Disclosure: The G303 mouse was provided to us by Logitech for the purpose of this review.
A lot of manufacturers of computer peripherals have stepped up to the plate the last few years, but arguably the safest bet among them has been Logitech. Designing hardware since 1981, they built their name as pioneers of ergonomics. That history is why I’m excited to take a closer look at their latest offerings, the G910 Orion Spark RGB Mechanical Keyboard (you can read our coverage of it here) and the G303 Daedalus Apex Performance Edition Gaming Mouse reviewed below.
According to Logitech, the company spent a lot of time talking with professional gamers about what they wanted from the G303 Daedalus Apex. The result was something designed to be lightweight and easy to move around a pad. Additionally, other common requests were for a bigger optical sensor, a more flexible cable, and RGB lighting. So how does it feel to hold in practice?
The G303 is a surprisingly compact mouse. Its slight frame is symmetrical, with both halves expanding outward to meet near the center. Extra buttons are your standard fare with a DPI switch below the scroll wheel and forward and back buttons along the left edge. Matte plastic covers the mouse, does a decent job at preventing grim buildup versus lamentated or smooth textures. My only complaints with its construction are with the lack of a DPI indicator surrounding the switch and a wheel that can be somewhat springy at times.
The sleek design is accentuated with wonderfully strong lighting that illuminates through a honeycomb pattern on each side and a large G-logo between them. And because its RGB light is placed centrally, that warmth can give an impression of life due to a sense of depth. This is particularly true when enabling the breathing effect. It’s really quite hypnotic.
And the cousin to elegance is agility. At only 87 grams, the G303 absolutely swims across the desk. Its weight in combination with a gentle palm slope make for a comfortable mouse, as well. The lack of a thumb and pinky rest did feel strange at first, but after a period of adjustment their absence isn’t wholly missed.
The software that powers the mouse is the same suite shared with the G910 Orion Spark mechanical keyboard. Inside you have access to three different profiles stored on either the mouse’s onboard memory or the computer. Each button can be reassigned, and five sensitivity levels can be customized from 200 up to a staggering 12,000 DPI. You can also edit your polling rate between a report of 125, 250, 500, and 1,000.
Lighting control allows RGB customization (16.8 million colors) of the logo and sides. Sadly there’s no way to set them to different color, but breathing and color cycle effects can be tweaked to enable or disable each zone. Furthermore, brightness, speed, and sleep timers can be set for both effects.
The final two software tabs include a key press heat map and an easy-to-use surface tuner for increased accuracy of the optical sensor. Factory Default, G240 Cloth Gaming Mouse Pad, and G440 Hard Gaming Mouse Pad presets exist, but it’s possible to tune the mouse to your own surfaces with a quick scan.
Logitech accomplished what it set out to do with the G303 Daedalus Apex mouse. It’s lightweight, mobile, and breathes with color. At $70 (it’s gone as low as $50 at certain retailers), however, it does feel a little barebones. But if you’re looking for an agile gaming mouse with a bright complexion, then the G303 is an easy recommendation.
