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Comment by pm | Hacker News Reader

How does it compare to the original?

I used both as daily drivers.

With the prior version, I started out just changing out the normal AA batteries when they died every several months. That felt wasteful, though, so I got rechargeable AA batteries, but swapping them out every month or so was tedious.

Now I just plug it in every few weeks when I leave the office for the weekend. I definitely prefer it.

Handy to know. I didn't know if there was a subtle difference between the Magic Mouse 1 and 2 other than the charging port (which honestly is in a ridiculous position). I started using the original in 2010 and haven't looked back.

I honestly think it was a conscious decision. The problem with most wireless mice I see in our office is they end up being left constantly plugged in and are essentially wired mice. By placing the charge port on the bottom they are actively prohibiting you from using it as wired mouse.

But that doesn't explain the keyboard and trackpad though, which can be used while plugged in and charging.

How is that an issue? If anything, that just shows how pointless it was to run it over Bluetooth in the first place.

Other have mentioned other aspects, so I'll just pitch in with my own specific experience: Have a Magic Mouse 1 at home. Used Magic Mouse 2 [MM2] as a daily driver for a freelance gig for a couple of months and I was very happy with it. MM2 feels more balanced/lighter and the feet are angled better and possibly made of a different material that slides with less friction. Overall I prefer the 2 and I never had any issues with the charge port placement. Low on battery? Plug in, grab a coffee or lunch, come back: Done.

It's the same, except it has a built in battery and is rechargeable with a lightning cable (which the port is located on the bottom of the device, so you can't use it whilst charging).

I don't understand battery charge cycles and batter degradation much or really at all, bit could the port on the bottomaybe a subtle way to encourage people to not charge so frequently and weaken the battery prematurely?

Pretty sure that’s it. Otherwise people would leave it permanently plugged in.

When mine dies it’s a good excuse to find a cup of coffee. By the time I get back there’s more than enough charge for the rest of the day.

There's no need to do that with properly designed circuitry and since discharging fully is damaging, encouraging this behavior is probably harmful to battery longevity. Battery University has so much information on this, but this part is a good summary chart (see the lithium-ion column) [1]

[1] http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_charge_whe...

With lithium-ion it's actually better for prolonging battery life to charge frequently rather than let it run down.

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