r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Ok_Astronaut_1781 • Jul 05 '26

go to your room Anyone know the bright spark at Apple who invented this? I bet Steve wouldn’t have let this one through qc.

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I’ve had this mouse for years, I know, old model, but come on

18.0k Upvotes

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2.3k

u/SaltManagement42 Jul 05 '26

I bet Steve wouldn’t have let this one through qc.

This is exactly the kind of shit Steve forced everyone to deal with.

335

u/SafariNZ Jul 05 '26

Yes, designed so it forces people to use it wirelessly vs plugged in.

143

u/champgpt Jul 05 '26

Also, no garish charging port visible when the mouse is in use

35

u/probablyaythrowaway Jul 05 '26

Mad thing is, I can’t see the usb port on my mx 3 when it’s not plugged in and being used. So they absolutely could have put it on the front.

28

u/jedberg Jul 05 '26

Someone sitting across from you would see it. Same reason the apple on the laptop lit up. It wasn’t for you it was for the people looking at you.

4

u/Tasty-Traffic-680 Jul 05 '26

Could you imagine? A cord coming out of a mouse. Disgusting.

2

u/ExplodingCybertruck Jul 05 '26

Can you imagine use a mouse with a blatant gaping charge hole?

24

u/angry_at_erething Jul 05 '26

In other words you can't used it wired when the battery won't hold a charge anymore

22

u/AI_AntiCheat Jul 05 '26

Aka lobotomized designer

2

u/6d_9 Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26

Yes, designed so it forces people to use it wirelessly vs plugged in.

A cursory google search would have given you the actual answer....

The first-revision originally used AA batteries, which was then later revised to a rechargeable lithium battery. They spared design/engineering/tooling costs by not moving to a total redesign, which dictated placing the charge port on the bottom (where the battery door was). It's an engineering compromise for a mouse that's included as a kit mouse with the iMac only.

5

u/ArklayMountain Jul 05 '26

I don't know, someone who makes this shit up to sell more stuff can also think of the phrase "Make sure the first version to go on sales uses batteries, we'll add the rechargeable battery in the next batch. That way people think we did it for the looks and people online will defend us"

Not saying this is how it went down, but the mouse design is consumer unfriendly in my eyes and bad people have more than one bad thought.

Edit: typo

1

u/6d_9 Jul 05 '26

That way people think we did it for the looks and people online will defend us

I'm not saying they "did it for the looks", whatsoever. I'm saying it was an engineering compromise.

Not saying this is how it went down, but the mouse design is consumer unfriendly in my eyes and bad people have more than one bad thought.

They're literally identical in mechanical design and materials; the revisions are indistinguishable from one another when the mouse is upright. The bottom of the mouse is an identical aluminum stamping, allowing them to re-use the die.

It's the included kit mouse for one computer in their entire product line, and there's nothing stopping consumers for buying a different mouse. Not to mention Apple has never restricted one from using their keyboards or trackpads while they're charging.

3

u/ArklayMountain Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26

Ok ok, fair point at the end. Still, while you could get another mouse (and should) I have the believe that people with an Apple desktop at home will still get another Apple mouse like this instead of a, you know, functional one, because connecting a logitech mouse does break the Apple beauty that they are looking for. Still, maybe I shouldn't get angry over this since its just that these people are looking for something else in their products than me. This Apple mouse just breaks my spirit. I want functional stuff, how it looks is secondary to how it performs.

Small edit: and yes it is indeed an engineering compromise... to favour looks over functional xD

-1

u/6d_9 Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26

This Apple mouse just breaks my spirit. I want functional stuff, how it looks is secondary to how it performs.

My point is that Apple didn't give a fork about looks (or functionality) when they updated it. That being said, their newer wireless keyboards and trackpads allow you to use them while they're plugged-in and charging.

2

u/ArklayMountain Jul 05 '26

Thank you for your response, since I don't use Apple I did not know this design was already replaced and newer ones allow the user to charge and use them at the same time. Still not a fan but hey, at least I can let this discussion point slide. Thanks for that!

1

u/Strange-Movie Jul 06 '26

“Buy another one” the Apple way

2

u/Calculonx Jul 05 '26

I thought it was so people would have to buy a backup mouse since this would probably happen when they most need it 

1

u/TheFoxsWeddingTarot Jul 05 '26

iPhone 4: You’re Holding It Wrong.

1

u/gnutrino Jul 05 '26

Maybe they meant the wonderful wizard of Woz?

1

u/SaltManagement42 Jul 05 '26

The Steve That Was Promised.

-3

u/animorphreligion Jul 05 '26

Jony Ive made this after Steve passed, as well as Macbooks with crappy butterfly keyboards, cartoonish OS and corners you could cut yourself on. The port isn't on the bottom because he thought it's a good spot but because it's literally impossible to put it elsewhere with how thin it is.

Steve was the one who held Ive back usually.

17

u/flyfree256 Jul 05 '26

The port is on the bottom to force users to use it wirelessly rather than leave it plugged in all the time. The aesthetic they were going for was a desktop free of wires. There are laptops and phones thinner than the mouse, there's no other reason they couldn't design it with a port on the front or back.

-3

u/animorphreligion Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26

Have you held an MM in your hand? Not even USB-C would fit. Most of the space is taken up by the button/touch surface, the "base" is almost paper thin. Won't be exactly insignificant work to do something no one (who actually uses it) cares about, honestly knowing Ive's obsession with thinness I'd expect him to just keep AAs or scrap the product if the port's location was a real issue.

This redesign came out in 2015 and replaced the original 2009 one that had AA batteries (and was offered alongside wired ones like Mighty Mouse). Wireless mice with AA batteries and no ports were a thing even before MM and it had nothing to do with forcing people into anything, if you didn't want it - you didn't buy it. The only time people get mad about it is MM.

I'm not trying to say the redesign is good or anything, but a couple things it's actually worth hating for is a non-replaceable lithium battery (well, technically replaceable, but good luck with that) and an awful sensor that wasn't updated since 2009.

10

u/flyfree256 Jul 05 '26

Yeah I owned one for quite a while. If they wanted people to be able to use it while plugged in they could've made room for it on the front. It just would need to be a slightly different design than it is now. I'm not saying they could just shove a USB port into the existing room underneath the glass, but it wouldn't require drastic changes and they could keep the sweeping design. The simple truth is they don't want users using it plugged in.

-3

u/animorphreligion Jul 05 '26

Well, it was always a wireless mouse and only got a port to charge its battery. Whatever the motive is, I wouldn't call it specifically an asshole move because hybrid mice were an outlier option (mostly for gamers, and you definitely don't want to game on this one) when it came out, and you could stick with wired Mighty Mouse which was made until 2017.

Honestly I'm surprised they're still making it at all because it's clearly neglected unlike trackpads, even touch gestures stayed the same since 2011-ish or so.