My first MX Master mouse was the second-generation model, and that transformed my struggle with wrist pain as someone who (like many of you) has to work in front of a computer all day. When my first MX Master mouse wore out, I upgraded to the MX Master 3S, and my wrist pain has never returned.
I’ve written about the legendary status of the MX Master mice before, but the first and largest sticking point when trying to convince my friends and colleagues to get one is the asking price. The good news is that for the two days of Amazon’s October Prime Day event, you can get 17% off the MX Master 3S and the MX Master 3S for Mac.
If you’re not a Mac user, don’t be scared off by the “for Mac” part of the name for that version. This is still essentially the same mouse as the “universal” version, with some key differences. The main one is that the color options are meant to match Apple’s most popular colors. The Mac version also comes without a Logi Bolt USB dongle, which is a shame, but personally I never use it anyway and just stick to Bluetooth.
That said, if you already have one from another Logitech product, you can still use it with this version. Beyond that, the Mac version of the mouse comes pre-programmed with Mac gestures, but again, there’s nothing stopping you from using it with any device that works with Bluetooth mice.
A Professional Workhorse
The MX Master is designed for work. It’s a mule rather than a racehorse, to overextend the metaphor. I use mine all day, every day and can’t remember the last time I had to charge it. The buttons are still as “clicky” as they were the day I bought it, though the “S” is for “silent” and so you won’t hear them even if you can feel the feedback.
I literally wore my MX Master 2 down to the base coat, and the MX Master 3S has held up far better than its predecessor did. Thanks to three built-in Bluetooth profiles, I use mine between multiple devices and so move it around a lot, which also means it’s been thrown in a bag and dropped a few times. It seems no worse for wear, so at least anecdotally, I have zero complaints about its durability.
Comfort and Precision
The MX Master 3S has an 8K DPI sensor, and can easily track movement even on a glass surface. It’s eminently suitable for precise work in video editing and photo editing apps.
For me, as someone who has to make a precise text-selection over, and over again each day, it’s perfect. Not to mention that I have to resize and do light editing on a heap of images too!
Perhaps my favorite thing about the MX 3S are the vertical and horizontal scroll wheels. The main wheel is this wonderful metal magnetic device that you can toggle between a geared mode with distinct “clicks” and a free-spinning mode that will get you to the end of a EULA in the blink of an eye. The horizontal wheel is great for spreadsheets, project management software, or swiftly navigating a magnified image you’re working on. If you spend time scrubbing video or audio timelines, you’ll wonder how you lived without it.
Will Game in a Pinch
If you like to do a little gaming in your break time or after work, the MX Master 3S is serviceable. Obviously, if you play stuff like Civilization or Europa Universalis, any mouse is fine, but I mean things like first-person shooters are perfectly playable. In fact, I had no issue playing through the entirety of Quake using my MX Master at my retro gaming PC station.
Switching to my Logitech G305 is better, but if you have nothing else, and you aren’t playing competitive online games, then you can at least rest assured that gaming isn’t actively annoying. Mac gaming is in a great place now as well, and I have a blast using my MX Master 3S to play Cyberpunk 2077 on my M4 Macbook Pro.
It’s Not Perfect!
This is turning into a bit of a hagiography, and it might sound like this is the perfect mouse, but it’s not perfect by a long shot. For one thing, not everyone is going to love the surface texture, and, of course, over the years it’s likely to rub off. That hasn’t happened to my 3S yet, but it seems some people online (unsurprisingly) don’t have hands as soft as mine.
The other significant complaint has to do with the polling rate. That is, the rate at which the mouse updates its status with your computer and operating system. Using a Logi Bolt dongle), you’re getting at most 125Hz, and using Bluetooth you’re getting around 90Hz. Compare that to a typical gaming mouse where 1000Hz is considered the gold standard, and you can see why this is a concern.
Even the newest MX Master 4 sticks to these numbers, and I can only assume this is in service of the mouse’s 2+ months of battery life on a full charge. In truth, I’ve never found this to be a problem for me personally, and even switching back from my proper gaming mouse to the MX Master doesn’t feel like a harsh downgrade. The mouse just ends up feeling smoother and less twitchy, which is exactly what I want in a general-purpose office mouse.
So if you’ve been hesitant to jump on the MX Master bandwagon, but felt the price of entry was just too high, now’s the perfect time to join us! So decide whether you prefer to have that Logi Bolt receiver and no Mac-specific tweaks, and go for the standard MX Master 3S.
- Weight
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4.97oz
- Color Options
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Graphite, Pale Grey
- Connectivity
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Wi-Fi
- Maximum DPI
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8000 DPI
If you really want the Mac colors and those tweaks, and don’t mind missing out on the Logi Bolt dongle, then the 3S for Mac is a fine choice too.
- Brand
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Logitech
- Compatability
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macOS, iPadOS, Windows
- Color Options
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Space Grey and Pale Grey
- Connectivity
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Bluetooth and Logi Bolt (Not Included)
- Programmable Buttons
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Yes
A Mac-specific version of Logitech’s popular (and brilliant) ergonomic productivity mouse. It does however work just fine on Windows!
