Worlds First Foldable Mouse: MyAir.0 Review

Before I start, I must divulge that I helped fund the product in question on Kickstarter, however this will not taint my criticism of the product in anyway and the developers have no control of what I say or produce. With that being said, lets talk about the worlds first foldable Mouse.

History

Foldable gadgets are everywhere. From out of the ether they sprung, something only dreamed of in sci-fi series, was soon thrust upon society, and for a lot of us, we never looked back. For anyone doubting such a claim, just look at Michael Fisher’s every increasing ‘’Into the Fold’’ series to put your fears to rest.

Foldable phones, tablets, keyboards and even monitors are becoming more and more common place, so it only seemed reasonable someone would take this to the next level and think about computer mouses. The question your probably asking yourself is…why? Well much like the foldable phone, foldable keyboard and foldable monitor, being able to take your work outside of the office or even game away from home, is becoming more commonplace. To do this effectively, we need to reduce the amount of baggage we have in order to make this viable in the long term. Now whilst we have laptops and their trackpads for donkeys years, I have yet to find someone who actually likes using them??

Most laptop owners stash a Bluetooth mouse somewhere on their being in order to avoid using the dreaded trackpad, and will even often try and scavenge a wired mouse should they forget to bring their own. Combine this with the increasing number of mobile Desktop enthusiasts like myself, who see their phones becoming their pc’s, and already there is a sizable chunk of consumers looking for products that are easy to use and easy to carry. This is where the Developer of MyAir.0 decided to jump in with their own statement as to why ‘’ As mobile work is becoming more mainstream, we want everyone to work and play anywhere with the comfort of using a full-sized mouse, but without the bulkiness that you have to stuff into your bag or pocket ‘’.

Contents

Well what do you get a with your MyAir.0 foldable mouse. Well it comes with a manual, the mouse in question, and a mouse holder. Being an early adopter I also received a tablet / small laptop bag made from the same material as the mouse holder.  

Tech Specs

What are the technical specs?

• Bluetooth 5.2
• 2.4GHz frequency range
• Weight is 38g
• Built-in 3.7V 500mAh lithium battery lasting 3 months after a full charge
• Charge port is USB-C
• 1 year limited Warranty
• Mouse tracking system: HD infrared sensor image rate of Max 4000 frames per second. Tracking speed: up to 30inches per second. Cpi: 4000.

Your notice from the start there is no charging cable, but being that this is USB-C, most people I know in the mobile desktop community already have a plethora of USB-C cables sitting around for other devices, so its not really an issue.

Options

The mouse in question also come in a variety of standard colours and textures, however again being an early adopter I was able to grab hold of the Graffiti version, one I do hope they don’t make it exclusive as I’m sure you agree, it looks gorgeous!

Workings

But before we get into the positives of the product, lets understand how the mouse itself works. The mouse first comes out in its ‘’flat’’ form, I say flat, as the infrared sensor does prevent this from being truly horizontal. To start the device you pull both tails toward each other till the strong magnetic clip, clamps them together. This them automatically turns the device on, however, being Bluetooth you still will need to connect the mouse to your preferred device. 

Bluetooth

To do this, you will need to hold a small button on the inside left hand tab for 2 seconds till the light flashes red, at which stage your Bluetooth connection will appear ready for you to connect. The device itself only supports one device, but pairing to another device is easy as simply holding down the pairing button again for 2 seconds. Ideally I would like to see more devices connected at the touch of the back button, and maybe this is something that can be done later with a firmware update.From here, you are free to use said device like an ordinary mouse.

Weight

However the moment you place your hand on the MyAir.0, you will instantly know this is nothing like an ordinary mouse. First up is the weight, its just super light and feels akin to holding a piece of cardboard in relation to other mouses available. I use one of the smallest Logitech mouses, the MK185 for general use and even this feels heavy compared to that the MyAir.0, and weighting in at a mere 38g, you can easily understand why. Speaking of weight, you would think the weight of ones hand would push the wings away from each other but in all my testing and usage this never happened once. Its sturdy and resilient to some weight being placed upon it, and due to it’s own lightweight design can also be dropped with out any damage to the internals, unlike modern mouses.

Shape

Next is the shape and comfort of the design, and how this translates to your hand. The developers claim that this is ergonomically designed to ‘’avoid wrist cramping after long use’’… and actually I can agree to that. The shape that my hand makes when placed over it, feel flatter and less clamped liked when using the new foldable mouse. Again, to start off this feels a little unnatural, as your are used to grasping a mouse tightly, but the lightweight design and shape of the MyAir.0 is designed for a more smoother and gliding motion rather than a dragging one, of a traditional mouse. The only niggle I had with the design was that due to it being folding, the folded edges near the buttons are abit pointy to start of with, again until your hand develops are more natural stance with the mouse, which then dissipates said feeling. The material of the mouse is superb, and whilst I can’t comment on the ware and tear of it, I can say that the tactile feeling is perfect, for me at least.

Buttons

Next is button usage and that virtual scroll wheel, which makes the design so unique. For me at the least the mechanical buttons provide enough click and travel to that of a standard mouse, albeit a lot quieter than im used too, thanks to what they call ‘’silence buttons’’. But by far the most unusual and memory training I had to do with the product was based on the hidden wheel and central button. Traditional mouses have a raised scroll wheel you can affectively flick backwards and forwards at a whim to a speed that suits you, not so with the virtual scroll. This is very different from your traditional scroll wheel in that for you to move up or you need to place you finger on the scroll area and drag whilst still in contact with mouse. 

This feels slower than what most people are used to in terms of browsing web pages at a pace, but has the benefits of actually putting less stress on the fingers in question, due to being forced to make smoother fixed motions. To combat this issue, however, the developers have added a central button above the virtual scroll, that if you tap and hold for one second, will scroll the page based on your mouse movement not your virtual scroll wheel. This means you can fly through a browser at any speed you desire, however, in my testing you do need to know exactly where to place your and hold finger for this button to work. That will come with time and use and I hesitate to say, may become the preferred option once you have fully integrated yourself with your mouse functions.

Battery

To top of the mouse’s unique abilities is an un-expected but welcome one regardless. Reducing battery consumption is something that can take you 0.5 of seconds to accomplish. By pressing down on the right hand tail of the mouse, you can un-snap the folded design back to its original semi-flat state, which in turn, then turns off the mouse. Click it back and it turns on and is still connected to your device, which means unlike a traditional mouse, where I have to physically turn off the Bluetooth every time I use it, here the MyAir.0 happens at the snap of your fingers. And because this was as easy as that, I often found myself just unsnapping the mouse as part of my daily movements thus saving even more energy than I ever would have done with my Logitech. Again I do have a niggle, and I do worry should the battery fail or infrared sensor fail, this would be hard to replace yourself being built-in, but as the product does come with a one year warranty, I’m willing to let this be an option of mark 2 version.

Foldable

The biggest sell of this product Is its ability to affectively become flat, allowing for ease of transport in our modern moving world. No more bulky bags to carry everything and anything to work from home. If you are a laptop user / mobile desktop user or even a steam deck user, you can take all you need in one simple flat case, or even less if your into Augmented displays. Xreal AR glasses, foldable keyboard and now a foldable mouse would mean you would barely need a bag at all, to do some work, or game out and about. For me this is perfect with my 11.6inch Lapdock and solves on the biggest issues I often have which is bulkiness when travelling. The mouse’s case and tablet case are well stitched polyester I think, and whilst wont provide any true form of protection are a welcome nicety to have. That said the mouse does come with a lightweight plastic shell which will provide a little more protection than the case alone. 

Price & Final Thoughts

The price of the product isn’t that overly expensive either, as it’s currently on Indiegogo at £42 or $53 under its recommended retail price of £54 or $69.To say this is a unique device would be an understatement, and even though there are some issues I would have preferred to be tweaked prior release, the mouse vastly out performs my expectations. 

This is remember, a Mark one version of the product, and its design and functions do not appear anywhere else in the world. Just like the mark one foldable phone, keyboard and monitor, I can see this getting better with every iteration. I hope the developers at MyAir.0 continue to improve and evolve this product, as the benefits to the general public will become more apparent the more people are willing to use it, which I would recommend you do. If you are looking for something truly unique and innovative, the MyAir.0 would definitely scratch that itch and also provide that wow factor to those around you.