Glorious makes a significant return with one of this year’s most notable gaming mouse releases. Instead of solely focusing on extreme performance and an ultra-light design, the company has innovated with a mouse designed to never run out of power. Thanks to its InfinitePlay hot-swappable battery system, the Glorious Model O3 Wireless promises genuinely non-stop wireless gaming.
Furthermore, equipped with a dedicated battery charging dock and integrated RGB lighting, this Glorious mouse offers substantial features that justify its premium price, moving beyond simply relying on "peak performance" to warrant its cost. But does it earn a spot among the best gaming mice?
Verdict
The Glorious Model O3 Wireless undeniably delivers on its promise of perpetual battery life, thanks to a swappable battery system that allows for legitimate, easy mid-game battery exchanges. However, this feature, while impressive, doesn’t always feel strictly essential, and the mouse makes a few compromises in other areas.
Pros:
- Truly offers never-ending battery life
- Packed with features for its price point
- Striking RGB lighting display
- Remarkably light for a swappable battery mouse
Cons:
- Heavier than many ultra-light competitors
- The necessity of swappable batteries is debatable for many users
- The surface coating lacks optimal grip
Specs
| Glorious Model O3 Wireless specs | |
| Sensor | BAMF 3.0 |
| Buttons | Six on top, one underneath |
| Switches | Glorious Optical switches (130M clicks) |
| DPI | 30,000 |
| Weight | 66g |
| Connections | 2.4GHz wireless, USB-C |
| Polling rate | Up to 8kHz |
| Battery | Infinite, via two hot-swappable batteries and one internal "guardian" battery |
| Extras | USB-A dongle, USB-A to USB-C cable, charging dock |
| Price | $159.99 / €169.99 |
Features
The Model O3 Wireless boasts an impressive array of features. While it doesn’t overload on extra buttons like some mice, it does include a dedicated DPI button on top, and vibrant RGB lighting subtly glows from between its black exterior plates. After years of RGB saturation, it’s a refreshing novelty to see prominent RGB lighting in a flagship gaming mouse.
Flipping the mouse over reveals a single power/mode button and a clear plastic window showcasing the internals of its swappable battery system—a purely aesthetic but enjoyable touch.
At the front, a USB-C port allows for wired gaming and charging. The rear houses the InfinitePlay swappable batteries, which easily click into place and are released with a simple push. Removing a battery activates a small internal "Guardian" battery, powering the mouse for up to ten hours. This ingenious design allows for truly uninterrupted wireless use, with no downtime or need for a wired connection during battery swaps.
The Model O3 comes with a charging dock that accommodates one battery at a time (two are included). The dock connects to your computer via an included USB-A to USB-C cable and houses the USB-A wireless dongle. (Initially, I mistakenly thought the dock itself was the dongle.)
The dock features lights and indicators for both the mouse and charging battery levels, as well as for polling rate and DPI. A button on the dock can adjust DPI (tap) or polling rate (long press), or be customized via Glorious’ software, adding useful functionality without cluttering the mouse itself.
Software
Glorious’ Core software manages all Model O3 Wireless functions, offering a solid selection of settings, though it lacks one convenience feature. The software allows you to set up to three profiles directly on the mouse. However, it currently doesn’t offer automatic game recognition and profile assignment, a feature found in competitors like Razer Synapse and Logitech G Hub. While not essential for all users, it’s a convenient "nice-to-have."
The Performance section lets you configure up to six DPI levels, select wired and wireless polling rates (up to 8kHz wirelessly, 1kHz wired), enable Motion Sync, adjust lift-off distance, fine-tune debounce time for the switches, and set the idle standby duration.
In the Lighting section, you can choose from numerous animation effects, adjusting brightness and speed. Reducing brightness or disabling lighting completely will extend battery life. Being a symmetrical mouse, it’s suitable for left-handed users, who can swap left and right button functions, though side buttons might need disabling.
The Key Binding tab enables customization of all six Model O3 Wireless buttons, allowing them to be reprogrammed for different mouse actions, keystrokes, macros, or multimedia functions.
Finally, the My Dock section allows you to reassign the function of the dock’s single button, offering various macro, keystroke, and standard mouse functions.
Note that the software exhibited some unreliability before launch, with certain lighting and settings features not functioning correctly. These issues are expected to be resolved promptly, and our review score does not reflect them. However, potential buyers might consider waiting for confirmation of these fixes.
Design and Comfort
The Glorious Model O3 Wireless represents a notable shift from previous Glorious Model O designs and current mouse trends. While reasonably light, it doesn’t quite achieve an "ultralight" classification, weighing in at 66g with a battery and 61g without. This makes it less remarkable in terms of weight compared to larger, ergonomic, and truly ultralight options that can hit weights as low as 55g.
The mouse’s aesthetic design is quite distinctive. The translucent inner section, covered by black plastic plates, is a bold choice. For RGB enthusiasts, the prominent central lighting strip will likely be appealing. However, those preferring a more subdued look might find it less attractive. Ultimately, this is a matter of personal taste.
Crucially, the separated-plate design doesn’t compromise comfort or grip. Aside from the space between the left/right buttons and the mouse edges (which comfortably cradled my ring or little finger), the gaps around the RGB plate are barely noticeable during use. In a palm or claw grip, your palm rests behind it, and with a fingertip grip, your fingers don’t extend far enough to interact with the side RGB gaps.
In terms of overall shape and feel, it retains the classic symmetrical Glorious Model O ergonomics, which we generally find excellent. However, moving away from a hole-filled design and the choice of surface finish results in a slight decrease in overall grip. Hole-filled mice often provide better palm and finger grip. Without these, and without an added grip-enhancing coating (like thick rubber side pads or soft-touch finishes), the slightly textured plastic surface performs reasonably well in warmer, sweatier conditions but can feel less grippy in colder, drier environments. I’ve found mice with smoother plastic surfaces offer superior grip in such conditions.
This isn’t to say the mouse feels bad, but for optimal lightweight and grippable performance, it doesn’t quite match leading competitors or even older Model O versions. As someone who prefers lighter mice, I found myself enjoying the mouse more without a battery. It became lighter, and the balance improved slightly, requiring less effort to prevent it from feeling like it wanted to tip backward in my hand. While not poorly balanced, the difference is noticeable.
Performance
The Model O3 Wireless incorporates Glorious’ latest sensor, which, despite a maximum DPI of 30,000 (lower than some recent mice), is entirely sufficient for any conceivable use. Additionally, the sensor boasts a 750 IPS maximum movement speed and a 50G acceleration rating, ensuring it can flawlessly track the most extreme human arm movements.
Complementing the sensor is an impressive polling rate of up to 8kHz. While this maximum rate consumes battery life more quickly, it provides peak performance, ideal for competitive gaming on high refresh rate monitors.
Underneath the left and right buttons are Glorious’ newest optical switches, rated for 130 million clicks. These switches are among the most "normal" feeling optical switches I’ve encountered, lacking the slightly hollow feel and sound often associated with optical alternatives. They offer a great tactile and auditory experience.
Indeed, the mouse’s overall performance is difficult to fault, save for the grip levels of its outer surface. It glides exceptionally smoothly across mouse pads, thanks to its PTFE feet.
However, there is one significant misstep: the scroll wheel. Despite featuring knurled rubber for grip, it still feels somewhat slippery. The scroll detents are indistinct and a bit stiff, resulting in a slow overall scroll speed. This design didn’t inspire confidence, as my finger would occasionally slip, and discerning individual detents during intense gaming was challenging. If you frequently use the scroll wheel for critical actions like weapon selection, I wouldn’t recommend this mouse. This is a fairly significant drawback in my opinion.
Battery life
True to its headline feature, the Glorious Model O3 battery truly provides endless power. While a mid-game battery swap involves several quick steps—removing the depleted battery, taking the fresh one from the charger, inserting it into the mouse, and then placing the spent battery back in the dock—each step takes only a second or two and can be done almost instinctively.
Crucially, each action can be performed independently without any gameplay interruption. If you’re in a hurry and can’t immediately insert the charged battery after removing the old one, you can still continue playing seamlessly.
The only minor downside to this continuous play system is that a sudden weight change (when switching between a main battery and the internal Guardian battery) could potentially disrupt a professional gamer’s aim. While this difference is likely negligible for most players, competitive pros might prefer a fully charged spare mouse to avoid any alteration in feel during critical moments.
Quantitatively, the InfinitePlay system offers up to 71 hours of total playtime, combining one swappable battery with the Guardian battery. Swapping to the second battery provides another 57 hours, ample time to recharge the first and ensure continuous use. This rating is based on a 1kHz polling rate. Utilizing the maximum 8kHz polling rate significantly reduces the runtime to just 14.8 hours for one battery plus the Guardian, and a total system cycle with both batteries yields about 27 hours.
In practical terms, at 1kHz, one battery lasts three to four days with all-day work and gaming, with the Guardian battery providing a comfortable ten hours for swapping. At 8kHz, you’ll need to swap batteries daily if you game for several hours after an eight-hour workday. For casual gaming (a few hours nightly), you can expect two to four days between swaps at 8kHz, and a couple of weeks at 1kHz.
Price
Priced at $159.99, the Glorious Model O3 Wireless is an expensive gaming mouse, but it immediately offers a compelling value proposition compared to simpler high-end options, thanks to its extensive extras. The inclusion of a charging dock, two removable batteries, and prominent RGB lighting sets it apart from many competitors.
Alternatives
For those seeking a similar symmetrical design and a top-tier, even lighter wireless gaming mouse with a form of never-ending battery life, the Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 is a strong contender. Weighing just 62g, it’s compatible with Logitech’s PowerPlay mouse pad, which continuously charges the mouse wirelessly, eliminating the need for battery swaps. Another option, if you prefer a slightly smaller and symmetrical mouse shape—ideal for fingertip grip—is the Razer Viper V3 Pro. It’s lighter than the Model O3 and often more affordable, though it lacks the continuous play feature.
Verdict
The Glorious Model O3 Wireless successfully delivers on its promise of non-stop gaming through an intuitive swappable battery system. This system is remarkably easy to use and maintains performance even when a main battery is briefly disengaged. The ability to swap batteries almost without looking truly elevates its status as a genuine mid-game, zero-downtime solution.
However, this innovation comes with a trade-off: a slightly heavier weight compared to many competitors. While still light, it doesn’t quite match the ultra-light designs of other options. Furthermore, the subtle shift in the mouse’s weight and balance when transitioning between a main battery and the internal Guardian battery could be a deterrent for competitive gamers seeking unwavering consistency.
Moreover, the perceived necessity of such minimal downtime is debatable. When operating the mouse at a constant 8kHz, its relatively short battery life per unit makes a quick changeover system highly beneficial. However, continuous 8kHz usage isn’t generally recommended, as it wastes battery power unnecessarily. This speed is typically only needed for competitive gaming sessions.
At a more practical 1kHz polling rate, where each battery provides over 30 hours of life, simply plugging in the mouse for an occasional quick charge seems far less of an inconvenience.
For comparison, swappable battery gaming headsets have existed for a while, with products like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless as a prime example. For headsets, this technology feels more valuable due to shorter charge durations (e.g., Nova Pro Wireless lasts 20 hours) and the convenience of untethered movement around an office or gaming space. Wireless mice, however, require you to be at your desk anyway, making a simple cable plug-in a minor interruption.
Finally, the most significant alternative for those seeking a truly never-ending charge is Logitech PowerPlay. While it represents a more expensive setup, requiring an additional wireless charging mouse pad (which might not function on certain metal desks), once configured, you’ll never need to charge your mouse again.
Considering the unsatisfactory scroll wheel and the less-than-ideal grip of the outer casing, this mouse largely hinges on its unique battery-swapping feature. If that specific feature is a top priority, the Glorious Model O3 Wireless executes it brilliantly and offers good value compared to less feature-rich alternatives. However, as an overall package, other mice provide lighter designs, superior scroll wheels, and better surface finishes, all while offering ample battery life that makes an occasional charge a non-issue.
For pairing with your chosen mouse, explore our recommendations for the best gaming keyboards and best gaming mouse pads.