Keychron M3 Wireless Mouse review: Faster than Magic

Keychron has made a name for itself by producing high-quality mechanical keyboards, but more recently has branched out into other accessories, including the wired M1 mouse. Now Keychron has a new wireless mouse, the M3, a nice addition to the company’s lineup and is a high-performing alternative to Apple’s Magic Mouse.

The M3 was made with PC gaming in mind, but it can be used on a Mac without any major operational issues. Compared to the Magic Mouse, the M3 has a utilitarian design in white or black that looks a lot like many other third-party computer mice. I do find the M3’s higher profile to be more comfortable in my hand than the Magic Mouse, but if you favor the Magic Mouse design aesthetic, you probably won’t like the M3.

Since it’s a gaming mouse, an optional RGB light adds some flair by shining through cutouts along the M3’s edges and the scroll wheel. Like other gaming mice from Razer and Logitech, it can change colors while in use, or toggles between different lighting modes via a button underneath the scroll wheel. It’s an aesthetic that lends itself to that of the PC gaming community, but if you have an M1 iMac in red, green, or blue, the M3’s lighting effect makes for a nice compliment. 

But don’t judge a mouse by its looks alone. The key feature of the M3 is its PAW3395DM optical sensor, which supports a massive 26,000 dpi resolution, which is a huge boost over that of the Magic Mouse, which has a reported 1,300 dpi resolution.

For a mouse, the optic resolution is about the number of pixels that move across the screen, and the higher the resolution, the more sensitive the mouse is to hand movement. Granted, not everyone prefers a mouse that’s super sensitive. But there are instances where a highly-sensitive mouse comes in handy, namely with face-paced games. On a more practical level, it can help users who have physical issues handling a mouse, or if you’re doing super-fine image, video, or audio editing.

The M3 also has super fast tracking, rated at 650 inches per second. To illustrate what the fast-tracking is like, I need about 4 inches/2.5 centimeters to move the macOS pointer from one edge of a 15-inch MacBook Pro screen to the opposite edge with the Magic Mouse and its tracking set to the fastest level in the Mouse system setting. With the same system setting and the M3 mouse set to its fastest tracking, the same motion needs only 0.25 inches/0.64 centimeters.

If that sounds too fast for you, the M3’s tracking speed is adjustable via a button underneath the mouse. You can set it to be as fast as–or even slower than–the Magic Mouse.

The M3 also has an adjustable polling rate, another feature that appeals to gamers and is something non-gamers will not care about. The polling rate describes the frequency at which the mouse tells the computer its location, and gamers demand high polling rates. The M3 can be set to 125Hz, 500Hz, and 1,000Hz by simply pressing a button underneath the mouse. (For reference, the Magic Mouse has a reported fixed 90Hz polling rate.) However, if the mouse is connected via Bluetooth, it can use only the 125Hz rate.

If you really want a faster polling rate, the M3 also supports the 2.4GHz wireless frequency that allows for faster polling. Keychron includes USB-C and USB-A 2.4GHz receivers that you can plug into the Mac.

The M3 has a built-in battery rated at 70 hours. It charges through a USB-C slot on the top end of the mouse, and Keychron includes a USB-C cable, a USB-C to USB-A Adapter, and a USB-C to USB-A female adapter. You can use the M3 as a wired mouse as it charges, and you can even use the higher polling rates.

The mouse has left and right buttons and the scroll wheel/button has a notched rotation wheel, but there’s no option to switch to an unnotched one. The mouse also has forward and backward buttons on the left side that work when using a browser.

Keychron currently has a Windows utility available for configuring the M3’s buttons, adjusting the lighting effects, implementing macros, and tweaking the M3’s tracking and polling. The company says a Mac version will be available in June.

Bottom line

The M3 Wireless Mouse is a lot more affordable than Apple’s Magic Mouse and it has more to offer: a wider range of tracking speeds; Bluetooth or 2.4GHz wireless connectivity; wired connectivity where you can still use the mouse; and a comfortable fit. It’s not as stylish as the Magic Mouse, but it’s more useful. You can find other mice that offer more features for a bit more money, but the M3 is overall a pretty good deal.