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What is the best wireless mouse? ZDNet's top pick is the Logitech MX Master 3 for its 70-day battery life, multi-connection options, and 4 programmable buttons. A wireless mouse can be a great asset to any home or traditional office, providing freedom of movement without fear of tangled cords, making them perfect for working on the go or with smaller desks.
Taylor Clemons is a tech writer and reviewer based near Cleveland, OH. They have experience covering computer hardware and peripherals, gaming tech, and smart home technology.
A wireless mouse can be a great addition to your home or traditional office, giving you freedom of movement on a desk without fear of tangling or damaging cables, and freeing up USB ports with Bluetooth connectivity. Many wireless mice have integrated, rechargeable batteries that can give you anywhere between 2 weeks and 4 months of use on a full charge as well as quick-charge features for hours of use with just a few minutes of charging time. Others use AA or AAA batteries for power while still giving several months of use before they need to be swapped out.
A wireless mouse often lets you reconfigure button layouts for custom inputs and quick commands in programs like Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, and even Excel or Word, allowing you to streamline your workflow. Some models are even able to control multiple devices at once, which is perfect for creative professionals who use multiple desktops or laptops for editing and rendering or transferring large files and folders between workstations. I've curated a shortlist of the best wireless mice available, and I've broken down their features to help you find the best fit for your needs and budget.
Also: Best mouse 2022: Top option that will click with any user
Sensor: Optical | Max DPI: 4,000 | Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB | Configuration: Right-handed | Buttons: 4 | Programmable: Yes | Battery life: 70 days
The Logitech MX Master 3 is an almost perfect wireless mouse. It features 4 programmable buttons and a dual-mode scroll wheel for both precision and speed scrolling through browser pages and documents. Each of the buttons can be programmed to perform specific tasks in different programs, allowing you to quickly add tables to Excel, switch editing tools in Photoshop, or back out of web pages.
You can also control two different devices with the same mouse using Logitech's Flow cross-computer control scheme; you can connect the MX Master 3 to up to 3 different computers, tablets, or laptops in order to multitask in different programs or transfer files. The integrated battery lasts up to 70 days on a full charge, and just 1 minute of charging time gives you up to 3 hours of use, which is perfect for when you forgot to charge overnight and need a quick top-up. The mouse is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux computers, so you won't have to worry about connection issues no matter what your office uses.
Sensor: Optical | Max DPI: 1,000 | Connectivity: USB receiver | Configuration: Ambidextrous | Buttons: 3 | Programmable: No | Battery life: 18 months
The Acer AMR820 is a good example of not needing to spend a fortune to get a great wireless mouse. This slim, ambidextrous mouse has a fairly basic, 3-button design that's perfect for web browsing, creating spreadsheets and editing documents, and navigating through PC or Mac menus. The optical sensor has a max DPI of 1,000, giving you the best of both accuracy and cursor speed. It's powered by 2 AA batteries, giving you up to 18 months of use before you need to swap them out.
Sensor: Optical | Max DPI: 4,000 | Connectivity: USB-C cable, Bluetooth, USB receiver | Configuration: Ergonomic right-handed | Buttons: 5 | Programmable: Yes | Battery life: 4 months
The Logitech MX Vertical was our top choice for the best ergonomic mouse, and for a good reason. Its unique design puts your hand, wrist, and forearm in a more neutral resting position, helping to reduce muscle strain during long days at the computer. Each of the 5 buttons, as well as the scroll wheel, are within easy reach for quicker, more comfortable clicking and scrolling. The two thumb buttons are programmable, letting you perform specific tasks in different programs for a more efficient workflow. The optical sensor has a max DPI of 4,000, and a dedicated button lets you switch between different DPI levels for a cursor speed that best suits your personal preferences.
Like its cousin, the MX Master 3, the MX Vertical is capable of controlling multiple computers or tablets simultaneously with Logitech's Flow software; when you connect to multiple devices via Bluetooth, you can move the cursor between computers for easier multitasking and faster file transfers. This mouse can connect to your computer via Bluetooth, USB receiver, or USB-C cable. And while the integrated battery gives you up to 4 months of use on a full charge, you can connect the USB-C cable to your mouse for continuous power when you need it.
Sensor: Optical | Max DPI: 1,600 | Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB receiver | Configuration: Right-handed | Buttons: 4 | Programmable: No | Battery life: 60 days
The Lenovo Yoga mouse is a great option for your mobile workstation if you often travel for work. This wireless mouse features an incredibly slim and compact design, measuring just 14mm thick, meaning you can slip it into your laptop or carry-on bag or even your pocket. A unique, twisting hinge lets you quickly change from a V-shaped mouse to a flat presentation pointer in seconds, seamlessly switching between controlling your laptop and flipping through report slides in a snap.
The optical sensor has a max DPI of 1,600, making it perfect for typical home or office use, but there is a DPI selector button that allows you to set the cursor speed and sensitivity to suit your preferences. The integrated, rechargeable battery gives you up to 2 full months of use on a single charge, meaning you won't have to worry about your Yoga mouse dying in the middle of an important meeting or during a long business flight.
Sensor: Optical | Max DPI: 20,000 | Connectivity: Razer HyperSpeed | Configuration: Right-handed | Buttons: 11 | Programmable: Yes | Battery life: 100 hours
The Razer Basilisk Ultimate wireless mouse was our number one choice for the best gaming mouse, and though it's on the high end of pricey, it's worth every penny. It features 11 programmable buttons, which you can configure with Razer's Synapse 3 desktop app, allowing you to set up custom layouts for your favorite games. And with enough onboard memory to store up to 5 different profiles, it's perfect for anyone who shares a gaming computer or plays tons of different games and needs different layouts to suit.
While the optical sensor has a max DPI of 20,000, the thumb paddle acts as a DPI throttle for pixel-precision aiming in FPS games. The integrated battery gives you up to 100 hours of use on a full charge, meaning you can game 8 hours a day for almost two full weeks before you need to recharge; and when recharge time does come, the onboard LED indicator lets you know well in advance, so your mouse doesn't die in the middle of a match.
My top pick is the Logitech MX Master 3. It has an impressive 70 day battery life, options for both Bluetooth and USB connectivity, and 4 programmable buttons for custom layouts. It also has an ergonomic design that helps to reduce hand, wrist, and forearm strain during long days at the office.
Once you've finalized a budget for a new wireless mouse, you should consider what number of buttons you need to be able to do your work and if you need to be able to reconfigure that layout as needed. You should also consider the wireless mouse's max DPI as well as if it has a DPI selector button to suit different programs, apps, and jobs. Battery life is another big factor to consider.
Most wireless mice give you at least 2 weeks of use on a full charge or with fresh batteries, but if you want to be able to worry even less about your mouse, opt for a model that can last for a month or more before needing a recharge or new batteries.
A well-rounded wireless mouse with great battery life
A wireless mouse that's perfect for working on-the-go
An excellent wireless mouse for gaming
Aside from the price, I chose a wide range of mice with different button configurations and layouts, as well as DPI sensitivities, connectivity options, and excellent battery lives. I also chose a lot of wireless mice that allow you to create custom button layouts and instant commands to suit your most-used programs and work style.
This is a pretty subjective question since both types of computer mice have their pros and cons. Wired mice have a continuous supply of power since they draw energy from your computer via USB connectivity, while wireless mice have either an integrated, rechargeable battery or require AAA or AA batteries that need to be replaced every so often. The drawback of a wired mouse is that you have to take up a USB port to use it, and the cable can get tangled and even damaged over time. Wireless mice give you more freedom of movement, and if they use Bluetooth to connect to your computer, free up a USB port for other peripherals, but they're often more expensive than their wired counterparts.
One of the biggest downsides of a wireless mouse is that it is often going to cost much more than a wired version. This is because they use different, more expensive technology to work with your computer, increasing the end-user cost. Another disadvantage is their limited power supplies. The rechargeable battery or set of AAs might last you a month or more, but batteries can be drained faster if you change default settings like DPI sensitivity, and even how you connect your mouse to your computer; using Bluetooth rather than a USB dongle will drain the battery faster. In the end, your choice of wireless mouse should come down to a balance between cost, battery life, and features that make your job easier.
Both types of sensors bounce light off of a surface to track mouse speed and movement. The differences lie in HOW they track that reflected/bounced light and how powerful the light is. A laser sensor is more powerful, allowing you to use it on a wider variety of surfaces, including glass-top desks, whereas an optical mouse is best suited for traditional mouse pads and opaque desktops. Optical sensors aren't as prone to acceleration as their laser counterparts, meaning that they can better track mouse movement over uneven surfaces and prevent weird cursor glitches. In the end, it comes down to your personal preferences when using mouse pads or a bare desktop with your mouse's sensor and your budget since laser mice can cost a bit more than their optical counterparts.
Absolutely! There are plenty of quality choices out there if you want a wireless mouse for gaming, but my top pick is the Razer Basilisk Ultimate. It has a battery life of 100 hours, so you can game 8 hours a day for more than 2 weeks before you need to recharge. And it also has 11 programmable buttons and on-board memory for up to 5 different profiles so you can create custom layouts for your favorite games and quickly switch between them.
It's a fairly straightforward process to connect a Logitech-branded wireless mouse to your computer. You'll take the USB receiver and plug it into an open port on your PC tower or laptop, making sure the mouse is powered on. Your computer should automatically detect the mouse and install the required drivers; if not, you should be able to find them on the Logitech website. Once the drivers are installed, you'll be able to use your mouse without any issues.
There are tons of options out there if you're in the market for a wireless mouse. Here's a short list of other wireless mice I thought were great choices:
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