Logitech’s latest productivity power-house updates one of the greatest mice of all time with smoother materials, a repair-friendly design and a haptic motor for phone-like vibrations on your desktop.
The MX Master 4 is the latest evolution in a line of pioneering mice that dates back more than 20 years and has long been the mouse to beat for everything but hardcore PC gaming. Having given it a magnetic free-spinning scroll wheel, plenty of buttons and precise tracking, now Logitech is trying something different for its seven-generation: the ability to tap back at you.
This level of innovation doesn’t come cheap. The MX Master 4 costs £119.99 (€129.99/$119.99/A$199.95), placing it firmly in the premium market alongside high-end gaming mice and expensive peripherals aimed at creative professionals.
The overall ergonomic shape of the mouse remains very similar to the previous outstanding versions from 2019 and 2022. It is finely balanced providing great grip, support to your palm and eight buttons all within easy reach – no stretching required – but it is only available for the right-hand.
Everything about the mouse feels high quality and satisfying to use. After user feedback, the materials have since been updated to be harder wearing and easier to clean (no one likes a grubby mouse).
The button clicks feel strong but are virtually silent, which will please those around you. The best-in-class MagSpeed scroll wheel uses magnets to create a silent ratchet for line-byline movement, but flick it hard enough and the magnets disengage to allow it to spin freely like a flywheel so you can effortlessly shoot through documents or pages.
The thumb scroll wheel, back and forward buttons and the gesture button are better placed than previous iterations and are particularly useful for scrolling around in photography or design packages. Press the gesture button to switch between windows by default without having to reach for the keyboard.
Below this is the new haptic button. Press it to invoke Logitech’s “actions ring”, which is a circle of app-aware actions around your cursor you can quickly click without reaching for a menu or keyboard shortcut.
The haptic feedback is a click or tap similar to a modern laptop trackpad or the little vibrations from virtual buttons on your phone, first when depressed and again when you mouse over an on-screen button. The ring is customisable and provides rapid access to useful tools, such as volume and playback control, screenshots or AI tools on the desktop or the crop tool, layers or colour picker in apps such as Adobe’s Photoshop, Lightroom or Premiere Pro.
The haptics can also be used for certain actions outside of button presses. It can tap when your mouse moves from one display to another or gives feedback when you adjust sliders, snap to a grid or have finished exporting a clip in various Adobe apps.
The feedback shows a lot of promise but it relies on plugins for individual apps to be installed from the Logi Marketplace, of which there are just seven available at the moment, including for the Adobe creative suite or Zoom. If you use alternatives, such as the Affinity suite by Canva, you are out of luck.
Specifications
Dimension: 128.2 x 88.4 x 50.8mm
Weight: 150g
Connection: Bluetooth 5.1 or Logi Bolt USB
Battery life: up to 70 days
Number of buttons: eight
Sensor sensitivity: 200-8,000 DPI
Logi Options+
The mouse connects to any Bluetooth device, so can work with computers, tablets, phones and other devices, but it can also use the Logi Bolt USB-C dongle for computers, which provides a more secure connection. The mouse can remember three devices at once, switching between them via button on the underside – handy for use with different computers or tablets.
It works on practically any surface, including glass, without the need for a mouse pad and the battery lasts about 70 days of typical use, charging via USB-C.
In a first for the line, the mouse is designed to be disassembled with exposed screws and has a battery that can be replaced at home with instructions, meaning this could be the last mouse you ever need.
The mouse’s basic functionality works without any additional software, but the actions ring, smart actions, AI, more advanced haptic feedback and many other productivity features require the free Logi Options+ app for macOS and Windows.
The software offers a lot of customisation and optional tools, and can be safely left to run in the background most of the time, but was recently subject to a complete failure. It has worked reliably with the MX Master 4, but occasionally has problems detecting other Logitech Bluetooth keyboards and is notorious for consuming computer resources unnecessarily.
Sustainability
The MX Master 4 is made from recycled plastic and cobalt. It can easily disassembled at home with standard exposed screws, including replacing the battery which costs £22.99.
Price
The Logitech MX Master 4 costs £119.99 (€129.99/$119.99/A$199.95)
For comparison, the MX Master 3S costs £89.99, Keychron M6 costs £54.99 and the Razer Basilisk Mobile costs £89.99.
Verdict
The MX Master 4 takes one of the best productivity mice, makes a bunch of refinements to make it even better, and adds the potentially gamechanging haptic feedback.
Unfortunately, how much use you get out of the excellent haptic system relies entirely on plugins being available for the apps you use, which is great for the Adobe creative suite of apps, but not much more.
The Master 4 is super comfortable to use for extended periods, is quiet and has all the right buttons in the right places, including its best-in-class scroll wheel. Having Bluetooth and the Logi Bolt dongle makes it easy to use with several devices. The collection of useful additional productivity tools via the Logi Options+ app can speed up your workflow no end with a bit of power-user configuration.
It is an expensive, luxury mouse. But it is the best productivity mouse you can get and with a repairable design and a battery you can change at home, it may just be the last mouse you need.
Pros: super comfortable, excellent design and button placement, best-in-class scroll wheel, quiet, innovative haptics have potential, plenty of customisation options, serious productivity tools including the actions ring and smart actions
Cons: expensive, not many plugins available to support the haptics, Logi Options+ can be a resource hog, right-handed only.
