by Juli Clover
An upcoming version of the Magic Mouse with voice control for AI would “make sense,” Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman said today, though he claimed that he has heard no rumors about the feature so far.
A report from Korean leaker “yeux1222” this morning suggested that Apple has created a prototype Magic Mouse that includes a mix of touch, voice controls, and hand gestures. Gurman said on social media that the functionality is logical in light of AI, but he also claimed that the rumor is “just an incorrect back-and-forth translation” of a line from a report that he shared earlier in December about a future Magic Mouse.
Voice control in the new Magic Mouse I wrote about this month makes sense in light of AI — and the fact that Apple is on a decade-plus cycle. From what I’ve heard, big focus is ergonomics and gestures (relocated USB-C too). I’d expect a new keyboard too. https://t.co/FtUcR2Yqdj — Mark Gurman (@markgurman) December 30, 2024
As @ChanceHMiller points out, the rumor making the rounds today is just an incorrect back-and-forth translation of this line from my initial report: “In a computing world now infused with touch screens, voice commands and hand gestures…” — Mark Gurman (@markgurman) December 30, 2024
It’s not clear whether the rumor from yeux1222 is based on Gurman’s original report, but Gurman did clarify today that Apple plans to focus on a more ergonomic design and unspecified gestures with the refreshed mouse.
If voice control is included in the next Magic Mouse, it could be used for Apple Intelligence, with users perhaps able to summon Siri or perform specific actions using voice-based commands. Gurman claims that even if there isn’t a clear use case in the near future due to Macs already supporting such voice-based features, there could be one in five to 10 years.
Adding voice control to the Magic Mouse could be done for future proofing given the long update cycle. So far, Apple has not frequently updated the Magic Mouse, and it has not received notable updates since the Magic Mouse 2 was introduced in 2019. In fact, Apple has only added new colors and swapped the Lightning port for a USB-C port.
Earlier this month, Gurman said that Apple is planning a “full overhaul” of the Magic Mouse, with a more modern design. He said that Apple will finally move the charging port from the bottom of the device to an easier to access location, but he did not mention voice controls or gesture support at the time.
Both Gurman and the information shared by yeux1222 suggest that the Magic Mouse will launch in 2026, and it is possible it will come alongside an OLED MacBook Pro, which is also rumored to launch that year.
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