Logitech’s Folding Travel Mouse Fails at the One Thing That Matters Most

The Logitech Mobi Fold is the kind of mouse that draws questions, like bears to honey or flies to… honey. The first query will naturally be, “Why do you need a folding mouse?” The next inevitable question: “Why does your folding mouse look like a plastic tent emblazoned with the slogan ‘ribbed for their pleasure’?” Logitech’s $80 Mobi Fold was designed first and foremost as a travel mouse. Thanks to its ridged silicon sheath, it clams up to the size of an actual condom-hence my initial comparison. In the spirit of testing its portability, I slipped the folding mouse into my bag, brought it to Computex 2026 in Taipei, Taiwan, and spent a whole week using it in the field. I’ve determined that, after that period, the benefits of this pocketable mouse are minuscule compared to its myriad issues-particularly the fact that it replaces my beloved scroll wheel with a trackpad. Logitech Mobi Fold Logitech's folding mouse may make sense for some travelers, but the middle mouse pad makes using it on the go feel worse than using a trackpad. Pros - Super pocketable - Ultra-lightweight - Fast and accurate optical sensor Cons - Middle mouse pad isn't good for scrolling - Awkward ergonomics - Gets dirty fast Logitech’s folding mouse is more awkward than most other computer controls. Its silicon-lined shell attracts all the dirt and dust that accumulates inside your backpack. Though I’d initially imagined that I might appreciate this odd-looking device more than others do, I actually prefer my laptop’s trackpad. What I’d give for a scroll wheel I initially imagined myself as the perfect guinea pig to test this mouse. I tend to travel light. When attending a weeklong overseas convention, I normally take a heavy-duty drawstring bag large enough to fit a pocketable camera, a laptop, and a few extra pieces of gear. Previous pint-sized mice-even those from Logitech, such as the MX Anywhere 3S or the gamer-focused G705-could easily fit into most packs. And the Mobi Fold weighs just 79g (0.17 pounds) and takes up less space than any other mouse-like device, meaning all the fewer oddly-shaped objects jutting from my thin bag into my spine. There are other benefits to the Mobi Fold. The mouse takes a few cues from Logitech’s high-end productivity mice like the MX Master 4. Like that $120 mouse, the $80 Mobi Fold includes a single button at the bottom, just below the optical sensor, that lets you switch between one and three devices. Logitech even lets you customize your buttons in the Logi Options+ app. This mouse also has a long, long battery life. After nearly three weeks of regular use, I was down to just 50%. Logitech promises 22 hours per charge from this mouse, though if you’re like me and scroll or swipe only occasionally while typing, you will likely eke out more. The big issue is that this mouse eschews a traditional scroll wheel in favor of what Logitech calls “Active Touch Scrolling.” This is essentially a miniaturized trackpad acting as a multi-action middle mouse button. While that scrolling action is adequate for, say, reading text slowly, maneuvering straight to the bottom of a page is far more annoying. The trackpad seems to have sensitivity issues, and sometimes it takes multiple swipes to progress all the way down. Scrolling feels sluggish in general, which is not helped by the sticky texture alongside each mouse button. That Active Touch area also features forward and back buttons (you can swap them for other actions and enable gesture-based controls). On most browsers, you can also tap the center of the middle pad to zoom in and out of a page. These buttons are welcome, but they don’t make up for the Mobi Fold’s subpar user experience. Logitech stuffed its travel mouse with a 4,000 DPI sensor, meaning it’s fairly precise on a table. It was also a speedy little guy on whatever desks I was using, both abroad and at home. The optical sensor is accurate enough; it will even work on your pant leg in a pinch, though that makes it even more awkward to hold. The smallest dirt-prone mouse The Mobi Fold and its ridged silicon back aren’t even comfortable to wield. The texture also leaves it vulnerable to blemishes and grime. The white version of the mouse Logitech sent me for review was a magnet for all dust and debris in no time. I carried it around in a small felt bag, and it’s now imbued with all the loose fibers stuck into the valleys between each fold. A special faux-leather pouch comes free with the Mobi Fold, though I didn’t receive one with my review unit. That pouch should keep the device clean, though it also adds bulk to your bag. If you decide to get this mouse despite my qualms, I suggest you opt for the grey, graphite, or at least the lilac versions, though I can’t confirm they’ll stay any cleaner and more serene than my white model. The Mobi Fold is the kind of device to be used occasionally when you have no other choice. That’s not a very appealing proposition, is it? I could imagine using it more if the middle mouse button worked as well as a scroll wheel. Until it does, I’ll save those ounces and inches of bag space for something else.