Product Review: Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Wireless Mobile Mouse

Mice are a very personal choice.

I have tried so many different products over the years to find my match that one of my drawers is an electronic mouse graveyard.

Currently I prefer the Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse and use it on both desktop (USB) and portable (Bluetooth) devices.

One of the limitations of many of the current mobile mouse offerings is that they can only be paired with one device at a time. Imagine what it would be like to move one mouse between mobile devices and then push just one button to use it.

That is an area the Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Wireless Mobile Mouse addresses very nicely.

This new device from Logitech can be paired with up to three devices via Bluetooth or you can use the Logitech Unifying Receiver to connect it to a single system using USB.

You pair the mouse in the normal manner with your devices operating system, Windows 8 & later/Mac OS X 10.10 & later, and simply select the channel to use for each device prior to the pairing. Switching the mouse between systems is as simple as pushing that same button to the devices assigned channel.

Those channels are accessed on the bottom of the mouse:

The mouse has a great ergonomic feel and very smooth response as you use it and has what Logitech calls Darkfield Laser Tracking which allows it to be used on nearly any surface. 

One issue I have noticed is that it can be quite aggressive in how it manages the Bluetooth connection for battery efficiency. That means very brief pauses in movement will put the mouse to sleep and you have to shake the mouse awake to get moving again.

While the MX Anywhere 2 uses a rechargeable 500 mAh battery, which is charged via Micro-USB cable,  it would be nice to have an option to configure that sleep setting. I would much prefer to have a more responsive mouse than a battery that lasts for two months.

Speaking of configuration the Logitech Options software for the MX Anywhere 2 allows you to set-up each button on the device to access a multitude of system functionality. Be sure to see our gallery that highlights the software features.

Another great feature of this device is its support for gestures. The gesture button is located just behind the scroll wheel and you can press that and subsequently move the mouse up/down or left/right to invoke those actions on screen.

The gesture button is set for Windows management by default which allows you to Maximize/Minimize windows, Show/Hide the desktop and Snap windows left or right. It can also be set to other system functionality including media controls, panning, zooming/rotating, navigating windows, arranging windows and a custom setup of those options.

The single feature I keep coming back to though is the ability to pair this with up to three devices. That means not having to track separate mice for each mobile device I am working with.

That option alone makes the aggressive battery saving methods while using Bluetooth tolerable. However, if they were to either tweak that or provide a setting to choose between performance or battery savings then I would quickly add one of these to my computer bag.

Let me know if you have any specific questions about the device, the software or using it.

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