Logitech MX Master: the mouse I love

A long time ago, I didn’t care for mice at all and was a dyed-in-the-wool trackball fanatic. I was lured back to the way of the rodent when I reviewed the $109.99 Logitech MX Master, which turned out to be the best mouse I’ve ever used. 

The controls are configurable using the included Logitech Options software; here’s what each control is and what I use it for, by the numbers:

1. The SmartShift scroll wheel: A speed-adaptive scroll wheel that switches between click-to-click (precision) mode and free-spin (ultra-fast) mode, depending upon how quickly you turn the wheel. There’s nothing else like it—it lets me breeze through long documents quickly and easily.

Bonus: The SmartShift Scroll Wheel is also a mouse button; I use it to trigger MenuMate, a must-have third-party utility ($4.99) that puts the menu bar wherever I click, which is especially awesome if you have multiple displays (like me).

 2. The Mode Shift button: Switch between click-to-click and free-spin modes manually.

3. Mouse button 3. A thumb-activated button that’s super handy; mine’s configured as an Option + click, which hides the current application when I click anything else.

4. Mouse button 1. Mine’s a regular or left-click.

 5. Mouse button 2. Mine’s a right- or Control-click.

6. Side wheel: Mine navigates between tabs in web browsers and Finder windows. But, like all of the buttons, you can configure it to do almost anything you like, including brightness control, horizontal scrolling, show/hide notifications, and many others.

7 and 8. Forward (Command + ]) and Back (Command + [) buttons: I press them dozens of times a day in my web browser and the Finder.

I admit that a $110 mouse sounds outrageous, but it’s a superbly crafted mouse with many other best-in-class features, not the least of which is the Darkfield laser sensor, which tracks almost perfectly on any surface including highly reflective surfaces—like my glossy wood desk—that would choke most other mice. 

Apple World Today Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★★

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