Logitech Mobi Fold Review: Ultra-Compact Travel Mouse

Logitech makes some of the best productivity mice on the market. However, when it comes to more portable but still travel-friendly options, your choices are pretty limited. You’re basically just looking at the MX Anywhere 3S. But with its latest mouse – the Mobi Fold – Logitech has created something simpler and more compact for the kind of people who need an accessory that goes beyond your standard laptop touchpad.

Fans of old Microsoft peripherals may notice many similarities between the Mobi Fold and the Arc mouse line, as Logitech’s latest mouse looks like a modernized spiritual successor to a family of gadgets that were ahead of their time. When you’re traveling, the Mobi Fold folds in half to form a small 2.2 x 2.5 inch rectangle that’s less than an inch thick and weighs just over two ounces. It’s so small it disappears into a bag and can easily slip into a pocket, even if you’re limited to the ridiculously small pockets you usually find in women’s pants.

If you want to get some work done, you can just turn on the mouse, put it on the table and go back to clicking, highlighting and pointing. The Mobi Fold features soft left and right physical mouse buttons so pressing them won’t disturb your nearby colleagues. In the middle, there’s a small touchpad that acts like your mouse wheel, allowing you to quickly and accurately scroll through long documents and websites. You can even press the touchpad for middle mouse clicks (or wheel clicks depending on what you call it). And if you want to customize what any of these buttons do, you can always change their behavior within Logitech’s free Options+ app.

At the bottom, there’s a button to pair the Mobi Fold over Bluetooth with up to three different devices at once, as well as active indicator lights to let you know which one is currently selected. There’s also a cut-out for the mouse sensor, a USB-C port for charging back and some built-in feet to ensure the Mobi Fold moves smoothly on all kinds of surfaces.

Using the Mobi Fold couldn’t be easier. Once you’ve paired it to a laptop, turning it on and off automatically turns it on and off, so you don’t have to worry about accidental clicks while on the go. And while it may look strange to people used to traditional pucks, everything behaves as you would expect.

That said, if I’m really picky, the Mobi Fold’s geometric design isn’t the most comfortable thing in the world. I actually like the little bounce you get when you press down on its hinge. However, because there is a large gap in between, there is nowhere to rest your thumb or ring/pinky fingers. And also, because the Mobi Fold is actually a tent-shaped rectangle, it’s completely ambidextrous, perfect for lefties.

Finally, while you can adjust the sensitivity of the Mobi Fold’s touchpad, I noticed that scrolling isn’t as easy as having a proper physical wheel. But that’s kind of the price you pay for a more compact design. And make no mistake, it’s still as good if not better than most of the touchpads out there.

Logitech says the Mobi Fold offers up to 30 days of battery life on a single charge. I haven’t used my review unit that long, but that claim is believable. After two and a half weeks of intermittent use, the mouse still has more than 70 percent left in the tank. That said, if you’re going downhill and need to plug it in quickly, the company also says that plugging it in for one minute can add up to 22 hours of extra runtime, which is more than enough to get you through several working days. And when I tested its charging speed myself, the Mobi Fold went from 70 percent battery to 80 percent in just sixty seconds. You’ll just need to borrow a cable and power adapter from your phone or laptop, because you don’t get any of those in the box.

I will admit that the Mobi Fold is made for a certain type of laptop user who is not fully satisfied with the built-in touchpad of the PC and wants a more compact and lightweight way to travel. But as someone who grew up in a world before trackpads were standard equipment, I totally get it. I’m faster and more productive when I use a virtual mouse and I’m more than willing to carry it around, as long as it’s not too heavy. And with the Mobi Fold, Logitech has created one of the most portable displays on the market.

The biggest drawback is its price, which at $80, puts it out of reach for some people. It’s also not the most ergonomic thing to use, as its design focuses more on portability than fun. Meanwhile, if you want the convenience of using a wireless dongle instead of relying solely on Bluetooth, you need to pay an additional $10 for the business model. But perhaps the biggest problem is that the MX Anywhere 3S still exists. Of course, it costs $90 instead of $80. But it has longer battery life, three extra buttons, a really nice scroll wheel with Logitech’s Magspeed technology and it’s easy to use. And, it’s not that big either. If you place a high premium on high portability however, the Mobi Fold could be your most compact friend.