Logitech’s new MX Anywhere 2 wireless mouse was met with much fanfare and excitement following its release earlier this month. Power users have long sung the praises of Logitech’s Anywhere and Master MX wireless devices, so the ultra-portable follow-up was a much anticipated release.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve spent some time with the Anywhere 2, putting it through its paces. Head below for our thoughts and a final verdict on a recommendation for your setup.
The first time you go to use the Anywhere 2, its ergonomic design immediately stands out. Logitech has mastered the distance between your palm and the input buttons and this new model is no exception. The smaller design doesn’t quite extend to the base of the mouse to your palm, but it’s still a comfortable fit. Its polygonal textured side is a nice landing spot for your thumb with easy access to two side action buttons. A small square button on top, below the scroll wheel, rounds out the extra inputs that you wouldn’t necessarily find in other mice.
Aside from its ergonomic design, the standout feature of the Anywhere 2 is its hyper-fast scroll wheel which is a borrowed feature from the MX Master. This is the best scroll wheel that I have ever used: it has an adaptive speed design that seems to roll forever with a strong flick of your finger, flying to the bottom of documents or the top of your Twitter feed. I found myself just playing with this feature over the last few weeks because it’s so well executed. Additionally, the click wheel can be pushed to the right or left to handle horizontal scrolling by default or other custom gestures.
The full power of the Anywhere 2 is leveraged when Logitech’s Options software is installed. This add-on to OS X’s system preferences or Window’s Control Panel enables full customization of all the extra buttons. Gesture controls, app shortcuts, Exposé and a number of other shortcuts can be programmed for a personalized experience. I found this to be a very dependable feature, my setup included app shortcuts and Exposé on the side buttons, back and forward in Safari on the scroll wheel and gesture control via the button in the center of the mouse.
With many positives noted, there are still some downfalls to Logitech’s new device. There are two options when it comes to connecting it to your computer: Bluetooth or Logitech’s unifying USB dongle. While it is nice to have two choices, I only found the USB option to be 100% dependable. When connected via Bluetooth, I experienced periodic dropouts and unstable scrolling. It’s not a huge downfall but like many Mac users with increasingly fewer USB ports, a dependable Bluetooth connection is a necessity.
Logitech claims that the Anywhere 2 has a two month battery life following a full charge, in my use over the last few weeks I’ve not have to plug it in once. A microUSB cable is included in the box for charging the mouse, while it does have to be wired in to charge, it is nice that it’s still useable.
Overall, I’d recommend Logitech’s Anywhere 2 for power users looking for a customizable portable option. The extra buttons with assignable actions is a nice touch and the scroll wheel is certainly worth it for anyone dealing with long documents or massive Twitter feeds.
The Logitech Anywhere 2 is available from Amazon for $79.99.
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