The ESR MagMouse has a magnetic dock so it can connect to the lid of a laptop (or under a desk) and is easier to carry around. That’s one clever feature, but it also has a built-in charging cable, is lightweight, and costs under $40. It isn’t perfect, but overall it’s a great mouse.
ESR MagMouse
The MagMouse stays locked in place thanks to a removable magnetic base with pop-up pins that align on contact, so it won’t budge, even when you’re on the move.
- Attached charging cable
- Quiet and comfortable design
- Reasonable price
- Non-configurable buttons
- 2.4GHz adapter is USB-A
- Bumpy scroll wheel
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Price and Availability
Currently, the ESR MagMouse is available through the company’s Kickstarter. It launched with early bird pricing of $24, but will retail for $36. It’s available in three colors: white, black, and gray.
Mag Is Short For Magnet (Not MagSafe)
It’s worth noting right up front that the MagMouse is not compatible with Apple’s MagSafe wireless charging. The “mag” moniker simply refers to the fact that the mouse can magnetically attach to its included magnet pad—and pretty much only its own pad. The way the magnets are embedded into the mouse’s body makes it difficult to get it to stick to things other than its counterpart.
ESR pitches this mouse as a laptop companion. It suggests sticking the magnet pad to the lid of a laptop and then carrying the mouse around like that. That makes sense in the context of office life, where you’re constantly moving your laptop from meeting room to meeting room. Personally, I’m not crazy about that use case.
I briefly tried it with an iPad’s Magic Keyboard, but it adds a huge bump to an otherwise thin and portable device. Keeping a mouse attached to the outside of a laptop or iPad doesn’t really make sense when shoving those devices into a backpack for commuting.
Stick the mouse to a laptop if you want, but I see the magnetic component as opening a world of versatility. I primarily used the mouse with my desktop and stuck the pad underneath my desk. I don’t have room for a mouse in my thin desk drawer to hide away at night, but sticking it underneath allows me to remove clutter from view.
You can move the 3M adhesive magnet pad to different locations, but it’s not convenient to do so frequently. The bottom line is that the magnetic pad allows you to stick it anywhere.
There Are Other Non-Magnet Features Too
The mag element might be this mouse’s primary draw, but I found the other features to be just as compelling.
Under the mouse is a built-in USB-C cable for charging. It’s a short wire, no more than 2 inches in length, but it does the job. I can throw the MagMouse into a bag and not worry if it dies or if I brought the correct charging cable for it. The mouse should get around 160 hours of use before you’ll need to recharge it.
A 2.4GHz USB-A adapter also resides on the bottom of the mouse. This connection method offers a more stable and faster connection than Bluetooth if you need it. Or you might want to use the adapter at home and Bluetooth while traveling with a different computing device. Regardless, having multiple connection options is handy.
My favorite aspects of the MagMouse are how light and quiet it is. Often, less expensive mice feel cheap and have loud, clicky plastic. Not this one. Weighing 75 grams, it’s easy to maneuver. Plus, its plastic has a soft-touch-like coating, and the clicks are nearly silent while offering a tactile feel.
The side buttons used for back and forward with a web browser are easy to feel for and use without getting in the way or accidentally hitting. You can side scroll with the scroll wheel if you need it. In using this mouse, I realized I just don’t need that ability very often.
Rounding out the other capabilities, the MagMouse features six adjustable DPI (dots per inch) levels from 800 up to 4,800. It’s not a gaming-level mouse, but I didn’t have any tracking issues. The MagMouse is also compatible with all major operating systems right out of the box, from Windows and Mac to mobile ones like Android and iOS.
There Are a Few Shortcomings
This $36 mouse might sound perfect, but it has some quirks. It has a mostly symmetrical design that could work for left or right-handed users. The buttons on the side, however, are best suited for right-handed use with thumb placement. Since it isn’t fully agnostic on hand use, I would have preferred ESR to lean into right-handed use with the overall contour.
While I love the feel of the soft-touch plastic and quiet clicks, I wasn’t impressed with how bumpy the middle scroll wheel feels. I would have liked it to be a little smoother since it’s a gesture used all day long. And I wish the 2.4GHz adapter were USB-C instead of USB-A for better compatibility with the new Mac Mini M4.
The biggest quirk is that there’s no software from ESR for the mouse to reconfigure the buttons. For my use, and I suspect a lot of other people, that’s fine. It means the mouse is ready to go out of the box with nothing to set up. But if you do like to tweak settings, you’re stuck with whatever the operating system will let you do.
All of these things are minor complaints and easy to overlook because of the mouse’s reasonable price.
Should You Buy the ESR MagMouse?
The ESR MagMouse retails for $36, so it isn’t a huge commitment, even if it doesn’t work out. Still, price aside, I really like what this product offers. Its magnetic pad and built-in charging cable are just clever and convenient. Better still, I love how quiet and light it is.
Even if you don’t want to use the MagMouse as a portable travel mouse with a laptop, it has enough versatility to work in most contexts. It’s a winner.
ESR MagMouse
The MagMouse stays locked in place thanks to a removable magnetic base with pop-up pins that align on contact, so it won’t budge, even when you’re on the move.
