The Magic Mouse is considered to be one of Apple's biggest flops, and for good reason. It's an ergonomic nightmare, it charges with a port on the bottom of the mouse, and only has one physical button. That's why users of the best Macs might have to look elsewhere for a quality mouse to pair with their laptop or desktop. Anyone looking for a mouse made for Mac might stumble upon Satechi's M1 wireless mouse, which kind of looks like a Magic Mouse. However, Satechi's option is thicker, has more physical buttons, and has a USB-C port on the front. That makes it better than the Magic Mouse, and a pretty solid travel mouse. But people looking for a desktop mouse will probably be left wanting more.

About this review: This review was written after two weeks of testing an M1 mouse provided by Satechi. The company did not have input in this article, and did not see its contents before publishing.

Pricing and availability

Satechi's M1 wireless mouse has been around for a few years now as an affordable mouse designed for iOS and macOS. It retails for $30, and comes in blue, gold, rose gold, silver, and space gray colors. Those colors match up with similar colorways found on Mac computers. It's available from Satechi's website and from Amazon, where you can get this mouse for as low as $25 depending on the color.

What I like

The design is excellent for travel, and matches Apple products well

The M1 wireless mouse has an interesting design that reminds me of two of Apple's other mice: the Mighty Mouse and the hockey puck mouse. Satechi's mouse has the same long, oval shape as the Mighty Mouse and the flashy accent colors of the hockey puck mouse. The design is probably the best part of the M1 mouse, as it looks great when paired with a matching Mac. It's made of a mix of aluminum and plastic, with the plastic parts being either black or white depending on the aluminum color you chose. I used it with my blue M3 iMac and Magic Keyboard, and the M1 mouse blended in perfectly.

While we'll get to the ergonomics of the M1 wireless mouse in a bit, let's focus on the form factor of it for now. This mouse is incredibly tiny, and it makes for an excellent portable mouse. Sure, it's thicker than the Magic Mouse, but the physical buttons and scroll wheel are a worthy trade-off. The M1 mouse was marketed as a MacBook Pro companion, and that makes a lot of sense. At $30 or less, this mouse gives you everything you'd want out of a compact travel mouse.

It charges via USB-C and has a very impressive battery life

It might seem trivial, but a big area where the M1 mouse beats out the Magic Mouse is in battery life and charging. The latest Magic Mouse still charges via a Lightning port, and that port is still comically located on the bottom of the mouse. That means you can't use your mouse while it's charging. Luckily, there's a USB-C port conveniently placed on the front of Satechi's M1 mouse. You can use it while charging, and you won't have to charge it that often due to the mouse's great battery life.

The mouse will last 45 days on a single charge, per Satechi's numbers. When using the M1 wireless mouse, you won't have to worry about charging it up, and that's exactly what you want from your peripherals. During my testing, I lost 18% of battery life during about two weeks of using the M1 Mouse, which is better than Satechi's claims. It's worth noting that the company's official documentation says that the M1 mouse cannot accurately display battery percentages in macOS. However, it worked on my unit, so it looks like Satechi added support for the feature after the fact.

What I don't like

The mouse feels laggy at times

The M1 mouse has all the things you'd want to see from a mouse in this price range, at least on the spec sheet. It has Bluetooth 5.0 for wireless connectivity, a rating of up to 1,200 DPI, and a range of up to 32 feet. Generally, the mouse works great with my iMac for these reasons. I'd estimate that about 95% of the time, the M1 mouse feels responsive and precise as I move the cursor. However, the M1 mouse has simply felt laggy at times, and it's definitely been a minor annoyance.

If I had to guess, the issue likely has to do with the mouse's optical sensor. Since the M1 uses an optical sensor for tracking, it needs a flat surface to work best. Mice with lesser-quality optical sensors can also be affected by the colors or design of the tracking surface, in some cases. I used the M1 mouse with a gray and white mouse pad with some text on it, and a wooden table. Every so often, the cursor would start moving in slow motion, and picking up the mouse seemed to recalibrate the optical sensor within.

Your results may vary, though, since I've seen some customer reviews for the M1 mouse praise the accuracy and others mention the same lag I've experienced. If the stuttering isn't because of the optical sensor, it could be some issue with the Bluetooth connectivity instead.

It's just not ergonomic enough to be a desktop mouse

It's pretty difficult for a mouse to both be great for travel and great for ergonomics. That's the case here, as the M1 mouse is clearly better as a compact mouse than it is an everyday compact mouse. The M1 mouse is thicker than the Magic Mouse, but it's still very flat compared to other desktop mice. My favorite is still the Logitech MX Master 3, which your hand comfortably rests upon due to its ergonomic design. While I've enjoyed the M1 mouse compared to the Magic Mouse, there's no way I could daily drive it on my desk when so many better options exist.

Should you buy the Satechi M1 wireless mouse?

You should buy the Satechi M1 mouse if:

• You want a portable mouse that matches your Mac's color
• You want a Bluetooth 5.0 mouse on a budget
• You want good battery life from your mouse

You should NOT buy the Satechi M1 mouse if:

• You're looking for a full-time desktop mouse
• You want a comfortable and ergonomic mouse
• You need complete reliability and precision

So, the M1 mouse appears to be relegated for use as a travel mouse or a secondary mouse. If you're a Mac user who wants a small mouse that can be easily thrown in a bag and used on the go, the M1 will be a pretty great choice for the price. It's also a serviceable option if you only need a mouse occasionally, such as if you primarily use a trackpad as an input device. For these use cases, I think the drawbacks that come with this mouse can be overlooked in favor of the portability benefits. But if you've been annoyed just by reading about the flaws of the M1 mouse, maybe keep looking for other great wireless mice instead.