TL;DR: It’s the best mouse I’ve ever owned, but every now and then it scrolls on its own. I love it so much I have one for my Windows PC as well as the Mac-specific model for use with my MacBook.
Last year I bought the Logi MX Master 3 and entered the exalted ranks of people who pay more than $20 for a mouse.
For years I have been a staunch holdout against wireless devices, preferring the connectivity and power guarantees over the supposed “freedom” of wireless-ness. However, wired options have become increasingly limited and wireless options have become increasingly compelling. It was the need to scroll horizontally that led me to the MX Master 3, and in the year that I have used it I have found that a lot of my old complaints about wireless things are absent in the MX Master 3.
- The battery lasts so long, I started to wonder if it would ever go dead. The two times I’ve charged it so far, I charged it because surely it was time to charge it by now, not that it was actually dead.
- I have not noticed any connectivity issues – the mouse never needs to “wake up”
- The charge port is on the front of the device, so I can use it wired if I want to (this message is targeted at you, Apple, and your ridiculous insistence that “using” and “recharging” are mutually exclusive activities)
- I don’t need to manually manage its on/off state
The real selling point here, though, is the mouse’s “MagSpeed” scroll wheel.
Under your fingertip, it works just like any other mouse’s scroll wheel. Give it a flick, though – and watch your document zooooooom by. The whole thing will scroll (on its own) all the way to the end (or beginning, depending on which way you flicked the wheel).
You can stop it at any time, of course, which means navigating lengthy code or text files is no longer a matter of dragging the scrollbar at the side of the document or performing a repetitive scrolling motion with your finger. Best of all, it does this silently – no clicking needed.
It took me about 30 seconds to get used to it.
Logi MX Master 3 Review
The Logi MX Master 3 has been my daily “work mouse” for a year now. I am a software engineer who spends my workday scrolling and typing (and a fair amount of my leisure time doing more of the same).
I enjoyed the one I bought for my work PC so much, I bought the Mac-specific model for use with my MacBook about a month later.
Like everything else I review on this site I bought it with my own money, I use it regularly, and these are my honest opinions.
Scroll Wheels
There are two of them on the MX Master 3 – one for your index finger, and one for your thumb.
The scroll wheel (the one in the traditional, between-the-buttons location) has two scroll modes:
- Ratchet mode – goes line by line and seems to be made for users who need precise navigation of lists
- Free-spin mode – flick it and it scrolls on its own, letting you sail through hundreds of lines of code, websites, documents, etc.
Since I work in lengthy documents, free-spin mode was a big selling point for me. Since switching to this mouse, I have noticed far fewer aches and pains in my index finger from performing the repetitive scrolling motion. If you have pain in your index finger from heavy scrolling, this mouse (or one like it) is worth your consideration for that reason alone.
I don’t use the thumb wheel quite as often, but when I was shopping for a new mouse I was specifically searching for one that would let me scroll sideways the way Apple’s “Magic Mouse” lets you do with a gentle swipe. My primary use case for horizontal scrolling is navigating file tabs in IntelliJ and peeking at lines of code that are longer than my editor window for them is wide.
Look and Feel
Size and sculpt
I’m 5’8″ with a palm width of about 4″ and the mouse feels great in my hand. My usual complaint about mice is that they are too small. This one feels nice, and the weight of it is perfect. Not too light, not too heavy.
The thumb rest is my favorite feature of its physical design – I love that my thumb isn’t dragging along on the mousepad, but going along for a ride with the mouse itself. Since no part of my hand (save maybe the tip of my pinkie) is in contact with the mousepad, I think this contributes to a freer, more “gliding” feel when using the mouse.
Finish
Mine’s starting to accumulate some grime from my fingers, but overall I must praise the durable finish of the MX Master 3. Mine has some mild wear spots where my palm sits, but no wearing where my fingertips sit. (When my fingers wear a spot, I find myself rubbing and picking at the spot constantly.)
Style
I’m not the world’s greatest judge of style, but I think it looks nice. It’s not trying too hard the way “gamer mice” obviously are, and it’s not covered in gaudy logos, rainbow lights, or anything that would attract negative attention in a stuffy cubicle environment.
Underside of the mouse: power button and device connectivity
Here we have the underside or bottom of the MX Master 3:
Just below the “MX Master 3” text is the mouse’s on/off button. Unlike some wireless devices of the olden days, you do not need to turn the mouse “off” when you’re done for the day to “save battery”. I don’t use this button often, but I am glad they included it for those times when you want to be explicit about turning it off.
Near the bottom is the Easy-Switch & connect button (labeled “1 2 3”), is for pairing the mouse with multiple computers. You can pair one MX Master 3 with up to three different computers, and then, using Logitech’s “Flow” feature, seamlessly move your cursor between them when you reach the edge of your monitor (I have not tested this feature myself).
Software customization
The Logi MX Master 3 offers extensive customization options within the “Logi Options+” software.
The mouse has three buttons (two near the thumb, and one below the scroll wheel) that can be customized to anything from a long list of actions.
If there is something you frequently find yourself using a combination of keyboard keys for, you might like mapping it to one of these mouse buttons instead.
Mild complaints and other thoughts
On rare occasion, it will scroll whatever window you’re hovering over as if you are turning the wheel yourself. I see this bug about once a day. While this isn’t great, it hasn’t annoyed me enough to abandon all the things I otherwise love about the mouse.
Like other wireless mice I have tried, the USB receiver for it had to be on the front of my computer or else there was so much interference, the mouse barely worked at all.
I wish it came in blue.
The bottom line
I bought a second one for use with my MacBook about a month after getting the one I use with my Windows 11 work PC and if they weren’t so expensive, I’d probably buy a third one for my gaming PC.
Consider the Logi MX Master 3 mouse if:
✅You frequently scroll long documents and would rather fly through them with one flick of the wheel
✅You need to scroll horizontally
✅You want a rechargeable wireless mouse with a battery life of a couple months
✅You want to customize buttons on the mouse to do specific actions, such as “undo” or “back” or “open the calculator”
Leave a Reply