(Image credit: Apple / Future / Jumping Jax via Unsplash)
We've tested dozens of Apple products over the years and given positive reviews to most, but even Apple has its off days. The Magic Mouse remains one of its most infuriating product designs due to one big flaw.
The problem is the location of the charging port on the bottom of the device. Even after the Magic Mouse was updated from Lightning to USB-C, the port location continues to render it useless while charging. The latest rumours suggest that Apple plans to finally fix things with an all-new mouse design, but it sounds like we might get much more than we bargained for (if you're shopping for Apple hardware, see our guide to the best Apple January sale deals).
The not so Magic Mouse 2 (Image credit: Apple)
As noted by Macrumours, a Korean Apple news aggregator known as yeux1222 has suggested that Apple has made a prototype of a revamped Magic Mouse that supports new hand gestures and voice controls. Yes, voice controls! It's not clear what they would be for, but the idea would presumably to communicate with Siri or to allow the user to give voice commands to Apple Intelligence, the Apple-branded AI.
There are doubts about how accurate this rumour is – it's been suggested that it could be the result of a mistranslation of a previous report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, a regular provider of news on what Apple is working on. And there are obvious questions, like why put voice control on a mouse when we can already activate Siri by voice.
But voice controls in a mouse could make some sense. The mouse is normally the closer t the user than a desktop computer or display. And it may be possible for voice controls via mouse to perform software-specific functions. It could be quite something to be able to tell your mouse to zoom in or out on a canvas or make a brush tool bigger or smaller while you move the cursor across the screen.
The Magic Mouse also has a relatively long product cycle compared to other Apple hardware. Giving it voice controls before they become widely supported could futureproof the next-gen device and perhaps eventually allow new functions to be used on older computers.
Voice control in the new Magic Mouse I wrote about this month makes sense in light of AI — and the fact that Apple is on a decade-plus cycle. From what I’ve heard, big focus is ergonomics and gestures (relocated USB-C too). I’d expect a new keyboard too. https://t.co/FtUcR2YqdjDecember 30, 2024
Mark Gurman says he hasn't heard the rumour about voice controls himself but wrote on X that the concept could make sense for AI. He expects a more ergonomic Magic Mouse to at least have new gesture support and a relocated charging port (praise be!). Alas, it seems we'll have to wait until 2026, when Gurman expects the new mouse to be released alongside a rumored MacBook Pro with an OLED display (something else that Apple has really been taking its time over!).
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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
