Hardware :: Apple's New Magic Mouse Disassembled With Pictures
Oct 22, 2009
The world's first multi-touch mouse, Apple's new Magic Mouse, has been pulled apart from all of the glue that holds it together, allowing a glimpse at its internal components. The new Magic Mouse has a solid acrylic surface on a low-profile body. It lacks any physical buttons or the scroll ball of its predecessor, the Mighty Mouse. Instead, the hardware senses the movement of fingertips across its surface, in a multi-touch fashion much like the technology employed in Apple's iPhone, iPod touch, MacBook and MacBook Pro lines. iFixit's look inside found an aluminum base covered by a smooth multi-touch panel. Inside, the hardware is held together by "copious mounts" of glue. It was disassembled with an iPod opening tool. "The glue didn't want to let go, but we overpowered it with the flick of our magic wand," the solutions provider said. "Screws would have been a lot easier to get apart (and much nicer to put back together)." Most of the hardware's weight comes its two AA batteries (47 grams). The plastic weighs in at 37 grams, while the inside is just 10 grams. A single ribbon cable connects the top of the mouse to its internal board, and orange capacitive touch sensors line the translucent top to track individual finger movements. iFixit found that the mouse's entire surface, from the Apple logo up, is covered with capacitive touch sensors.
Currently, the Magic Mouse requires a software patch for the multi-touch functionality to work with Mac OS X. But the forthcoming release of Mac OS X 10.6.2 is said to have native support for the new hardware. The solutions provider said that the average mouse board weighs in at 0.4 grams, while the Magic Mouse's "brain" is 9 grams. The mouse uses a Broadcom BCM2042A4KFBGH Bluetooth chip to wirelessly communicate with a desktop machine. Broadcom advertises the chip as a "low cost component" that allows manufacturers to create new hardware at the same price points as older mice with less features. "Apparently Apple missed that memo," iFixit said of the $69 mouse. Disassembly of the new hardware is not recommended, as the sheer amount of glue holding it together would be difficult to repair once pulled apart. "Another mouse killed in the name of science," they said. "We didn't break anything, but gluing it back together will be challenging." For the full disassembly process, view the entire article at iFixit. [ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
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Dec 9, 2009
Maybe i'm the only one that's tired of my "nipple" scroll wheel not working but i'm sick and tired of moving that confounded thing only to find NOTHING SCROLLING! AND NO,... i don't use my mouse while eating a handful of doritos. My solution? DIY breakdown, disassemble, and clean. Mind you,.. i had one extra piece when it was all said and done, but who's counting, this aint a cesarian for crying out loud. It turns out that in order to take it apart, you'll have to "break" the seal on the bottom which in turn leaves it so you can't put the bottom seal back on when your done. I didn't notice a difference in performance/usage though.
1) Using a small paperclip, i gently tore off the light gray ring around the bottom of the mouse - starting at the side buttons and working my way around like one would seal a tupperware
2) Using a medium paperclip (still folded) i gently pryed the front part of the bottom of the mouse away from the top carriage. The back of the mouse sorta hinges so don't go yanking the back our you'll do some damage.
3) Using a teeny tiny Philips, i removed the 3 screws holding in the "nipple".
4) Once the black cage is removed, i find the ball incased in an ingenius little contraption. A small white plastic top gently holds the ball in place so i remove that. Once removed it reveals 4 small "spindles" about 1/2 a cm long that formed a square around where the ball was sitting. These spindles were magnetic on the ends and were gently held in place by magnetizing to a small piece of metal at each of the four sides of the square.
5) I removed each spindel and scraped the "gunk" using a teeny tiny flat head.
6) Once clean, i reassembled and whola.
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Aug 26, 2010
I now have a Magic mouse in use on imac using USB Bluetooth plug in dongle. It works well but after 4 days its already used 5% batterie! Negative point: one cannot scroll through for example the finder menu.
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Dec 25, 2010
which do you prefer? The TrackPad, Magic Mouse, or regular Apple Mouse?
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Oct 21, 2009
Anyone have theses in their Apple store yet? checked today and not in denver.
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Oct 25, 2009
Not including the sticky scrolling bottom problem on the Apple Mouse, is the Magic Mouse worth the extra money? Is it worth buying a mouse from Apple at all in the first place or should I buy one from Logitech? I'm just asking because I've heard people complaining that mice from Apple are uncomfortable to hold and not very easy to use and they rather go with Logitech.
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Jan 4, 2010
I got given a magic mouse for Christmas, so I set it up on bluetooth, and while it is strictly working, as in i can move the cursor and click, none of the scroll features work, and none of the magic mouse options are shown in the 'mouse' section of my system preferences. Anyone know how I can fix this?
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Aug 8, 2010
Anyone have it? [URL:...] Would you recommend it? I am looking for a good wireless mouse for my macbook pro.
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Oct 21, 2009
Native support for Apple's new multi-touch Magic Mouse will require the unreleased Mac OS X 10.6.2 or later, the new hardware's user manual states. Apple's new mouse works with both hardware and software to sense finger position, gestures with fingers, momentum of movements, and more. According to the Magic Mouse manual, the hardware will require Mac OS X 10.6.2 or later. Those on Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later can install the Wireless Mouse Software update 1.0 to obtain the same features. The new Magic Mouse, when purchased separately, has a wait time of 5 to 7 business days. That would imply that the release of Mac OS X 10.6.2, the latest build of Snow Leopard, could be released very soon. Over the past few weeks, three betas of Mac OS X 10.6.2 have been sent to developers. The most recent build addressed a glitch that sometimes deleted user data when logging in and out of a guest account.
The latest build also fixed a number of GraphicsDrivers issues, including a problem where 1080p content played with QuickTime Player X could stutter. That could prove important for owners of the new iMac models, which have 16:9 aspect ratio displays. The new 21.5-inch iMac has a 1920-by-1080 native 1080p display, while the 27-inch iMac exceeds that with a 2560-by-1440 pixel LED-backlit screen. The Magic Mouse manual explains how to understand the hardware's indicator light, pairing of the bluetooth device with a new Mac, replacing the batteries, cleaning, and use of the mouse.
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Oct 30, 2009
Apple has broken its decade-long chain of terrible mouse designs with the new multitouch, wireless Magic Mouse, although its multitouch features are somewhat limited in functionality. If previous versions of Apple's Bluetooth wireless mice and the sticky trackball of the Mighty Mouse have left you skeptical of the company's ability to design a desirable mouse, you may be in for a surprise with the new Magic Mouse. There's no real magic; just a highly accurate laser optical mouse paired with a hard plastic, multitouch surface that supports smooth document scrolling, right clicking, screen zoom, and two finger swipes. Given that Apple has pioneered practical applications of multitouch technologies in consumer products, you might have high hopes for the new mouse's multitouch surface. While scrolling up and down and left and right is smooth and satisfying, the surface of the mouse isn't big enough to act like a trackpad, so don't expect it to act like one.
Unlike Apple's multitouch trackpads, there's no provisions for touching to click (which makes little sense on a mouse), or for fancy gestures like four finger expose. You'd be hard pressed to even get four fingers in contact with the mouse's surface at once. Instead of trying to make a mouse with a conventional trackpad surface, Apple has delivered a usable Mighty Mouse that primarily uses touch sensitivity in place of a scroll ball. Touch to scroll This part works very well; there's no small ball to target, so you can freely move your fingers anywhere on the surface to scroll within documents. You can even scroll by touch without the mouse making any contact on a surface. There's also an option for scrolling with momentum, which provides a little scrolling inertia when you flick, similar to the iPhone. Scrolling within documents or menus (such as the slides list in Keynote) seems appropriately accelerated at the default speed setting. However, trying to scroll within Cover Flow requires subtle finger action, because the touch surface is tremendously sensitive (and Cover Flow exaggerates this sensitivity). Your first attempt to scroll in iTunes will likely whip you through a couple hundred albums. With some practice and patience, you'll be able to scroll album by album with finger motions that seem almost imperceptible......
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Nov 27, 2010
I was thinking of purchasing an Apple Wireless Keyboard, and an Apple Magic Mouse. I'm absolutely sure it'll be a wise investment, and an awesome Christmas gift. My current Mighty Mouse is quite horrible, I don't even have the ability to scroll up. Of course I don't bother to waste my time cleaning it. Oh well, they don't have a scroll bar for nothing.
The only problem is that I'm not sure if my Mac has the proper capabilities to enable usage for the wireless perpherials I'm planning to buy. This is somewhat how my Mac looks, though I'm running on Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.3 (I purchased the disk). I believe my computer has Bluetooth, there's an Icon for it in System Preferences. In my System Profiler, it also has a Bluetooth tab (here's the information is shows, I just cropped out some info. at the top, and my name).
How do I know if my Mac is set for these two items?Looking forward to your responses.
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Nov 2, 2009
I am in the market for a new mouse for my Mac. Starcraft 2 is just around the corner and my old mouse just isn't making the cut anymore. I have narrowed down my choices to two mice. Apples new Magic Mouse or The Razer Death Adder I am a classic mac fanboy and really want to play with the new magic mouse, but I have had my eye on the deathadder for quite some time. I know as far as performance the Deathadder has better tracking, but I cant seem to make up my mind on this one. They are pretty close in price, so I need some advice/help deciding. What do you guys/gals think about this one? I am also open to suggestions on other mice.
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Oct 20, 2009
I really, REALLY need the Magic mouse - is it available in the physical, bricks and mortar Apple stores yet?. My local Apple store (Leicester, UK) said call back tomorrow as they're expecting new Mac stock but does that include the Magic mouse? If anyone has bought one, I'd be pleased to hear from you/them.
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Dec 22, 2009
Just wondering what the general thought is out there. Will Apple update the drivers for the Magic Mouse to allow some type of gesture to open Expose?
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May 1, 2010
firstly, i have recently got a new apple keyboard and the function keys on it have got messed up. it has the logos for things like pause, volume and brightness, but when i click them, they dont do what they say on the key. secondly, i have also recently got a magic mouse and you are meant to be able to swipe to scroll and thing like that, but that doesnt work either.
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Sep 2, 2010
buying one of these to replace my mouse.There's no store where i live so i can't go into the store and try both I'v never tried the apple trackpad on their laptops either.I used a lot of windows laptops before and what i can say.They were so bad that i always had a little mouse in my back I rly don't know what to expect for the apple track pad.Can it replace completely the mouse and is it comfortable to work with ? Or should i go with the mouse ?
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Nov 26, 2010
I'm looking to get either a Magic Mouse or the Magic trackpad to use with my iMac. Do they both work with Windows? My wife uses Windows Vista on bootcamp for work. Also, I do play some games, nothing heavy duty.Any other thoughts or suggestions would be helpful, especially concerning the magic trackpad as my experience with it is approximately 10 minutes at my local Apple store.
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Jul 27, 2010
Which one do you want to use for everyday surfing etc?
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Aug 2, 2010
For those who have purchased the new iMac or are thinking of purchasing, definitely go with a Magic Trackpad. The Magic Mouse is a little better for dragging and dropping, but the Trackpad is so much more enjoyable to use for everything elseApple should really figure out a way to make this a packaging option
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Dec 28, 2010
I just purchased a Apple Wireless Keyboard for my MacBook Pro. And I was wondering if I should get a Magic Mouse or Magic trackpad. I love to use my computer from my tv while I sit on the couch and I like to use it from a distance from my tv. Please help by reply and tell me.
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Oct 31, 2009
If $$$$ is not an issue, here is an alternative for those people complaining about Apple's old Mighty Mouse & new Magic Mouse:ID titanium laser mouseThis mouse would double the value of your standard 21.5" iMac!
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Oct 5, 2010
If I want to format my Mac Pro (6 core 3.33 GHz) and I have an Apple wired keyboard and a bluetooth Magic Mouse will the Setup Assistant be "smart" enough to pair the mouse with the computer or will I be stuck with no mouse during the setup process? Do I have to run the entire process with a wired mouse?
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Oct 20, 2009
One of my absolute biggest pet peeves with the Mighty Mouse (aside from the input lag), was that you had to LIFT your middle finger off the right side of the mouse for the left click to register. You simply cannot rest your right-clicking finger on the mouse and left click with your pointer finger.
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Jan 21, 2010
If I pair a bluetooth mouse to my Macbook Pro, will it wake itself up inside it's bag (potentially over heating it and killing my batter) if it receives input from the mouse?
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Nov 7, 2009
I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for good mouse pads/anything similar to a mouse pads function. I would prefer something that fits well with the Magic Mouse and Alu Keyboard.
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Nov 8, 2009
A large portion of last month for me was spent looking for a decent wireless mouse, and I was pretty hell bent on avoiding a dongle so I went for Bluetooth. In that time, I went through three mice:
Kensington Slimblade Trackball Mouse
Logitech V470
Razer Orochi
While the Kensington worked mostly fine, the profile was really uncomfortable and the audible clicking noise from the trackball was insanely loud and drove me batty, so I returned it.
The latter two both had the same issue; lag. They lagged, badly. After less than five seconds of being idle they would go to sleep, and when you tried to move them they would jump across the screen. Sometimes they would ignore input entirely.
After some research, I learned that this is pretty inherent in the nature of Bluetooth, and only a select few vendors manage to make mice without obvious lag issues. The Kensington had only a bit, and most Apple mice have minimal BT lag as well.
At this point, however, I was done with trying Bluetooth mice. The increase in power consumption and lag was not worth the lack of a dongle. So I went looking for a mouse with a tiny USB dongle, and found this:
The receiver is really, really small. It's also part of Logitech's unifying series, which means you can pair up to six devices to it, if you have them.
source: [URL]
I've been using it for about a week now, so here are my impressions of each of its features.
First, let's talk about the dongle. I seriously haven't thought of it since I put it in. 99% of the time I'm not using my USB ports for anything, so losing the port doesn't really hurt me in any way. The response time is amazing. I have to leave it for like a minute before I notice any lag upon moving it again, and even then it's pretty much unnoticeable. It's usable within half a second of turning it on and after that it's pretty much smooth sailing.
The mouse includes Logitech's Darkfield technology, which is pretty cool since it will track on just about anything except for a mirror. So, uh, those of you with mirrors for desks are still out of luck I guess? It works on glass that's 4mm or more thick, though!
The scroll wheel is quite cool. By pressing on the scroll wheel it can switch between click mode and free mode. The click mode works like every other scroll wheel you've ever used, it clicks when you scroll it. The free mode is quite impressive ... when you flick it, it's basically frictionless. You can use this to scroll through large pages very quickly. I can't help but liken it to the Magic Mouse's momentum scroll, except this is actually physical momentum.
As a useless sidenote, I managed to get it to spin for roughly twenty seconds!
You can also tilt the wheel left and right to scroll horizontally. Considering that you generally don't need to scroll horizontally incredibly often, I find this works very well for what it is. It certainly isn't as slick as the Magic Mouse's 360-degree scrolling, though.
The button behind the scroll wheel defaults to Expose, and there's front and back buttons under your thumb that are Forward and Back. Using Steermouse, you can program these buttons to do whatever you want them to do in whatever App you're using.
The build quality feels great. The sides have a rubber grip for comfort, and the body is made of a soft-touch plastic which, while not as deliciously suede-like as the Razer Orochi, is very comfortable all the same. The scroll wheel in particular feels like a real piece of machinery.
It takes two AA batteries. Um, yeah. Use rechargeable, they're cheaper in the long run and better for the environment!
Now, I know I've touched on the comparisons to the Magic Mouse earlier, but let's get more in-depth. First off, why would I bother to compare them? Well, I imagine most people looking for a mouse and own a Mac are going to jump to the Magic Mouse first, but I'd urge them to reconsider. Just because Apple makes it does not make it the best option.
The Anywhere Mouse MX is technically a notebook mouse (they make a desktop version, the Performance Mouse MX), so if you're considering it at all you probably have a Macbook. In which case, I'd be willing to come right out and say the Magic Mouse is completely useless to you. It has a few of the features your trackpad already has, but is missing a lot of the best ones. The lack of an Expose function in an Apple mouse should be criminal. Even the Logitech has this, and as maybe the most-used function of OS X -- for me, anyway -- not having a dedicated way to access it is unacceptable. If you already have the glass trackpad, the Magic Mouse really offers you nothing except the fun of pushing it around your desk.
Other standout features of the Magic Mouse:
360-scrolling: OK, yeah, the Magic Mouse wins this. The ability to scroll diagonally is awesome. I hope to see other mice incorporate this. However, the Logitech is able to scroll in every direction well enough for pretty much every task.
Um, right clicking: The Logitech does this shockingly well!
Back and forward: Surprisingly enough, pressing thumb buttons is significantly more comfortable than contorting your hand into a claw-like thing. Well, OK, you can simply lift your hand off the mouse to do these gestures, but that's bad too. Why have to do this at all? Apple's aversion to buttons strikes again.
Aesthetics: Make no mistake, the Magic Mouse is beautiful. I'd be lying if I said the Logitech is nearly as striking, but I think it is a good looking mouse in its own ways. I'm certainly not embarrassed to have it in my fashionista hands.
When comparing the ergonomics of the devices ... I mean, lots of people have tried to argue that the ergonomics -- or lack thereof -- of the Magic Mouse are a good thing, but it really reeks of justifying a problem after the fact. The Magic Mouse is not meant to be held by a human hand. Judging from its design, it is meant to be cradled by an oversized, inverted spoon.
And the dongle ... well, you saw it. It's tiny. It may bother you. It doesn't bother me.
I think that's really it. In the case of a mouse, physical, programmable buttons and an ergonomic design are really more important than gimmicks and superficial beauty. The Magic Mouse is a great concept executed poorly, and the MX series is a great concept executed greatly. Seriously, consider picking this up. It's the first mouse that's been able to pry me away from that beautiful, giant, silky trackpad.
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Dec 11, 2009
Which mouse would you get? If you have either mouse. I am getting a new mouse and I am having a hard time choosing between both mice. I am on a budget and the Magic Mouse is cheaper, but if the Performance Mouse MX is better, I will get it.
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Dec 14, 2009
My new Magic Mouse appears as a wireless Mighty Mouse on my iMac 10.6.2. When I open the mouse Preferences Panel, I get the options for the Mighty Mouse, not the Magic Mouse. It worked fine on my hackintosh with 10.5.8 but not with 10.6.2, so it seems the culprit might be in 10.6.2? It seems that USB Overdrive is the culprit for some, but I don't have it.
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Jul 27, 2010
thoughts? can it be used like a normal mouse? awkward?
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Jul 28, 2010
Video available here.
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