incoming 24" iMac.
 
I was someone who always defended the Magic Mouse & keyboard and I used them for many years. Thought they were a huge upgrade over the really cheap generic keyboard from the old days, I always associated mechanical keyboards with those because of them not being low profile. I got a mechanical keyboard for Christmas and now when I go back and use the Magic Keyboard my hands/wrists hurt a bit. I much prefer mechanical keyboards now, decided to get an MX Master 3 too which I vastly prefer over the Magic Mouse.

I find the ergonomics of these far superior but the connectivity of the Apple ones is better. The Bluetooth drops far more often with these than the magic keyboard/mouse, and there are far more times when the cursor randomly lags. May be because my iMac is from 2015 and the Bluetooth isn’t as great as newer macs, I’ll see how it is when my M1 iMac arrives.

Touch ID on the magic keyboard makes me slightly conflicted about my choice but I’ll still stick with mechanical keyboards
 
What would you pick if you were getting one?
I think it comes down to whether you like the Magic Mouse. Personally, after I've used a MM2 for more than 2 minutes I get the urge to scream and throw it out of the window. So, I'd be getting a Logitech MX Master or some other third party mouse anyway.

OTOH, I quite like the Magic Trackpad and can use it quite happily for most things - there are just a few applications (like graphics editing) where a mouse just gives better precision so I tend to end up using the mouse (if I only had a Magic Mouse I'd stick with the trackpad!)

So, I'd go for the Trackpad rather than the mouse as it's an opportunity to get it cheaply. If you don't like it, I suspect it would be easier to sell for a profit than a mouse.

Hint: I find the Three Finger Drag option makes a huge difference to the usability of the trackpad - and I can't fathom why Apple have hidden the option to enable it under "Accessibility -> Mouse & Trackpad -> Trackpad Options" rather than in the actual Trackpad control panel...
 
I find the ergonomics of these far superior but the connectivity of the Apple ones is better. The Bluetooth drops far more often with these than the magic keyboard/mouse, and there are far more times when the cursor randomly lags

Yeah, from what I've seen it's better to avoid Bluetooth with non-Apple mice - Apple seem to have nailed it, but others, not so much. The dedicated USB wireless dongles seem more reliable (such as the Logitech unifying ones) especially on the desktop where needing a dongle (...and, now, a USB-C dongle for your USB-A dongle, since wireless mice with USB-C dongles still seem to be like hens teeth...) isn't such a faff. NB: anybody going for the MX Master, avoid the Mac version since that doesn't include the unifying receiver...

Personally, I've still got a couple of the original, wired, Apple aluminium keyboards which you can take when you pry them from my cold, dead (but remarkably uncrippled) fingers... which have a built in USB hub where the mouse dongle plugs right in, so you still only need one USB port... The new Magic keyboards are... better than the butterfly keyboard, but I still prefer the original.
 
I have loved the trackpad on my Macbooks, however I just couldn’t get used to it as a standalone device. I think it has more to do with I like it as a two thumb device vs one handed.
 
I have both form my aging Late-2010 iMac. I'm much better with the mouse as after a little while the trackpad becomes hard on my wrist.
 
Personally, I would get both. Sometimes you just need the better precision a mouse gives you but I find a trackpad is much better for must of what I do. But that 5% or so of the time I use a mouse, I really need to use it. I don't know if I could stand using the Magic Mouse for long though, if I didn't have the trackpad. I would probably get a third party mouse if I had to use one exclusively.

But I'm also a big user of keyboard shortcuts, so there can be long periods of time I use neither mouse nor trackpad.

So what I'm saying is, it depends on your own usage.
 
I prefer the trackpad but recently borrowed someone's machine which came with a Magic Mouse and you know what, I kind of enjoyed using it.
 
Both, I wasn't originally going to get the trackpad. But the more I thought about it the more I wanted to try it. And knowing my luck Apple won't offer color matched ones down the road for purchase separately so I bit the bullet and got it now so it will for sure match my new iMac
 
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The trackpad function is essentially identical w/ the MacBook's trackpad, which for me makes for seamless switching between a Mac mini and a MacBook Air.
 
The Magic Mouse from my 2015 iMac is still sitting unloved in my desk draw, having only been used for a couple of days before I went out and bought a Logitech MX Master (which I've loved).

So it'll be the trackpad for me!

I've always got on with the trackpad on my MacBook, so I fully expect to like it, but if not then it'll be another Logitech MX mouse...
 
The Trackpad is world class and matched by no one.

The Mouse is utter ******** and worse even than the cheapest crap you can buy in your neighbourhood electronics store.

Your choice.
 
Will the coloured trackpads be available separately once the iMacs go on sale?
At some point they should. I called Apple Support and ordered my pink Magic Trackpad. I had to give my iMac's serial number to Apple Support in order to order the Magic Trackpad separately. I asked them why these accessories aren't available on the store, and they said they don't know..
Anyway, I ordered my Magic Trackpad yesterday and it arrived today. Very expensive though: 146€
 
I think the ergonomics of the Magic Mouse depends on whether you like to grip your mouse with just your fingertips or your palm. My son, who likes to hold the mouse with his palm, hates the Magic Mouse. I hold mice with my fingertips and prefer to use the Magic Mouse over mechanical mice.

BTW, I went to look up some info on the Magic Mouse 2 before writing a reply. I read “… compatible with iPad OS 13.4 or higher …” Huh? I grabbed one and connected it to my iPad.

Mind. Blown.

No, seriously. I never bothered to research if you could connect a mouse to an iPad.
 
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