One of the most difficult choices when looking for an accessory to move the cursor on a Mac. The good harmony of the Magic Mouse with the operating system makes strong competition to the amount of gestures and shortcuts of the Trackpad. It's time to face them in an article and see who wins the fight MMagic Trackpad vs. Magic Mouse. Let the fight begin.
We will focus on different sections, in an orderly manner, and with their respective winner by category. With this we will be able to get a conclusion that suits our needs and/or likes. So each of you, readers, can draw their own conclusion.
A spectacular design
Let's start with the least decisive, although we cannot ignore it for this reason. Apple product designs they are iconic and famous for their finishes and materials. The Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse are no exception.
Both have a flat profile design, and both have aluminum finishes. However, while the Magic Mouse has a glass-like finish on top, the Magic Trackpad continues with an aluminum-like finish.
These finishes, and even sizes, may vary with the different versions and colors of both accessories. It is true that the Magic Mouse has been considerably more continuous, having only a black version. The Magic Trackpad, on the other hand, has varied so much in colors, going through aluminum, to the current black and white, as in size, where it has been growing generation after generation.
We can also observe the combination in terms of design with the rest of the accessories, such as the Magic Keyboard. In this case, we can see that the design of the Magic TrackPad has the same profile and inclination as the Magic Keyboard, staying together as a single whole.
As the clear winner the Magic Trackpad
The point where loses the magic mouse is in this It may look like it has a more original design, it may seem like the Magic Trackpad is just a MacBook Trackpad, or you're just more used to seeing it. However, its weakness lies in the charging port, which is located at the bottom. This in a matter of design has lights and shadows, but what is clear is that we will not be able to use it while charging. This can inevitably be attributed to a negative point.
Combination with the operating system
We continue with our Magic Trackpad vs Magic Mouse fight, but now focusing on the operating system. Without a doubt, this is the strongest point of both accessories, where, as in the entire Apple range, they are designed and adapted for the operating system. That is why they have quick gestures in both cases, for example.
This is one of the points most valued by the users of any of these accessories. The explanation is very simple, there are no competing manufacturers that have this level of functionality in their peripherals. They may come close, they may look alike, but fail to achieve the level of functionality of a Magic Trackpad on a Mac. The decisive difference, which the operating system is designed for these accessories.
The Magic Trackpad wins again
In this aspect the winner will again be the Trackpad, since it is capable of performing many more gestures than the Magic Mouse. Generally speaking, while Magic Mouse is limited to 1 and 2 finger scrolling gestures, the Magic Trackpad ascends added to those of the Magic Mouse, to gestures of 3 and 4 fingers.
We leave you a link to the official Apple page where you can see all gestures available for both. You will also quickly see that while one has a whopping 15 available gestures, one only has 6, less than half.
ergonomics and comfort
both peripherals they have put aside the ergonomic part to replace it with a more attractive design. This could negatively affect both of us in our Magic Trackpad vs Magic mouse showdown. However, they are still comfortable, since, for example, in the case of the Magic Trackpad, we will not need to move our hand from the table to use it.
On the other hand, in the Magic Mouse we will have an extra point of comfort, since it has some curvature. It is true that we do not use it to support the fingers as in a conventional mouse, since we need to make use of touch functions often. Despite this, it has a progressive sensitivity accelerator, which will make us, with practice, more agile in fast movements, but more precise in slow movements.
The Magic Mouse as the more conservative option
Within ergonomics and comfort we can include a small concept that goes hand in hand with these, the familiarity.
This concept means that for any user, it will be easier and more intuitive to use a Magic Mouse than a Magic Trackpad. This is because, as a general rule, the presence of conventional mice predominates.
A user always it will be easier for you to use a Magic Mouse, since you have experience with similar peripherals. Unfortunately, touchpads on laptops from other manufacturers have very limited functions and are not very pleasant to use. Of course they have improved over time. but they are still a long way from the Magic Trackpad.
However, a user will be much faster and fluent, in conjunction with the gestures that we mentioned before, with a Magic Trackpad. The only difficulty is that it will have a period of adaptation.
This point is close, but its winner is the magic mouse. The comfort of a user who does not require any effort to adapt to another mouse concept is decisive. In the rest of the characteristics they are quite similar, and neither of them stands out for providing an improvement over the other in terms of comfort or ergonomics.
use in applications
This is one of the points where more differences, and even deficiencies can be seen in both accessories. Depending on the application or use that we are going to give it, it can be decisive to opt for one or the other. There are two specific examples that with use I have seen very clearly.
The first would be about games, where having a Magic Trackpad will be practically incompatible for many of your needs. Regardless of the fact that a Mac is not the ideal place to play, the latest updates to Mac and MacBook models have opened up the possibility that it can be done quite viably.
The second key point is the design and image retouching applications. Just like it happens on an iPad, The fact of physically touching ourselves with our fingers gives us much more precision and naturalness. At this point, the Magic Mouse remains a functional device, without contributing anything negative, but nothing favorable either.
Magic Mouse wins by forfeiting the opponent
Because the Magic Trackpad will give us advantages in retouching applications and where a more direct intervention will be a plus, but it will severely limit us if we want to play a game, this point will be for the Magic Mouse. Being more standard in its use, but without limiting ourselves if we want to play a game, it wins for being better in all fields, even though your competitor is great in one of the exposed cases.
Comparison and final analysis
As we have seen, throughout the different rounds of our Magic Trackpad vs. Magic Mouse combat, we have reached the comparison in a tie. This is because both products are really good, and opting for one of them in particular is difficult. For this reason we will present some tips to keep in mind with respect to the Mac you have, or the use that the peripheral is going to perform.
If you have a MacBook, no doubt
Of course, if you are thinking of buying any of these peripherals. Without a doubt, the one you have to choose is the Magic Mouse. With it you will have all the positive points of the Apple mouse. However, if you occasionally need to have the advantages of the Magic Trackpad, you already have it on the MacBook.
If you're going to play on the Mac, there's no arguing
If the peripheral you are considering is going to have, at least occasionally, a use for some game, you can not opt ​​for the Magic Trackpad. With said peripheral you will be limited to use it, or you will have to use a third-party peripheral. They are not cheap accessories, enough to end up using a conventional mouse.
If you are going to design, retouch or produce, there is no excuse
Finally, if the purpose of your Mac is to retouch images, produce video or audio, or design in the many variants that exist, your chosen one must be a Magic Trackpad. All gestures and ease of use by having direct contact with fingers It is going to be decisive and much more effective than a more conventional mouse concept.
If there are still doubts, a place to visit
If after reading the article you still have doubts, and you don't know which of the two Apple products to opt for, you have a site to visit.
The best way to get out of doubt it is always testing, and luckily Apple products are always available to the customer to try them and clear up doubts like this. We leave you a link to the official Apple page so you can consult the nearest stores and be able to leave doubts, or If you have ended up having it clear after reading, get yours.