Logitech Signature M650 review: A silent mouse that speaks volumes | ZDNet

Whether you work late-night shifts or share a workplace with others, silent mice are the way to go for a distraction-free and productive environment. I’ve tested a few myself, including the best-selling

and

 and have always found the smaller form factors to be discomforting after a day’s use.

So when Logitech launched the Signature M650 mouse last month, it caught my attention. For some of you, this may be the first time you’ve heard of the Logitech mouse. But for those who have been yearning for a wireless silent mouse that wasn’t miniature in size, this new entry is a big deal.

Available in regular and large, left- and right-handed, and a Business variant, the new Signature M650 sells for

and at retailers like

and

Best Buy

. I’ve been daily-driving the large, right-handed, Business model for the past month and firmly believe that it’s the perfect mouse for enterprise. But as different as the M650 is from its predecessors, a few shortcomings have grounded my hopes of it being the mouse that I’ve personally been longing for.

Setup

When unboxing the Logitech Signature M650 mouse, you’re reminded that it’s no

peripheral. The standard M650 comes in a plastic clam-shell package, and the business model comes in a lifeless, cardboard box. What matters, of course, is what’s inside. Each mouse comes included with a Duracell OEM AA battery and a LogiBolt USB receiver that’s siloed in the battery compartment. This slot — commonly found on most wireless mice — allows you to store the dongle when traveling.

There are two ways you can connect the M650 to your computer, tablet, or phone: Bluetooth and LogiBolt. I’ve been using the mouse with my

keyboard, so the LogiBolt USB receiver has been my connection method of choice, serving double duty. I simply toggled the power switch on the mouse and my Windows PC automatically detected it and installed the necessary drivers.

If you’re running on a macOS, iPadOS, Chrome OS, Android, or Linux-powered device, then Bluetooth pairing may be the better option. That said, the M650’s range of operating system compatibility is quite impressive and beats out many higher-end mice, including the

. I’ll breakdown more of its nifty business features later on.

Design

The M650 comes in regular and large sizes, and left- and right-handed configurations. Logitech recommends the regular size for people with small to medium hands (<7.5 inches), and the large size for hands that are bigger. I’ve found the large size to be a perfect fit, with my hand able to rest comfortably over the curvatures of the mouse. You can use this sizing chart to find your ideal fit.

One of the key design aspects of the M650 is Logitech’s SilentTouch technology, which you’ll be surprised to not hear when clicking the left and right buttons of the mouse. Logitech says that the M650 keys are 90% quieter than it’s previous silent mice, and after using the mouse myself, I believe the company. Left and right clicks are close to silent, yet there’s still a satisfying, clicky feedback when pressed down. You can hear the difference between the M650 (in white) and some traditional mouse options in the video below.

Though not as snappy and crisp as the typical red Kailh switches found in gaming mice, I’ve been happy with the peace and quiet that the M650 brings in lieu of the tactility.

Two programmable buttons flank the left side of the mouse (opposite if it’s the left-handed version) and are much more audible. By default, the top and bottom function as forward and back, respectively. But through the LogiOptions+ beta software, you can remap the the two to perform copy and paste, or volume up and down, and more. I’ve kept mine as forward and back as I often skip between pages when browsing.

Within LogiOptions+, you can also adjust the pointer speed of the M650. One of the main reasons why I opted for the business model was for the improved 400-4,000 DPI (from 200-2,000 on the regular). DPI, or dots per inch, measures the sensitivity of a mouse. And with the higher value, my cursor movement is much more precise when skimming through bodies of text, photo-editing, or playing games.

The sides of the M650 feature rubberized ridges, meant to give your thumb and pinky a firm grip when scrolling. My issue with the rubber material is that its gummy-like texture has slowly lost its grippiness after a month’s use. I’m guessing this is because of the oils and sweat that builds up from my fingers, but I can’t imagine how it will feel after a year if this is how it is after 30 days. As a quick fix, I’ve been cleaning the mouse with a light alcohol wipe every once in awhile, giving it a cleaner appearance and feel.

Lastly, the M650 uses what Logitech calls SmartWheel, a dynamic scrolling wheel that can dial freely or in notches depending on how fast you scroll it. This isn’t a toggle mechanism like the MX series’ MagSpeed; You can simply flick the wheel with a bit of force to trigger the fast scrolling.

Business features

After using the M650, I can see why Logitech wants it to be the mouse to get for business and enterprise customers. At $39.99, the mouse is relatively affordable and comes with a slew of productivity and security features that will benefit most workplaces.

The first feature that stands out is the LogiBolt wireless technology. For office and remote-use, your mouse and its connection is fully encrypted and FIPS secure when paired with a LogiBolt receiver. While I did experience the once-a-day stutter on my LogiBolt-connected M650, the mouse never lost its connection completely and functioned like normal after every boot up.

Through the LogiOptions+ software, business users can keybind the side buttons and scroll wheel to specific shortcuts within different applications. That means the side buttons can toggle on your mute and video on Zoom, but trigger redo and undo on Microsoft Excel. I found the button mapper particularly useful when creating spreadsheets as I was able to create new rows and columns with a click.

Besides the quietness and expansive platform compatibility of the M650 mouse, Logitech touts a 24-month battery life that will benefit remote workers and those on the go. Only time will tell whether that claim is true or not. What I can attest to, however, is its aggressive power management. I noticed that the mouse would go into deep sleep mode if left idle for 30 minutes or longer. While this behavior greatly reduces the battery consumption, the M650 takes about five seconds to wake and re-calibrate when movement is detected. As a result, I’ve had moments when I’d mistaken the input delay as a fault with the LogiBolt receiver or the mouse itself.

All in all, my mouse still appears as 100% battery health on the LogiOptions+ app after a month of use. And even though it doesn’t support USB-C charging, it may not matter to folks who don’t like to carry extra cables and plugs.

Conclusion

At $39.99, the Logitech Signature M650 is fairly-priced for the features and hardware that you’re getting. It’s simple, reliable, quiet, and makes for an exceptional travel mouse. I’m especially glad to see that Logitech is continuing to centralize its connectivity and software system for its office peripherals, no matter the price range and product tier.