The new Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Pro look good, but Apple urgently needs to revisit its single worst accessory

Well, that’s a wrap on another Apple showcase – the ‘Let Loose’ live event gave us a host of new tech to look forward to, from a shiny new Apple Pencil Pro to the iPad Pro 13-inch, now equipped with the powerful M4 chip.

The event also gave us a new Magic Keyboard for the iPad, which was a welcome inclusion, but there’s still one Apple accessory that I absolutely hate, and wish Apple would show some love to. Of course, I’m talking about the Magic Mouse.

The iconic Magic Mouse has remained virtually unchanged in terms of design since its release in 2009, and while it feels good to use thanks to its clean design and multi-touch gesture support, it’s frankly not a great mouse. Not only is it expensive, but it also lacks any side buttons, doesn’t utilize its multi-touch capabilities enough, and worst of all: the charging port is on the bottom!

Time for a redesign

With Apple making waves in the AI space as well as forging ahead with new silicon in the M4 chip, it’s about time that the humble Magic Mouse got a redesign. It doesn’t need to be anything huge; just accept that convenience is better than aesthetics and no mouse should be unusable while charging. I personally use a trusty Logitech G502 Lightspeed as my day-to-day mouse at home, which I can plug in and keep using whenever it runs low on battery.

Apple has something of a history of prioritizing form over function, from the lack of buttons on the 3rd-generation iPod Shuffle to the ridiculous charging method for the original Apple Pencil. The Magic Mouse is probably the most egregious example of this – having to flip the mouse upside down to charge it is just absurd, reducing its functionality for the sake of a ‘more perfect’ appearance. The long battery life is no excuse, Apple.

I’m hoping we’ll see an overhaul for the Magic Mouse – and possibly the Magic Keyboard for Mac, another (admittedly far superior) accessory that could also use a fresh look – at Apple’s WWDC 2024 event in June. With the M4 chip now officially revealed, we’re likely to see predictions of a new M4 Mac and MacBook lineup come true – so hopefully Mac accessories won’t be left behind.

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