Microsoft's Haptic Mouse Falls Short of Productivity Promise

Microsoft has released a new Surface Mouse that supports haptic feedback, a feature also found in Logitech's MX Master 4 mouse. This technology provides tactile feedback to users through vibrations and 'push back' against their fingers. The Surface Laptop Studio 2, a high-end laptop, has had this feature on its trackpads for years.

The new Surface Mouse is designed specifically with Windows features in mind and costs $79.99. It supports haptic feedback for various actions such as aligning objects in PowerPoint, window snapping, resizing, or hovering over the Close button. Logitech's mice also offer additional haptics via their Actions Ring and Smart Actions.

Senior Editor of PCWorld, who tested the Surface Mouse, found that haptic feedback felt more like a convenience rather than a necessity. They believed it was useful but not essential for productivity. The editor noted that they could visually see when a window expands and click a window closed without any tactile confirmation.