With the launch of the iPhone 12 now only days away, it’s time to get really excited about what Apple has in store for us all. Now there’s one thing we can all add to our wishlist, thanks to this stunning concept video.
What if we had an accessory that could attach to the iPhone 12, and turn the phone into an actual Magic Mouse that can be used to control your Mac or iPad.
It’s called the Magic Mouse Mini, and unfortunately it’s the creation of Yanko Design, rather than an actual product leak. But the mere prospect of this has got us very excited about what could be. After all, who wouldn’t love to be able to put their iPhone to use like this?
Apple pop-socket with an optical sensor turns your iPhone into a Magic Mouse! - It’s a pretty great idea in theory, and ties well into Apple‘s ecosystem of creating products that support each other and add to the collective experience. It’s also something fresh that would set Apple apart in the hardware space. Meet the Magic Mouse Mini, a concept created by @yongbinski who gave the smartphone pop-socket the ultimate upgrade by also fitting an optical sensor into it! - The Magic Mouse Mini looks and feels like your regular pop-socket. It attaches to the back of your phone, giving you a pop-out grip that you can firmly hold onto between your index and middle finger as you use your phone or click selfies. Given how large and slippery smartphones are nowadays (further factoring in the iPhone’s curved edges). However, a switch on the side turns the pop-out grip into something vastly more functional. Switch the device on, and the optical sensor above the Apple logo powers on, turning your iPhone into a magic mouse! - The iPhone and the socket at the back work in tandem to replicate the Magic Mouse experience. The optical sensor on the socket helps with cursor-tracking, while the iPhone’s touchscreen shoulders the responsibility of providing the control surface, allowing you to left-click, right-click, pinch, zoom, scroll, and do a variety of other gestures, just like you would on a Magic Mouse. - I’d surmise the Magic Mouse Mini concept would work remarkably well with iMacs and MacBooks, but would even probably do a pretty good job with iPads too! It’s a small, clever addon that helps your phone (by allowing you to grip it better), and helps your MacOS devices too, by giving you a Magic Mouse experience without having to shell out a hundred bucks for a new Magic Mouse. And yes, the presence of a socket on the back of your phone could give it an uneven surface, causing the mouse to potentially rock back and forth while you’re using it… but think of this less as a practicality and usability issue, and more as a clever way of turning an existing piece of hardware (your iPhone) into something absolutely new! After all, it’s just a concept, no? - Designer: Yongbin Kim Yanko Design
A photo posted by @yankodesign on Sep 30, 2020 at 7:23pm PDT
The idea is pretty simple in theory. The Magic Mouse Mini is like an advanced Pop Socket that attaches to the back of your iPhone and has an optical sensor built in. Once it’s attached you place it down and move it around just like you would a regular computer mouse.
And for fans of the Magic Mouse’s many gesture controls, that’s what the iPhone’s screen is for. Presumably this wouldn’t stop it functioning like an actual phone either, but it would make it infinitely more useful during your working day.
Rumours and leaks have told us that there are going to be plenty of products on show on Tuesday’s Apple event, including four iPhone 12 models, the Bluetooth AirTags, over-head AirPods Studio, and the HomePod mini. The Magic Mouse Mini, however, is not going to be one of them.
Which is a huge shame, considering how clever the idea actually is. Even if there are technical barriers in developing the idea, it’s definitely one Apple should consider doing in the near future.
For now, though, we’ll just have to stick with one of those mouse apps from the App Store. Or cough up the $79 for an actual Magic Mouse.
