The Magic Mouse is the most controversial computer peripheral. The haters eschew it in favor of a big, bulky, button-packed Logitech MX Master 3S. But why does half the web so strongly dislike it, and why does that drive them to create the anti-Magic Mouse?

For one, the mouse’s charger port is on the bottom, which means you can’t use it while you’re charging it. Since you only have to about charge it once a month, it’s not nearly as big of a deal as Reddit would have you think. (My dad, an iMac user, finds that not being able to use it upside-down is quite annoying when he forgets to charge it, but he’s been using it for years and happy with it overall.)

Also, some people find that the mouse’s shape is unergonomic and uncomfortable. Again, a valid concern, but not something everyone cares about/notices. People talk all about how the Magic Mouse is horrible, how could Apple sell such a product. But the issues aren’t that big.

People have tried to fix both concerns. Of course, buying a standard computer mouse can solve both issues, or, if you want to be fancy about it, get an MX Master 3S. But over the past few years, we’ve seen products pop up like the $30 Magic Mouse sock, an off-brand Amazon product that attaches to the bottom of the Magic Mouse and adds a more ergonomic grip and MagSafe charging (still not as cool as the Razer mousepads that beam charge to your mouse).

I saw another, even more interesting product to address people’s hatred, the Melt Mouse (courtesy of clicks ‘n clacks, one of my favorite newsletters). The Melt Mouse is a distinct computer peripheral that keeps all the same swipe-y gestures of the Magic Mouse, but gives it a much more defined, ergonomic shape and a shortcut pad. It also uses LRAs, which provide haptic feedback, instead of buttons to click. LRAs are the same thing that Apple uses in its Magic Trackpad and the trackpads that come with its MacBooks (another thing you could get if you hate the Magic Mouse). I think that when Sensel, the company that makes the haptic trackpads in pretty much every PC (though I don’t believe Apple uses them), goes public, they’d be a great investment, because they’re going to be in every PC laptop within the next few years.

The Melt Mouse seems really interesting, and might be a good purchase if you have a very strong dislike for the Magic Mouse. One thing to note is that the charging port appears to be on the bottom from the renders, but looks like it’s in a spot that you can still use it while it’s charging (fingers crossed). The most useful feature, for me at least, is that you can turn the mouse into trackpad mode, which lets you use things like pinch-to-zoom. I do think that Melt Interface should have done slightly more market research, because just the potential for the charging port to be on the bottom might lead to a boycott. I also think they need a better name. The current name evokes images of computer mice disintegrating, which probably isn’t their goal?

I’d say that if you hate your Magic Mouse, get a Magic Trackpad. If you want a mouse, get a Logitech MX Master 3S. If you miss the gestures but still hate your Magic Mouse, get a Melt Mouse (assuming you have money to spare, because every single one of those is quite pricey, including the Melt Mouse, which you can buy from Kickstarter for $270).

Or just pause and take a moment to think — these supposed issues are barely issues. Why am I wasting my time throwing mice at the wall?