Concept → Reality · Rewritten

The titanium mouse and the week it was overtaken

In October 2009 a Dutch studio launched a computer mouse with a hand-formed titanium shell and a jewelry-shop price. The same week, Apple showed a very different idea of what a well-designed mouse could be.

The Design Blog editors

A first-generation Apple Magic Mouse in white

Apple’s Magic Mouse, launched the same week in 2009. AI-retouched from an image by Yutaka Tsutano, CC BY 2.0.

Verdict 2026

It shipped

The titanium ID Mouse did go on sale: Intelligent Design launched it at Dutch Design Week 2009 and sold it through its own shop and a few retailers, first at €800. It stayed a luxury curiosity, while design-led mice moved toward touch surfaces and ergonomic shapes.

Apple Magic Mouse (USB-C, white)Closest thing you can buyApple Magic Mouse (USB-C, white)8.0Design ratingSeamless multi-touch shell, no visible partsCheck priceOur design review ↓

The idea today

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No titanium here, but three well-reviewed mice whose design is about how they feel and respond in the hand.

  • Apple Magic Mouse (USB-C, white)

    Apple Magic Mouse (USB-C, white)

    Still the cleanest mouse on the market: one seamless multi-touch surface with no visible buttons or wheel.

    Our design review

    8.0Design rating
    Form9.2
    Material8.4
    Detail6.8
    Longevity7.2

    The Magic Mouse is still one seamless white multi-touch shell on a thin aluminum base, with no visible buttons or wheel, and gestures replace both. The 2024 update only swapped Lightning for USB-C. PCMag’s reviewer found it too small and flat to support a large hand and the glossy top hard to keep clean. The port stays on the underside, so you cannot use the mouse while it charges, as TechRadar pointed out.

    Strongest point
    Seamless multi-touch shell, no visible parts
    Compromise
    Flat profile, charging port underneath
    Check price on Amazon
  • Logitech MX Master 3S

    Logitech MX Master 3S

    A full-size comfort mouse with quiet clicks and a MagSpeed scroll wheel that is fast, precise and nearly silent.

    Our design review

    8.6Design rating
    Form8.8
    Material8.4
    Detail9.2
    Longevity8.0

    The MX Master 3S is a sculpted right-hand mouse with a thumb shelf, a side scroll wheel and a main wheel of machined steel that switches between free spin and ratchet. Expert Reviews praised the soft rubber coating’s balance of grip and smoothness and found the Quiet Clicks much softer but still tactile. It charges over USB-C, with claimed battery life around 70 days. At about 141 g it is heavy, it suits only right-handers, and there is nowhere to store the receiver.

    Strongest point
    Steel MagSpeed wheel and quiet clicks
    Compromise
    Heavy, right-handed only, no receiver storage
    Check price on Amazon
  • Logitech Lift Vertical Ergonomic Mouse (graphite)

    Logitech Lift Vertical Ergonomic Mouse (graphite)

    A 57-degree vertical shape that holds the hand in a handshake position, made for small to medium right hands.

    Our design review

    8.4Design rating
    Form8.5
    Material8.2
    Detail8.4
    Longevity8.3

    The Lift holds the hand at 57 degrees in a body scaled for small and medium hands, with a softly textured grip and a snug thumb rest. Logitech says the graphite version’s plastic parts contain 70 percent certified recycled plastic. Reviewers at The Gadgeteer found the clicks muted without feeling mushy, but missed a fast-scroll mode. It runs on one replaceable AA cell rated for up to two years, though the Bolt receiver is still USB-A.

    Strongest point
    57-degree handshake shape, replaceable AA cell
    Compromise
    No fast scroll; receiver still USB-A
    Check price on Amazon

Product images from the retailer listings, cut out and staged with AI.

  1. 2009Intelligent Design, a studio in Utrecht, introduces the ID Mouse at Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, with a retail price of €800.
  2. 2009Apple announces the Magic Mouse, a buttonless mouse with a multi-touch surface, priced at $69.
  3. 2009TechCrunch reports the ID Mouse at $1,200 and judges it an art object rather than a tool.
  4. 2024Apple moves the Magic Mouse from Lightning to USB-C without changing its design.

What it was

In October 2009, the Utrecht studio Intelligent Design brought a computer mouse to Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven and put a jeweler’s price on it. The ID Mouse had a shell of grade 1 titanium, formed by hand, over a body of high-quality resin. Its scroll wheel was built around a neodymium magnet made for the studio. Underneath it was a fairly ordinary wireless mouse: Bluetooth with a dongle, laser tracking, three buttons, two AAA batteries, a symmetrical shape for either hand, in white or black.

The studio did not pretend this was about productivity. Its own page described the mouse as an expression of identity, luxury and elegance rather than a practical object. The launch price was €800. TechCrunch reported it at $1,200, called it a piece of art, and doubted anyone should pay that for a mouse that would show every fingerprint.

A mouse is a tool you touch thousands of times a day; the material matters less than how it answers.

Where it went

The ID Mouse was a real product. Intelligent Design showed and sold it at the Millionaire Fair in Amsterdam that year, and its product page still lists an online order option alongside stockists in Paris, Eindhoven, Maastricht and Utrecht. It never became more than a niche object, and we found no sign of a second model.

The timing was unkind. A week before the TechCrunch post, Apple announced the Magic Mouse. It had no buttons and no wheel, only one smooth multi-touch surface that read scrolls and swipes. It was wireless, worked for left- and right-handed users, and cost $69. Both mice were trying to make the most ordinary desk object feel special. One did it through material and price. The other did it through how it responded to your hand, and that is the version that lasted. Apple’s mouse is still on sale, in white and black. Its most recent update, in 2024, only swapped the charging port for USB-C.

What it means now

The design-led mice that people actually use today compete on shape, feel and control, not on rare metals. Logitech’s MX Master 3S is built around a fast, near-silent MagSpeed scroll wheel and quiet clicks. Its Lift stands at 57 degrees and holds the hand in a handshake position. The interesting idea in the ID Mouse turned out to be the one it shared with these: the scroll wheel as the part your finger touches most, worth engineering properly. The titanium was the part that dated.

The original post, summarized

Our 2009 post covered the ID Mouse by Intelligent Design, a Bluetooth laser mouse with a hand-formed grade 1 titanium shell and a neodymium scroll wheel, shown at Dutch Design Week 2009 and priced at about $1,200. It is summarized here rather than republished.

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