Logitech MX Master 2S review: One mouse to rule them all

I can’t remember the last time I saw a product and went “Oooh! I want!” When I first tried the Logitech MX Master 2S, that was exactly my first reaction. I’ve grown possessive of this mouse. I carry it with me everywhere I go, swatting away the greasy hands of “friends” as they reach out to stroke this beauty. This is a mouse that makes me want to make like Golem and huddle up in some dark cave, away from greedy eyes and needy fingers. My precioussss!!! Ergonomic bliss The thing with this mouse is that it’s sculpted to perfection. If you’re a right-handed person, as most of you are, the mouse fits as naturally in the hand as you can expect a metal and plastic pointing device to fit. Fingers and palm just naturally mould themselves to its contours. And while the mouse is rather large and heavy, it fits so snugly and responds so fluidly that you never notice the bulk. Besides the usual two buttons and scroll wheel, you get a thumb wheel, back and forward buttons, a mode shift button and even a ‘Gesture button’ that sits under your thumb. [caption id=“attachment_6045841” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”] The MX Master is one of the most ergonomic mice I’ve ever tested.[/caption] Speaking of buttons, a feature that I never though I’d need is the free-wheeling scroll wheel. What’s free-wheeling? Think of it this way, if you flick through a long list on your phone, the page will scroll with the inertia of your flick. Imagine how backwards it would seem if the page would only scroll when your thumb was on it. That’s what free-wheeling does, except that it happens with a scroll wheel, via a mouse. In ratcheted mode, the wheel behaves normally, moving only when you move it. In free-wheeling mode, you can flick the wheel and it will continue to scroll until it’s drained of inertia. I’ve used several mice with free-wheeling before, including my current favourite gaming mouse, Logitech’s G502 Proteus Core, but all these mice required me to push a button to switch modes. On the MX Master 2S, you simply flick the wheel with a bit of force to engage free-wheeling or scroll normally at any other time. The transition is seamless. The sheer ergonomic brilliance of this design can’t be overstated. For someone, like me, who spends the bulk of his day scrolling through websites and editing massive excel sheets, this is a game-changer. In fact, it’s now a feature I’d rather not live without. If you want a permanent free-wheeling mode, you can also press a button and have it switch. Connectivity and software Being a wireless mouse, the MX Master 2S can connect to three devices simultaneously via Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi via the included USB dongle. In fact, my one gripe with this mouse is that USB dongle. This massive mouse has no housing for said dongle and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost lost it because there was no place to mount it. [caption id=“attachment_6045861” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] The term ‘fits like a glove’ needs revision.[/caption] The lack of dongle-housing aside, the mouse connects easily and seamlessly with your devices. There’s an indicator at the bottom to let you know which device you’re connected to and switching between devices only requires you to press a little button. This is pretty straightforward and normal in a wireless mouse, but even here, the Master 2S has an ace up its sleeve. If you install the Logitech Options software on all your devices, you can connect to all devices simultaneously. You can literally drag your mouse from one device to another as easily as you’d drag the mouse from one screen to another in a multi-monitor set-up. This device to device transition will happen whether you’re on PC or Mac.

And that’s still not all. With the software installed, you can quite literally copy-paste files between devices! I found this to be particularly useful because unlike normal human beings, I tend to use a Windows desktop and MacBook Pro simultaneously while working and I need to transfer footage and images quite often. With this mouse, I simply stopped using pen drives. The transfer happens over Wi-Fi, so you’re only limited by the speed of your network. Buttons and gestures can be fully customised via Options and you even get to set app-specific shortcuts. Performance: An all-rounder The mouse uses a 4,000 DPI laser sensor for tracking and tracks brilliantly across every surface I tried it on, including glass, tables and even cloth. I’ve even used it on a not-so-clean taxi seat and it worked perfectly. Tracking is precise and the buttons are responsive. Also, the additional scroll wheel is a boon when using apps like Photoshop and Excel. [caption id=“attachment_6045871” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] From the right angle, this mouse looks like some sort of racing yacht![/caption] The Gesture button is a bit hit and miss. I do like it, especially on Mac, where you can press the button and swipe to move between spaces, but the button is also hard to press, making the use of gestures a conscious, deliberate effort. On Windows, tapping the button throws up Task View by default, but you can also customise it to, say, open the Task Manager or launch a particular app. Overall, the mouse was a pleasure to use for work, but what I didn’t expect was that it’d be perfect for gaming as well. As a gamer, I’ve only ever used mice like the Razer Deathadder and Logitech G502 Proteus Core, both very light mice and exceptionally precise and responsive. The MX Master 2S isn’t that good and it’s certainly not going to replace a Deathadder or G502. However, it is good enough to offer some healthy competition to gaming mice of any breed. Add to this the fact that it can be used on any surface and you get the ultimate portable monster. Battery life was also really good, but given the mouse’s size and weight, I expected no less. In the three months I’ve used this mouse, I’ve had to charge it maybe three times. A handy little battery indicator on the side lets you know how much charge is remaining and the Options software throws up a pop-up when the battery is critically low. Charging happens via micro-USB and it doesn’t take long to fully charge the device. I’d have loved to see USB-C, but that’s just a nit to pick at this point. Verdict At Rs 7,999, yes, this mouse is expensive. But does it matter? If you spend the whole day working on your computer, you will appreciate a mouse that’s this good and this useful. In fact, it’s more than useful, it’s addictive.