Apple updated all of its Mac desktops in 2024, but left the worst part untouched: the accessories. In particular, we’re talking about the infamous Magic Mouse. The mouse has been dunked on for years at this point, often pointed to as an example of the worst of Apple’s design ethos. Despite all the positive changes to Macs over the past few years, the Magic Mouse has remained stagnant.
A new report, however, indicates that the Mac accessories will undergo a major change in early 2024. The Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Mouse will reportedly all be moving to USB-C to match the latest iPhone, after having previously used the Apple-exclusive Lightning connection. This seems like an obvious change that probably should have happened earlier. In fact, it was even rumored to happen in time for the launch of the M3 iMac — but it didn’t.
But if Apple changes out the port type and doesn’t fix the Magic Mouse, it will have been a serious wasted opportunity. Why? Well, the biggest design flaw in the Magic Mouse is its port placement. The horrible ergonomics and lack of other buttons isn’t great either, but if there was one thing I could change about the Magic Mouse, it would be the location of the charging port. With it being located on the underside, you can’t charge the mouse while using it, like most wireless mice. This might have been acceptable in 2015 when the Magic Mouse first came out, but in 2023, it’s embarrassingly outdated.
So, if Apple is going to mess with the connection already, it would be a great time to give the Magic Mouse a redesign and at least fix the charging problem.
Apple has redesigned and reengineered nearly every aspect of its Macs over the past few years, including the desktop options such as the iMac or Mac mini. Rumors aside, the idea that they Apple would still sell the Magic Mouse with all its problems feels more and more mind-boggling every year. As seen in the photos above, there have been homemade attempts to hack a better solution together — but we need a proper solution from Apple. If not, it’s going to continue to be a blot in its otherwise excellent Mac lineup.
So, Apple, please. Switching to USB-C is a good idea, but the Magic Mouse needs more than just that.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.