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Logitech MX Master 3S review: The king of productivity mice

By Kenny Yeo - 27 Nov 2022
Launch SRP: S$169

Logitech MX Master 3S review: The king of productivity mice

Note: This review was first published on 8 August 2022.

The new MX Master 3S features quieter mouse buttons and a more sensitive sensor.

A new Master Series flagship

I make no secret of the fact that I adore the MX Master 3. I love it so much that I bought two to use – one to use at home and another for the office. I called it “peerless”, and that’s something that is still true today. Nearly three years after its launch, it is still the undisputed king of productivity mice. But three years is a long time in the tech world, so Logitech has gone and made it even better. The changes are small but quite profound so let me tell you about this new mouse.

 

What’s new?

The mouse buttons are indeed very quiet.

The MX Master 3S is different in two key ways. The first is that it has quieter left and right mouse buttons. Logitech calls it Quiet Clicks and claims the new mouse buttons produce 90% less noise. I can’t confirm if the MX Master 3S is really 90% quieter, but it is noticeably quieter than its predecessor. In fact, I can’t hear it at all over the noise of my aircon or fan.

Impressively, Logitech managed to dampen out almost all of the click noise without sacrificing much in the way of tactility. Often, quiet or silent versions of switches can feel mushy or vague and less tactile and precise, but the MX Master 3S retains almost all of the tactility of its noisier predecessor. The mouse buttons feel softer and more damped, but it retains a pronounced point at which clicks register. To my fingers, the overall sensation is also more rounded, and so the MX Master 3S feels like a plusher mouse to use – more like a Topre and less like a Cherry MX switch (in keyboard switch parlance).

The other big change is the sensor. It’s now a higher resolution 8,000 DPI unit, double its predecessor. Perhaps more crucially, it continues to work on various surfaces – I tested it on wood, glass, metal, and even fabric. This can be handy for those still working from home since it gives you greater flexibility as to where you want to set up shop.

What makes this mouse a joy to use is its ergonomic design and variety of customisable buttons and wheels.

Logitech says the higher-resolution sensor helps users who work with high-resolution displays, but I’m not sure that’s necessary. I’ve been using the old MX Master 3 with a 4K monitor for the past two years and recently added the 5K Apple Studio Display to my setup, and not once have I felt that I needed a more sensitive sensor. Besides, if you feel like your mouse isn’t sensitive enough, you can tweak these settings within the OS or your mouse’s app (if it has one). For what it’s worth, I have the MX Master 3S set at 1,500 DPI while the tracking speed at the OS level is at the fourth highest setting. 

Elsewhere, the MX Master 3S is identical to its predecessor. The highly sculpted shape is the same and so are the buttons. Apart from your usual left and right mouse buttons, there’s a vertical scroll wheel, a horizontal scroll wheel, a thumb button, back and front thumb buttons, and an additional button under the vertical scroll wheel. That’s a lot of buttons. It also comes in two colours – Graphite and Pale Gray – which is really just a fancy way of saying black and white.

The app lets you customise the mouse to suit your working style. You can even set up individual profiles for different apps.

The vertical scroll wheel is the same electromagnetic MagSpeed unit which uses magnets to switch between a free-wheeling spin mode and a step-by-step ratchet mode. And, like its predecessor, all of the mouse's wheels and buttons are customisable through the Logi Options+ app (available for both Windows and Macs). The customisation options are robust and detailed. It even lets you dial-in app-specific button configurations and mouse settings. For example, you can automatically increase the sensitivity of the mouse if you open an app like Photoshop.

Battery life is unchanged at 70 days on a full charge. This sounds about right as I usually get close to two months of use from my MX Master 3. And if you ever find yourself completely out of juice, the mouse’s quick-charging feature lets you get three hours of use from just a single minute of charge. It charges over USB-C.

The MX Master 3S charges via USB-C.

You can also pair with up to three devices either over Bluetooth or with the Logitech Logi Bolt USB receiver. My experience with Bluetooth tells me that connectivity can sometimes suffer if you are using the mouse alongside other Bluetooth devices like headphones or gaming controllers. Best to use the Logi Bolt USB receiver if you can. Annoyingly, the button to switch between devices is still at the bottom of the mouse.

And because the MX Master 3S is mostly identical to its predecessor, the same problems remain. To start, the MX Master 3S is not suitable for left-handers at all. There’s no physical battery level indicator – you need to open the app to see how much battery it has remaining. And the mouse is quite heavy, which is not ideal for gaming.

 

Closing thoughts

There's no better mouse than the MX Master 3S for productivity and general use.

At S$169, the MX Master 3S isn’t exactly what you’d call affordable, though I should temper this by saying that it’s also not quite as pricey as some high-end gaming mice.

Should owners of the MX Master 3 run out to upgrade? I don’t think so, unless you absolutely must have a quieter mouse or you have hands so sensitive that it can maximise its new 8,000 DPI sensor. The only reason most other owners should upgrade is if their older MX Master 3 mice have become badly worn from use.

If you have an older MX Master mouse or any other mouse, then it’s a no-brainer. The MX Master 3S is a fantastic mouse for productivity and general use. Its features, high level of customisation, and overall refinement are unmatched. If you spend a lot of time at your computer, this is an extremely worthy investment.

If you're ready to upgrade to the king of productivity mice, you can find it on the Logitech Official Store, the Logitech Flagship Store on Lazada, and the Logitech Official Store on Shopee.

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9.5
  • Design 9.5
  • User-Friendliness 9
  • Features 9.5
  • Performance 9
  • Value 8.5
The Good
Quiet, plush feeling mouse buttons
Ergonomic design
Lots of buttons and wheels
Highly customisable
Works over 2.4GHz and Bluetooth
Excellent battery life & fast charging
The Bad
8,000 DPI sensor is overkill
Not for left-handers
No physical battery level indicator
Heavy and not suitable for gaming
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