Do you want a smaller, more portable but almost equally capable version of the MX Master 3? Here it’s – it’s called the MX Anywhere and after the latest release of its bigger brother, long after actually, plenty of time passed since that, we finally got a new successor – the Logitech MX Anywhere 3.
Let’s just jump right into it with what’s actually different. First and foremost, the MX Anywhere 3 doesn’t have dedicated left and right scroll anymore, but it does have the middle click function. What happened here is that Logitech implemented the MagSpeed scroll technology, which is triggered both on a mechanical and software level and uses magnets to do that, whereas the old was rawer and probably mechanical only, you would trigger it physically by pressing the middle scroll wheel, which is why it probably didn’t have the middle click. I also assume that’s the reason why we don’t have the left and right scroll option, cause it’s mostly like not doable no a technical level because of the MagSpeed.
Logitech MX Anywhere 3 – For users on the go
Right behind it, we have the default wheel mode button, but that’s not going to be necessary, in my option you can re-map it right away, because you can use the Smart Shift option, where the scroll wheel mode automatically changes based on how hard you’ve spun it. You can change the activation threshold and You can also set the scrolling force, or to be more precise, scrolling resistance that is put out, which makes the scrolling more or less distinct between each step. Because of this we also don’t have that clicking sound of the scroll wheel when doing sudden movements. Since we’re already doing some listening, here’s how the switches sound. They basically feel the same, very firm and in place. So a lot of adjustabilities, although it doesn’t have horizontal scrolling, there’s a software function for that too in the Logitech Options s utility.
Logitech’s 4000 DPI Darkfield laser sensor is still present, it can be used on basically any surface, reflective, glass, smooth, pants, your face – it will perform the same. I found it to be pretty precise for some casual gaming, the lift of distance is pretty high, but it doesn’t suffer that much from acceleration or any weird movement behavior. The biggest obstacle is of course its size and shape, it’s just not comfortable for such use, more for casual day to day work on the go, for which it’s ideal and meant for in the first place, probably one of the best productivity mouse models out there, while It suits my palm grip style of use.
Speaking of the shape, it’s basically the same in its main outer lines so to speak, very, very similar, height, length and with wise. The back portion is still slightly raised up, then it goes underneath itself, so the mouse almost looks like it’s levitating. Other than that, it’s still a very compact and sleek looking mouse, they did change its surface contours a bit on the sidewalls, but they still provide some additional grip, as well as this top plate where the scroll wheel is. The side back and forward button are a bit smaller and less pronounced, while they’re also more pointing downwards, I feel like I could get a better hold of the back button on the 2S model, plus they feel a bit firmer now.
New color choices for MX Anywhere 3
On the other hand, I still love how the right and left mouse clicks are basically made out of this seamless one piece, it’s not a separate part, just as with the old one, but now it’s even more unifying, especially with this white mouse, where we don’t have this different color framing. Talking about color, there will be three different colors, besides this white and regular black and gray which we usually see, we’ll also have a pink one to go for, probably instead of that blueish teal.
What is also different is that the MX Anywhere 3 lost some weight, it’s almost 10 grams lighter, you can just slightly feel that difference when using it. I don’t know how they achieved that, if the MagSpeed system is lighter then ti older one, maybe shaved it some off somewhere in the construction itself, or they are using a different battery. Speaking of that, the declared battery life is set at 70 days, this can differ depending on the connection type, being the wireless connection over its wireless dongle, or the Bluetooth on, but based on this I assume they’ve used the same 500 mAh battery size since the Anywhere 2S has the same battery life. I couldn’t test this claim as I didn’t have the mouse for such a long time period, but based on what I managed to squeeze into it charge wise, I would guess that it’s similar. Adding onto this, we have a USB Type-C for connection chagrining, and a cable that comes with it, which is an upgrade from the previous generation. Closing off the topic of connections, the MX Anywhere 3 will also support MacOC and iPadOS.
Speaking of the Bluetooth, the same as with the MX Anywhere 2S model, you can switch between three different devices using a dedicated button below the mouse, and that paired with the Logitech Flow feature can be really handy. Getting back to the topic of profiles, as with other MX series mice models, with the Anywhere 3 it’s also possible to set up its shortcuts and behavior based around a specific app that you’re using. Logitech already preloaded some profiles for the most common ones, like Office and Adobe ecosystem, but you can dial that to your liking through Logitech’s Options software utility even more.
MX Anywhere 3 vs 2S – Successor takes the win
It automatically recognizes the app that you’re using and switches everything accordingly. Since I’m talking about Logitech Options utility, Here you can also check your battery level, I just wish they put some kind of percentage read-out because this feels more like a guesstimation, you can also play with settings for some of the features I’ve mentioned earlier, and of course, change the pointer speed, also, although it doesn’t have horizontal scroll option, there’s a software function for that, as well as of course re-map what buttons do, so nothing that we haven’t seen before, still very adjustable and flexible enough for the majority of users who plan to use this kind of mouse.
When you draw the line, although on the surface it doesn’t seem like a lot has changed, in some way that’s true, Logitech did make few steps in the right direction and improved the existing model by that much. Yes, if you’re an existing user maybe there’s not that much sense in upgrading from its predecessor unless you’re really annoyed by not having that middle-click for example, but newcomers who are in search for a really capable mouse of this format can go for its successor without any doubt.
That’s it for this time, thanks for checking out my Logitech MX Anywhere 3 review, if you have any question feel free to hit me in the comments section of my YouTube video listed above, you can contact me via my social media channels!
