Glorious Model D Wireless review

The Glorious PC Gaming Race (or Glorious for short) has a fair bit of fan following around the world. Their wired versions of the Model series of gaming mice lit up the scene with their ultralight weight construction and excellent price point, and has been a staple example for competing brands to be compared against.

However, since their original release, other peripheral manufacturers have since caught up with what Glorious has to offer. Everyone from Razer, Steelseries, Corsair, HyperX and more, have released various versions of their own lightweight gaming mice, both in wired and - more importantly - in wireless form, that offer excellent performance and different types of ergonomics. So, Glorious has a bit of catching up to do.

The company is finally dipping their toes into the wireless form factor with their renowned Model series, keeping the same design while cutting the cord. And the transition has been almost flawless. The Model D Wireless version we are looking at today is a nearly perfect wireless mouse, with fantastic ergonomics and lag-free performance, which at $80, is practically a no-brainer.

Design and Features 

Glorious has kept the design changes to a minimum, however they have made one crucial change that will be welcomed by many users. When compared to the wired version of the Model D, the wireless version has no holes on the mouse buttons. This was a point of contention for many as some felt having holes on the mouse buttons - a place where you will have the most tactility when holding a mouse - to be uncomfortable after a period of time. So, it’s good to see Glorious rectify that while still keeping the same design. 

Besides that, the design and form factor are nearly identical. You still have the cheese-grater shell on the body, two RGB strips on the curvature of the mouse, and the Glorious bearded man logo just below the two thumb buttons. The mouse feels solid in the hands, and even after nearly a month of use, there are no squeaking or QC issues so far. Glorious does have a bit of a reputation for poor build quality, and although they might have tightened that up for the new mice, your mileage may vary as a month is still too early to comment on long term use. 

The Model D wireless is meant for medium-large sized hands, so the overall build is of a full-sized mouse with a nice bump in the midsection to accommodate the palm. If you are looking for something smaller, the Model O/O- Wireless, or even the Model D- Wireless offer slightly smaller, and flatter, ergonomics.

The matte coating on the mouse is particularly nice as it doesn’t seem to easily deteriorate with fingerprints or oil smudges. However, the mouse buttons already have slight smudges on them so it’s not exactly stain-proof. If you are a sweaty gamer, or like to consume snacks while gaming, you might want to be careful with the mouse here.

In terms of grip, the matte coating worked just fine for us. There are no additional grips on the side, but we never had any issue with slippage during quick maneuvers in online games. Would some form of grip hurt, though? Not really, and we would much prefer that replace the Glorious logo, which to be honest, we are not a huge fan of.

The mouse weighs in at around 69 grams, as compared to the wired version of the Model D which weighs around 68 grams. Glorious has somehow managed to add only 1 gram of additional weight with the wireless version despite the built-in battery, which is an impressive technical feat in its own right.

The Model D is a right-handed mouse, so you have your standard LMB and RMB buttons, two large thumb buttons, a DPI switcher in the middle, and the scroll wheel. The scroll wheel is richly coated in smooth rubber-like material and has good grip and tactile steps to allow you to accurately switch weapons in games. 

On the bottom of the mouse, you will find next-gen BAMF sensor surrounded by a tiny DPI LED to indicate which profile you are currently using, the wireless on/off switch, and four small G-Skates feet. These feet are among the better stock feet we have used, and they glide smoothly on just about any surface. Glorious has also included two additional larger feet if you want to customize the glide area any further.  

Software and Performance 

You can pair the Model D Wireless with the Glorious Core companion app to customize the mouse to your liking. There’s not a lot to it, it's a fairly lightweight app that lets you change the DPI levels, adjust RGB brightness, configure key bindings, and set the polling rate, lift-off distance and the debounce time.  

The mouse uses the next-gen BAMF sensor, which is made in collaboration with PixArt, a company renowned for its sensors in gaming mice. Coupled with the lag-free 2.4Ghz wireless connection, the Model D Wireless performs admirably well. We poured in numerous hours in Apex Legends and Halo Infinite Multiplayer Beta, and the mouse held up well with accurate tracking and smooth target acquisition. 

We did not notice any lag, stutter or drops in the wireless performance, and the sensor was able to keep up with our erratic movements with ease. There was also no discernible difference between the wireless and wired mode, either.

The switches on the LMB and RMB perform similarly, as well. Co-developed by Kailh, these switches are satisfyingly crispy (although not as sharp as mechanical switches), and have very little pre-travel for snappy performance. 

We do recommend the debounce time set to 0ms in the software to remove any sort of latency, however. The side buttons are nice and crispy, too, and their large footprint makes them easier to reach. They don’t cave into the shell and feel pleasantly tactile to execute quick in-game settings, or even simply use it as a back/forward button on your browser.

Glorious claims a battery life of 71 hours on full charge with RGB turned off, and that’s roughly what we received. We used the mouse as our daily driver for work and gaming, and have put it on charge only twice in nearly a month. If you are a heavy user, you will obviously need to charge more often but it should easily last about a week, which is fair game in our books.

Should I buy the Glorious Model D Wireless? 

Buy it if…. 

Don’t buy it if…