As part of my accessibility series last August, I wrote about Ergonomic Input, including improvements you can make to your input devices via hardware and software. I received some input from readers about their favorite keyboard choices.

What about mousing devices? Do you like a mouse or trackpad better? Have you spent enough time with each to decide? What pointing and clicking experiences works best for your hand(s)?

Modern Apple Pointing Devices

There are a range of choices in the landscape of devices that move a cursor and enable you to click, drag, swipe, and/or scroll. Over the years, Apple has made a variety of improvements to its hardware products as well as its operating system software to make mousing easier.

In 2000, Apple launched the Pro Mouse, a first of its kind mouse with no visible buttons—though there was actually one invisible clicker built into the base—and no scrolling feature.

Evolution continued in 2005 with the Mighty Mouse, featuring the ability to set left and right button functionality using touch sensitivity, and providing a ball for multidirectional scrolling. Apple also started shifting to Bluetooth beginning with the Wireless (Mighty) Mouse in 2006.

Finally, the Magic Mouse arrived on the scene in 2009, entirely touch-based for clicking and scrolling, as well as supporting other multitouch gestures. Apple followed suit in 2010 with the Magic Trackpad, a large-surface suitable for using one or two hands to click, drag, and swipe every which way.

Magic Mouse

Magic Mouse has been the default pointing device included with every iMac and Mac Pro since 2009. The original model runs on two AA batteries, which could be easily replaced but potentially created unnecessary waste, depending on the battery.

The current model has a built-in battery that recharges using a Lightning cable, same as an iPhone. Though it doesn’t take long to recharge, the port is on the bottom and the device cannot be used while charging. Fortunately, macOS gives fair warning when the charge is getting low and ample opportunity for the user to idle and recharge.

Magic Mouse uses the long-standard optical tracking technology and does not require a mousepad but cannot be used on clear or reflective surfaces. It supports a variety of gestures for scrolling and navigation, but lacks others due to its limited surface area.

Additionally, the device’s shallow and narrow design prohibits it from serving some users with limited dexterity.

Magic Trackpad

Apple has offered trackpads as the built-in pointing device on Mac notebook computers since 1994, but only in the last decade or so has the trackpad had a reasonable size and array of functions to support highly efficient computing.

The external Magic Trackpad has consistently been an upgrade option for desktop Macs, so it may be cost prohibitive for some buyers. Like the Magic Mouse, the original model takes two AA batteries and the current model recharges via Lightning. However, the latter trackpad is also usable while plugged in.

Among portables, the 2016 MacBook Pro and 2018 MacBook Air brought a much larger trackpad, taking up about half of the palmrest and more similar in area to the Magic Trackpad.

With the increased size and advancements in software, these trackpads enable one or two hands to easily initiate many more multitouch gestures. Pinching and spreading; swiping with two, three, or four fingers; as well as more complex combinations can all become second nature.

Where does this leave us? If you haven’t tried a trackpad in a while, I encourage you to give it a second look. If you’ve never used one and are in the market for a new input device, maybe you’ll consider it, or perhaps we’ll have a conversation about the choices and your needs.

With the trackpad, it’s also worth experimenting with which fingers work best for your hands. I find that I move the cursor with my middle finger and click with my thumb. You might find it easier to mouse with one hand and click with the other.

If you’ve found an alternative input device that you prefer, feel free to share.