It has been more than 10 years since Apple released the first versions of the two most famous peripherals that it still has in its portfolio. And today, there are many users who do not know which device to decide on. Both are very complete but similar devices and it is normal that one does not know which is the best, the Magic Mouse or the Magic Trackpad.
For this reason, from SoydeMac we will give you our opinion on this titanic fight between the two most popular input devices from Apple. The conclusion of which device is better you have at the end of the article, do not miss it!
The Magic Trackpad: an innovation from the world of laptops
He Magic Trackpad Apple was first introduced in July 2010 as a complement to the Mac product line, with the idea of break with the traditional use of the mouse by MacOS users.
Apple’s idea was simple in terms of the product: if the Magic Touchpad on Macbooks works great for navigation, Why don’t we bring that experience to the desktop user?
And so, totally inspired by Apple laptops, we find a product that has certain peculiar characteristics:
- premium design: The Magic Trackpad is elegant and minimalist, with a multi-touch glass surface and an aluminum body, in line with the characteristic design of Apple.
- Gesture support: The Magic Trackpad supports a wide range of touch gestures, including swiping, pinching, zooming, scrolling, rotating, and other multi-finger motions. The idea behind this is to provide a computer with a more “touch friendly” function like the one an iPhone or iPad can have, but without having a touch screen.
- Version improvements: just as Macbooks are gone integrating better functions to your touchpad (such as the Forcetouch), improved versions have been released that implement these improvements, as well as design improvements such as the use of a rechargeable battery through a Lightning port.
For all these reasons, Magic Trackpad has been gaining a legion of followers in certain specific niches, such as creative professionals since gestures brought a revolution in the convenience of editing photos and videos. These, being very precise and intuitive (any iPhone user gets used to them in a few minutes) They make performing these tasks, browsing the Internet and even using the system itself make sense and give MacOS a differential value compared to other systems.
Personally, I have used a 1st Generation Magic Trackpad for several years and I have to say that It seemed like a round peripheral to me to use it on a Mac Pro: the integration with the system was a delight and gave a special sense to be using MacOS that neither Windows nor Linux did. Without a doubt, for me it is one of my favorite Apple products by far.
Magic Mouse: Apple’s commitment to a multitasking mouse
magic mouse It is the mouse that Apple introduced to the market a year before the Magic Touchpad, in October 2009 as an evolution of the Mighty Mouse, which was a fairly common mouse only according to Apple’s design.
With Magic Mouse, on the other hand, the Cupertino company was much more ambitious and groundbreaking: improved the materials to much more premium ones (glass and aluminum), which brought certain characteristics that also come from the “portable world” from Mac:
- The Magic Mouse features a elegant and minimalist design, with an aluminum casing and a smooth, curved shape. It is designed to fit comfortably in the user’s hand, regardless of whether it is the right or left hand.
- Bluetooth connectivityso for the first time we got rid of the cables in an Apple peripheral.
- Gestures: the Magic Mouse has a touch pad on the bottom of it that adds touch gestures, but far less advanced than the Magic Trackpad or Touchpad. It allows you to swipe, zoom, pinch and scroll in different sections using that part of the mouse.
- Multi-surface support: due to the sensors it uses, it is not necessary to use any mat to use the Magic Mouse, adapts to all types of terrain without the greatest effort.
The popularity of the Magic Mouse is unquestionable: it also used to be sold in bundle with him Magic Keyboard when one bought an iMac or a Mac Pro, leading to a combo well resolved to be able to use your Mac in a differential way, so its adoption is more massive than that of the Magic Touchpad.
This is another product that I have had, but in my case the sensations were not the best: having the Magic Trackpad I did not see any value in having the gestures on the mouse, and it seemed to me a mouse perhaps too heavy for certain applications (like for video editing, for example). I can’t say it wasn’t accurate (because it was)but I didn’t quite feel the comfort I had with other devices when handling Adobe Photoshop, for example.
The Magic Mouse’s biggest handicap as a mouse, however, isn’t in editing: it’s in the games. If what you need in a gaming mouse, we consider that There are better options on the market. focused on ergonomics gamer that it is radically different from that of the casual user and that, for price, they will be a better option without a doubt.
Which is better, the Magic Touchpad or the Magic Mouse?
Although it seems that I can see the feather duster and that my personal preference is the Magic Touchpad, I have to be impartial in this assessment and take into account the innovations and uses of both products. Both are products of great build quality and therefore we cannot make the decision lightly as to who is better, the Apple Mouse or the Apple Trackpad.
And the answer I have is: “depends”. It depends on the type of consumption you do with your Mac (if you are an image professional, a gamer, a casual user) and if you have another alternative peripheral that supplements the characteristics.
In my case, I had a Razer mouse, the Viper Mini, which was very useful for my day-to-day life as a mouse. So I didn’t see great value in Apple’s proposal, but it doesn’t have to be that way for all users.
He Magic Mouse is a great mouse, of excellent quality and with the extra of gestures that can be comfortable for many users. And on an aesthetic level it is a round product: there are few mice prettier than thisand.
Do you have a professional mouse and want to try something different? Go for the Magic Touchpad without hesitation, it will bring a worthwhile extra game to your Mac. Don’t have a mouse and want a single device? Magic Mouse may be the best option for you, without a doubt.
