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There’s one way Apple could make Macs true gaming machines, and it’s not a better chip
If you’re a Mac gamer, you can’t have missed the recent news that Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red (CDPR) had brought its futuristic dystopia to Apple’s macOS. It’s been the biggest Mac gaming news in an already productive few years, and signals that Apple’s platforms are an increasingly attractive destination for game developers.
Since CDPR’s announcement, I’ve been testing Cyberpunk 2077 on my MacBook Pro with M1 Pro chip, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the results. The game’s default “For this Mac” custom settings opt for medium texture quality and a 1800×1125 resolution, with a locked 30fps frame rate. But once I turn on AMD’s FSR frame generation tech in the settings, my frame rate hits the mid-70s in the in-game benchmark.
That feels remarkably smooth for an integrated GPU on a chip from 2021, and it’s certainly better than most Mac gamers would expect from a game like Cyberpunk. It’s clear that Apple has worked hard with CDPR to give Mac gamers a tailored experience, and that’s paying dividends.
Sure, we’re not talking ultra settings and 100 fps or more, but the results are satisfactory enough for people on older Mac hardware. For Macs with more powerful components, the results will be even better – as my colleague Jacob recently learned when he tested the game on an M4 Max MacBook Pro.
This got me thinking about what’s coming next for the best MacBooks. While beefier chips would of course be very welcome, the results from my testing suggest they’re not the most vital upgrade that Apple’s laptops need when it comes to gaming. No, there’s something else that’s crying out for a change: the Magic Mouse.
Apple’s gaming weakness
Apple’s mouse has remained all but unchanged for the past 16 years. The latest revision, the Magic Mouse 2, is ten years old now and is really starting to show its age. Apple’s decision to bring USB-C to the device last year is nowhere close to what’s needed.
Indeed, people have been complaining about the Magic Mouse almost since the day it launched. Its low profile and smooth top surface can lead to hand and wrist discomfort, and I know at least one person who has had to switch to an ergonomic mouse, such was the pain of using the Magic Mouse. Don’t even get me started on the fact that you have to flip the whole thing over to charge it.
But the situation is especially bad for gamers. The mouse’s slimline shape and slippery surface make it hard to grip in tense moments. Its lack of clearly defined left and right buttons can lead to misclicks. And there are no additional buttons for macros and extra functionality. It’s not a good choice for all but the most basic of Mac games, and it trails far behind all of the best gaming mice by virtually every metric.
It strikes me that improving the Magic Mouse could make far more of a difference to Mac gamers (and Mac users more generally) than an even better chip. Apple’s signature Mac chips are already some of the best in the industry. Its signature mouse, though? That lags far behind.
Yet if Apple fixed up its wayward features and gave it the treatment it deserves, Mac gaming could finally step up to the next level. Sure, you could still buy a third-party alternative, but you might not want to if Apple’s offering can actually do the job, particularly if it came bundled with your Mac. It feels like a glaring omission from Apple, but it’s not too late for the company to correct course if it truly is serious about making macOS a legitimate gaming platform.
A new mouse for a new era
The good news is that Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman has previously said that Apple is working on a “full overhaul” of the mouse with improved ergonomics, but we don’t know much beyond that. I’m not asking for a Razer-esque decked-out gaming mouse with blinding RGB lights and seven hundred buttons, but something that’s more ergonomically shaped would benefit gamers and non-gamers alike.
I’m also aware that this is probably a fairly low priority for Apple. After all, gamers can use their own third-party mice instead – that’s what I do already. The Magic Mouse is currently only bundled with the iMac and the Mac Pro, and while you can buy Apple’s mouse separately, I suspect that not everyone does that. It’s likely that relatively few Mac users actually experience the Magic Mouse, making a serious overhaul less of a pressing need for Apple.
Still, it remains an awkward dud for Apple, and improvements in this area would bring benefits to many of the company’s customers, regardless of whether they play games or not. Apple wouldn’t even have to mention its gaming benefits if that didn’t fit the company’s narrative, but gamers would certainly feel the difference.
When – and if – any of this happens is another matter. But I’m hopeful that Apple is at least considering it, given the Magic Mouse’s age and the lukewarm reception it continues to receive. In the new age of Mac gaming, this is the company’s chance to put things right.
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