Apple has just announced a new iMac with M4 chip, and alongside its refreshed all-in-one PC, it's also let slip that it's redesigned the Magic Mouse that comes with it - and we have some good and bad news.
First the good: both the Magic Mouse and the Magic Keyboard now come with USB-C ports. That's right, the Lightning cable, which used to also charge iPhones and iPads until the EU (and other institutions) forced Apple to switch to the non-proprietary USB-C, is now dead.
This is great news, especially as now that iPhones and iPads don't use Lightning cables, people just don't have that many lying around any more, which can be annoying when the peripherals run out of battery. Now, you can charge the Magic Mouse, Keyboard or Trackpad using the same USB-C cable you use to charge your iPhone, MacBook and other peripherals.
Apple answered our prayers, but dashed our dreams
As glad as I am to see USB-C finally included in the Magic Mouse (and the other iMac peripherals, which remain color-matched to the iMac you buy them with), it seems like Apple hasn't used this tweaked design as an excuse to fix one of the most glaring design faults found in its products.
That's right, the charging port remains located on the bottom of the Magic Mouse. This design choice has baffled myself and pretty much every Mac owner for years. It means when the Magic Mouse runs out of battery and you need to plug it in, you can't use the mouse - as it needs to be flipped upside down to be plugged in.
Pretty much every other wireless mouse in existence has a charging port on the upper half of the body, which allows you to charge the mouse and use it at the same time.
The fact that Apple has gone so far to change the port, but not the location, almost seems out of spite. Surely it can't think this was really a user-friendly place to put the port - yet it has stuck with it over the years. Come on Apple, admit you were wrong with this one, and I might even start using your Mice again...
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