The design upgrade makes Apple’s Magic Mouse more comfortable to use, and also gives it a new, highly-needed feature in the form of a wireless charging mousepad!
Created by designer Kevin Clarridge who spent a good 3 months just reviewing the shapes and forms of various ergonomic mice, the Apple Magic Mushroom Mouse (I honestly just love the name) fixes two of the most nagging problems with the mouse’s current design – firstly, the horrendously ill-designed charging system, and secondly, its poor ergonomics. With an elongated wrist-support, and a base that allows you to wirelessly charge the mouse, the Magic Mushroom Mouse positions itself as the ‘Pro’ in the mouse category. After all, the iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and AirPods have Pro variants, so why not the mouse??
“The Magic Mouse has some amazing touch capabilities, but never felt great in the hand, especially if used daily”, said Clarridge who began working on analyzing mouse forms back in September. After hundreds of iterations in the form of CAD models and even a few 1:1 scale test prototypes (you can see the entire process here), Clarridge arrived at the mouse’s ‘mushroom’ form, which he claims offers a solution that no other mouse offers… an elongated wrist support that’s molded from a flexible elastomer that bends to contour to the wrist’s shape, giving you comfort over extended use. The mushroom inspiration also carries forward in the ‘gill-shaped’ details running around the base of the mouse, designed to allow the rim to flex according to the shape of your hand’s contours. The upper part of the mouse, however, retains the extended multi-touch panel that makes the Magic Mouse such a wonderful work-horse.
Clarridge’s design also fixes one of the biggest flaws in Apple’s entire product line (and sort of a lasting detail in Jony Ive’s legacy of odd design decisions)… its charging system. The current Magic Mouse remains infamous for having a charging port located on its base, making it absolutely useless when you need to plug a wire into its underbelly to charge it. The Magic Mushroom Mouse, however, provides the perfect solution in the form of an elegant wireless charging pad that snaps to the base of the mouse using Apple’s MagSafe tech. You can’t really use the mouse while it’s on the charging pad (because the pad doesn’t have the laser tracking system to track cursor movement), but the idea is that the pad serves as a place to rest the mouse when not in use… basically turning dormant time into charging time, so you never really have to worry about ever running out of charge. Cleverly enough, when the charging pad is sitting idle (while you’re using your mouse), you can just use it as a wireless charger for your iPhone or AirPods! Talk about two birds with one stone?!
The Magic Mushroom Mouse exists as just a concept for now, although Clarridge is determined on testing out and validating his design with 3D printed prototypes and even some made out of flexible resin. You can follow his journey and process on his Instagram page and collectively wish and pray that Apple finally fixes its most ill-conceived design decision since #bendgate…
Designer: Kevin Clarridge
