Do you want to speed up your workflow and increase your Productivity? Then a mouse is a perfect device for you. With a good mouse, you can maximize efficiency and minimize frustration by ensuring that your commands are carried out precisely as you intend.
I have been using Laptop trackpads for most of my work. When I bought the Logitech Pebble mouse to use with my Mac, it helped me work more efficiently.
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While the Logitech Pebble is reasonably affordable and works well, I wasn’t sure why people go for expensive mice like the Logitech Mx Master or Logitech Lightspeed.
But I always heard good things about the Mx Master Mouse from everyone who owned it. I had already added it to my wish list.
These expensive Mice are so popular because of their extra reprogrammable buttons that can add an extra layer of functionality.
Mx Master isn’t the only productivity mouse out there. Other mice are available, from Logitech’s own Lightspeed Mouse to Razer DeathAdder and Reddragon Store Impact.
I picked the Logitech Lightspeed G604 because it is almost half the price of the MX Master 3S (the latest version) and offers more reprogrammable buttons, I bought it from Amazon.
What’s in the Box
The packaging has the Logitech Lightspeed G604 Mouse and 1 AA battery, one USB Type A extension chord, and one Wireless transmitter, which is housed inside the battery compartment, which can be opened from the back side of the mouse. And then there are some papers with instructions and product information.
The built quality of the Logitech Lightspeed G604 is quite good. It is also significant compared to my Logitech Pebble, but the shape fits nicely into the palm. The on/off switch is at the bottom of the Mouse. There’s a bit of texture on the top, which feels good on the palm.
You can rest your thumb into the arc shape, and two fingers sit nicely on the primary and secondary buttons. The thumb can easily access the six buttons.
Your index finger has access to the two buttons on the side of the primary button. You can also click the Scrollwheel with it and tilt the wheel in the right and left directions. All these actions can be programmed using the G Hub Application.
There are two buttons just below the Scroll wheel, and one is to switch between Hard scroll and Infinite scroll. And the other is to switch between Bluetooth and Transmitter (as I mentioned, it has a USB dongle).
The Infinite scroll frees the weel, and you can give it a spin. It helps in the fast scroll, might help access a long spreadsheet or maybe programmers can find it helpful to scroll through thousands of lines of code.
The hard mode is the usual you get on any Mouse. It gives you precise control of the scroll, but it could be more impressive on Mac. More on that later.
Why Logitech Lightspeed G604?
Also, the Logitech Lightspeed G604 is targeted towards gamers. All the G series keyboards and Mouse target the gaming market, while the MX series Keyboards and Mouse target the Pro market, consumers who are into programming and computer stuff other than gaming.
The MX Series uses other Software for customizations called Logitech Options. It’s similar to the Logitech G Hub, the Software for Gaming series Mouse and Keyboards, with minor differences.
One minor difference is the absence of the Logitech Flow feature (in Logitech G Hub), which lets users control two computers (on the same network) using a Single Mouse and Keyboard.
Mostly the customizations for reprogramming the keyboards are similar in both software.
There is no rule not to use a gaming mouse for Productivity. All the powerful gaming computers are also recommended for video editing and other graphics-intensive tasks. So the Logitech Lightspeed G604, with the reprogrammable buttons, makes an excellent productivity mouse.
Key Productivity Features
Logitech has a software called Logitech G Hub, which allows you to customize the Logitech Mouse and Keyboards from the G-series.
There are profiles you can set for different Applications. And you can also program 11 buttons for individual Software. The profile gets automatically switched. Whichever Software is active, it works pretty great.
The Logitech Lightspeed G604 also has onboard memory, which means the profiles can be saved on the Mouse itself, so it only sometimes needs to be connected to the G Hub Application.
The six buttons on the side require a bit of getting used to, but once you start using them, you will feel the difference in your work efficiency.
You can reprogram them to do a custom action, assign a command or create a macro where you type a keyboard shortcut, a predefined text or emoji, and open an application, that can be triggered using that button.
It is so convenient to do something with a click of a button instead of using both your hands to press that keyboard shortcut, especially when you are in the creative zone.
You can program buttons to copy and paste attributes to Photos, select a photo or open a comparison panel, switch between images in Applications like Lightroom,
Or you can add hard-to-remember keyboard shortcuts in video editing software to perform a specific action.
And the fact you can map 11 such complex keyboard shortcuts to your Mouse for individual applications makes it worth it.
Using it with Mac
It’s pretty hard to find a Mouse that works well with Mac. I’ve used a few of them, and only the Logitech Pebble mouse was close enough to give the best experience. I say close enough because I was still not pleased with the scrolling. The smooth scrolling of the tracking pad has spoilt me.
Sadly this is the same complaint I have about the Logitech Lightspeed G604 mouse. The scrolling needs to be at par with the scrolling on the tracking pad. The only Mouse that will match that tracking speed would be the apple magic mouse, which doesn’t have a wheel for scrolling.
That is why I like to use a combination of a Mouse and a Trackpad.
I’ve bought the Magic Trackpad so that I can have smooth scrolling when I am using my MacBook in Closed Display Mode.
Also, the scrolling is opposite of the Windows, with Natural Scrolling enabled. If you disable it, the trackpad will scroll opposite. But it’s easy to get used to.
The mouse DPI can be customized. There are dedicated buttons on the mouse, the two buttons on the side of the primary button are used for increasing or decreasing the DPI by default. I’ve kept it that way for now. 1600 DPI works best for me but I often switch between 1600 and 800.
While scrolling on webpages, the scrolling is a bit laggy. It responds after a few seconds. But since scrolling is already an unpleasant experience on the Mouse, I mostly use the trackpad.
After several weeks of using it, I built the muscle memory to use all the buttons on the Mouse, and it’s a breeze to it with my Mac now.
Here’s how I use it on my MacBook Pro.
1. I’ve reprogrammed it for desktop, where,
The top three buttons have Delete – Copy – Paste. And then,
The bottom three buttons have Close Windows – Screenshot – Open To-Do App
2. I’ve reprogrammed it for Google Chrome, where,
The top three buttons have Delete – Copy – Paste. And then,
Bottom three buttons have Close Tab – Speak Text – Voice Typing
3. I’ve reprogrammed it for Final Cut Pro, where,
The top three buttons have- Zoom Effect – Titles – Add Layer, And then,
The bottom three buttons have Glitch Effect – Overlay – Dynamic Background
I am currently only using it for three applications, as I spend most of my time either in the Google Chrome app or the Final Cut Pro editing videos. And it’s worth it even for just these two apps.
