Apple’s infamous Magic Mouse charging port may be moving away from the base, according to Bloomberg‘s resident Apple whisperer Mark Gurman. He reports that the company has been secretly working on a complete overhaul of the Magic Mouse. It’s about time.
Apple’s new Magic Mouse – coming not so soon
The Magic Mouse first launched in 2009, more than 15 years ago. It was groundbreaking at the time, with the ability to operate it like a trackpad with scroll and zoom gestures, something that most modern mice have yet to successfully emulate. Over the years, the Magic Mouse has seen minimal progression. Apple updated it to an integrated rechargeable battery system from AA batteries, introduced a lighter case with a smoother glide, and only recently switched its port from Lightning to USB-C.
That port has been one of Apple’s most infamous product design failures. With it located at the bottom of the mouse, you can’t use it while charging. Apple desperately wants the Magic Mouse to remain a wireless experience, so it would rather customers not use it at all while it charges. Some customers don’t mind as this design flaw is mitigated by the Magic Mouse’s short charging time.
But the company is finally ready to evolve the mouse for the new technological era, and that also includes fixing the charging port. There have been reports of Apple’s new Magic Mouse prototypes but consumers shouldn’t hold their breath. Once the design is finalised, a long hardware prototyping phase will follow. Gurman reckons we shouldn’t expect a new Magic Mouse for at least the next twelve to eighteen months.
