Logitech MX Master 4 Review: Is This the Ultimate Productivity Mouse Reborn?

For years, the Logitech MX Master series has been the undisputed champion of work and productivity mice. Its unbeatable combination of a sensor that tracks on virtually any surface, a super-fast scroll wheel, and an incredibly practical secondary horizontal scroll wheel, all encased in a comfortable design, has made it the top choice for getting serious work done. Now, the Logitech MX Master 4 is back with some significant enhancements, including a new haptic thumb pad and gesture controls.

While a productivity mouse might not typically appear in a discussion about the best gaming mouse, for those who use their PC for both work and play, a device like this can be a fantastic addition to their setup. This is especially true if you prefer minimalist, ultra-light gaming mice, such as the Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2, over more feature-laden multi-function gaming mice like the Logitech G502 X Plus. We’ve thoroughly tested the new MX Master 4 over several weeks to determine if this latest iteration maintains its status as the go-to option for the perfect work mouse.

Specifications

Features

Many of the MX Master 4’s macro features are carried over from the MX Master 3 and 3S. You’ll find the standard two main left and right buttons with a vertical scroll wheel positioned between them. Directly behind this, a wheel shift button allows you to toggle the scroll wheel’s behavior between a precise notched feel and a smooth, free-spinning mode. The latter is perfect for rapidly navigating long documents or zooming in and out of images in applications like Photoshop.

To the left, a second scroll wheel provides horizontal movement. While it doesn’t offer the free-spinning capability of the main wheel, it’s incredibly useful for scrolling sideways in many applications that might otherwise lack this function or require a key modifier (e.g., Photoshop’s sideways scrolling with Ctrl + scroll wheel).

Further left, on the side of the mouse, are two standard back and forward buttons. This area also houses two of the most significant new features of this MX Master iteration.

Positioned in front of the back/forward buttons is a new gesture button. By holding this button and moving the mouse forward, backward, left, or right, you can trigger assigned functions. By default, these gestures control various Windows desktop functions, such as opening the Windows menu, minimizing all windows to show the desktop, or switching between virtual desktops. All these gestures can be customized through the software.

The final major new addition is the haptic pad located beneath your thumb, replacing the more traditional thumb button found on the 3 and 3S models. This soft, rubberized pad provides haptic feedback that simulates a button click when pressed. You can easily tell it’s a haptics system rather than a physical button because there’s no response when the mouse is powered off; the pad simply deforms slightly when pressed.

Once activated, this pad opens the Actions Ring, a software overlay that gives quick access to up to eight customizable functions. These rings are context-aware, meaning different sets of functions can appear depending on the application you’re using, such as Photoshop, Premiere, Chrome, or your desktop. You’ll need a Logitech account to download plugins for specific apps, but these are free. Alternatively, you can manually set up your own functions for each application.

Beyond these new additions, the MX Master 4 largely resembles its predecessors. It retains the Logitech Darkfield sensor, enabling it to work on almost any flat surface, including polished metal and glass. The sensor’s maximum DPI has also been increased to 8,000.

However, it’s important to note that the Master range is still not designed for gaming. These sensors aren’t optimized for the extremely fast movements required in gaming. Similarly, the mouse’s wireless connection, utilizing a tiny USB-C dongle, prioritizes connectivity strength over speed, with Logitech boasting a twofold increase in connection reliability due to new chip and antenna technology.

Design and Comfort

A significant reason for the MX Master series’ enduring popularity has been its distinctive shape, and the MX Master 4 largely maintains this core design. However, there’s one notable change to its overall aesthetic that, in our opinion, represents a step backward.

Starting with the positives, the fundamental shape remains familiar. It features a relatively steep slope of approximately 15° towards the right side, which is theoretically designed to reduce forearm twisting. While I personally don’t find this tilt enough to make a drastic difference compared to a truly vertical mouse or a flatter, symmetrical one, many users highly value this ergonomic design.

Theoretically, this mouse is also well-suited for a palm grip, where your entire hand rests over the device. However, due to my longer fingers (20cm from wrist base to middle fingertip), I find it challenging to comfortably reach the scroll wheel and other buttons with a full palm grip.

Moreover, I find that the elevated section of the mouse where the horizontal scroll wheel resides slightly interferes with a comfortable palm grip, feeling more like an intrusion than gentle support. I generally prefer a flatter mouse with a longer rear section, such as the G Pro X Superlight 2, for truly comfortable palm resting.

That said, mouse shape is highly subjective, and individual preferences will vary. More critically, the absence of the all-over rubber coating found on the MX Master 3 and 3S is a clear drawback. That previous surface significantly enhanced passive grip, regardless of hand temperature or moisture. Now, my palm tends to slide off the mouse’s slope, necessitating a slightly firmer grip. This feels like a notable downgrade.

Fortunately, the left side features a rubberized platform for your thumb, which also houses the haptic thumb pad, providing good grip. Similarly, a patch of rubber on the right side ensures that the mouse remains easy to grip even with a fingertip style.

Working against any type of grip, however, is the mouse’s considerable weight. At 151g, it’s even heavier than the already substantial MX Master 3, approaching three times the weight of many ultralight gaming mice. While this mouse isn’t designed for rapid, high-speed movements, you still need to lift and reposition it with your fingertips. This, combined with the less grippy top surface, makes it noticeably less wieldy than its predecessor.

Aesthetically, this is a sleek-looking mouse, with the new translucent plastic on the main buttons adding a neat touch. It’s available in the graphite color shown here, as well as a darker graphite/charcoal, and pale gray. The Mac version offers Space Black and White Silver options.

Software and Setup

To fully utilize the MX Master 4, installing Logitech’s Options+ software is essential. This software unlocks the gesture controls and Action Rings that significantly expand the mouse’s capabilities, and it also provides access to Logitech Flow. Flow is the company’s multi-computer feature, allowing seamless switching between connected computers and even enabling copy-pasting across them.

The Options+ software starts with the Buttons section, where you can customize the functions of all the mouse’s main controls, excluding the primary left and right buttons. For instance, you can set the second scroll wheel to control volume instead of horizontal scrolling, configure gestures for media playback rather than Windows Desktop controls, or assign the thumb pad button to bring up the task view instead of the Action Rings.

The next section allows you to fine-tune the mouse’s feel. You can adjust the sensitivity of both scroll wheels, including how pronounced the vertical scroll wheel notches feel when not in free-spinning mode. The haptics pad sensitivity and pointer speed can also be customized.

The Haptics section offers control over the intensity of the feedback, which is a welcome feature. I found the default medium setting a bit distracting and preferred the lower setting. I also opted to disable the haptic buzz when selecting actions from the Action Rings, as it defaults to triggering each time you hover over an option. The haptics can also be automatically disabled when the mouse battery is low.

The final main screen is dedicated to setting up Easy-Switch connections. It displays the devices currently connected to the MX Master 4, which you can cycle through using the button on the mouse’s bottom (or via other controls like Action Rings). However, this screen only shows connected devices and doesn’t offer additional configuration options.

Delving deeper into Action Rings, these overlays appear when you press the haptic thumb pad and remain open until you either click the central close button, select an action, or click elsewhere on the screen. You have complete freedom to customize the commands that appear for any application and can download plugins for hundreds of different apps. These plugins provide quick, easy access to common functions, complete with matching icons.

Setting up Action Rings is done in a separate section of Options+ outside of the main mouse settings. Here, you can immerse yourself in configuring them exactly to your liking. Similar to Flow and gestures, this setup can be quite time-consuming. Even with downloaded app plugins, I often found myself wanting to further customize them. It’s a significant task to consider all the applications you use, identify useful functions within them, decide where they feel most comfortable in the ring for quick access, and then commit all these functions and their locations to memory. However, once completed, you gain an incredible amount of functionality right at your fingertips.

Performance

Logitech’s Darkfield sensor, a laser-based (rather than optical) technology exclusive to the company, enables this mouse to track on virtually any surface. Unlike optical sensors, which require an even, matte finish for optimal tracking, the MX Master 4 performs flawlessly on polished metal, mirrors, glass, and more. While it still needs a reasonably flat surface, its tracking capability is remarkably versatile.

The increased maximum DPI isn’t a feature most users with standard setups will benefit from, as it feels excessively fast and somewhat jittery. However, for those with extensive multi-monitor setups, it could be useful for quickly traversing vast desktop spaces.

Regarding the performance of the mouse’s other core features, its main scroll wheel is arguably its standout attribute. While other mice, such as the Razer Basilisk V3 Pro 35K, offer a similar free-wheeling option, the MX Master 4’s implementation is truly effortless. I particularly appreciate its ability to provide a notched feel for precise, slower movements, yet automatically switch to a free-spinning mode when flicked harder, allowing you to zip through documents at what Logitech claims is up to 1,000 lines per second.

As for button performance, the main left and right buttons don’t feel optimized for gaming, lacking the crisp, clicky feedback characteristic of gaming switches. While they aren’t mushy, they do have a slight softness. Logitech has, in fact, focused on making these switches as quiet as possible. For those who find mouse clicks distracting, this is a thoughtful addition, though I personally never found the clicks on older models bothersome. (In contrast, some gaming mice, like the Razer Deathadder V4 Pro, boast very distinct clicks.)

Logitech has slightly loosened the feel of the horizontal scroll wheel, which significantly enhances its usability. It now feels much quicker and easier to navigate sideways through documents, a noticeable improvement over the somewhat stiff feel of the previous version.

Battery Life

The Logitech MX Master 4 boasts excellent battery life, with Logitech claiming up to two months of use on a single charge. Our tests confirmed this, with the mouse’s reported battery life in Options+ dropping only by single percentage digits after each day of use. This impressive longevity is a clear advantage of not having a super-fast sensor with a high polling rate.

Charging is handled via the USB-C port on the mouse’s front, and this device offers a remarkably quick charge: just one minute of charging provides a substantial three hours of additional use.

Price

The Logitech MX Master 4 is priced at $119.99, which, while not a budget option, is a fair price considering the extensive features packed into this mouse. Many high-end gaming mice cost significantly more and offer far less functionality.

Verdict

The Logitech MX Master 4 maintains its reign as the premier productivity mouse, with its new gesture and Action Ring features proving to be welcome additions to an already winning formula. However, the increased weight and the removal of its full rubber exterior noticeably diminish its grip compared to previous MX Master mice. While not an absolute deal-breaker, this could be a significant drawback for some users.

Fortunately, in all other aspects, there’s no doubt that this remains the ultimate mouse for those seeking to maximize their work efficiency.

If you’re looking for a great keyboard or mouse mat to complement your mouse choice, explore our guides on the best gaming keyboards and best gaming mouse pads.