Logitech MX Master 4 - The Mouse You Love Just Got More Loveable

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say the Logitech MX Master 3 is my favourite mouse.

Here's a quick recap why...

Long-lasting, rechargeable battery.

Durable, super-ergonomic build.

Fully programmable controls.

Horizontal scroll wheel as well as a vertical one.

Forward/back buttons.

Extra thumb rest button.

I use it every day, constantly, from about 3:45AM to 9:30 or 10:00.

It's never let me down. I fire off music with it. I edit audio with it. It's essentially an extension of my hand.

And now it's even better.

The Logitech MX Master 4 looks similar - but not exactly the same - as its predecessor. On close inspection, the surface is slightly grippier. The whole thumb rest is now a button, instead of having a tiny one set into it, and there is now a new button entirely, just in front of the forward and back ones.

Other than that, ergonomically it feels very much the same. That is to say, it feels sublimely natural in my relaxed hand.

The "skates" - the smooth patches on the base that ensure the mouse slides around as frictionlessly as possible - are much larger on the new model. They also seem to be more protected around the edges which is helpful because that's one of the few places where my previous MX Master is showing signs of wear and tear.

Like the MX Master 3, the new edition features an Easy Switch button that toggles the connection between up to three devices. This is really handy for me because I'm often reviewing several gadgets at once and it's so much more convenient to use the same mouse for all of them. 

This time around there's a new Logi Bolt USB-C dongle for an even faster, lag-free wireless connection - not that I've ever experienced any noticeable lag with my old MX Master. It pays to plug this dongle into something though, because it's tiny, and if you're anything like me, if you don't use it, you'll literally lose it.

There's another, even more seamless way to swap between devices, called Flow. All you have to do is install Logi Options+ on each device and assuming you're logged in with the same account and connected to the same Wi-Fi network, the MX Master 4 will now work across each screen, even allowing you to drag and drop items from one device to another.

Oh, and there's another way to switch, but we'll get to that shortly.

Battery life is pretty crazy - Logitech claims you'll get up to 70 days on a full charge. Obviously I haven't been able to prove or disprove that yet. Come back to me in two months.

Logitech also claims left and right button clicks are now 90% quieter. Who knew loud clicking was an issue? Well... I guess now it isn't.

What really unlocks the MX Master 4's productivity boosts is the Logi Options+ app. This is available for both Mac and PC and not only will this show the mouse's current charge level and give you access to any firmware updates Logitech pushes out, more importantly, it's how you customise any of the 8 different buttons.

The list of operations you can assign to each control seems to have grown exponentially over the years. From things like play/pausing media, opening favourite apps or taking screenshots, to setting off a dialogue with your preferred AI, here's not much that can't be put on a button and yes, that includes changing devices. In fact, if you have a compatible Logi keyboard like I do, you can transfer it over to the other device, along with the mouse, in one single click.

There's also a growing number of 3rd-party programs that are compatible with MX Master, meaning you can have a different set of controls depending what app you have open at the time - think zooming in and out in Adobe Photoshop, for example.

And if the choice of eight buttons isn't enough, now Logitech has introduced Action Ring - an on-screen circle of eight more programmable options, another eight virtual buttons if you like. This is set to provide a haptic vibration when you hover over or select any option.

That vibration is felt mostly through the new, much larger thumb-rest button and you can alter the intensity of the haptic feedback and even when it happens. One option is to get a little vibration when you move the cursor from one screen to another in a multi-display setup.

Mystifyingly, Logitech claims all these enhancements, additions and updates can save up to 33% of your time. How that could possibly be measured, I have absolutely no idea. What I can tell you is I do a lot of copying and pasting from one folder to another. Now, not only can I open my most commonly used folders with the touch of a button, I can also copy or paste with single click. I don't know about making my workflow a third faster, but it's definitely more efficient.

And that's before you get to the fact this is just a great mouse to use; it feels super comfy, it's beautifully crafted, has excellent precision and can work on practically any surface - including glass. And have you heard how quiet the clicks are? No? Exactly.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Logitech MX Master 4.