Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber recently discussed the possibility of one day selling a mouse that customers can use “forever.” The executive said such a mouse isn’t “necessarily super far away” and will rely on software updates, likely delivered through a subscription model.

Speaking on a July 29 episode of The Verge’s Decoder podcast, Faber, who Logitech appointed as CEO in October, said that members of a “Logitech innovation center” showed her “a forever mouse” and compared it to a nice but not “super expensive” watch. She said:

I’m not planning to throw that watch away ever. So why would I be throwing my mouse or my keyboard away if it’s a fantastic-quality, well-designed, software-enabled mouse? The forever mouse is one of the things that we’d like to get to.

Having to pay a regular fee for full use of a peripheral could deter customers, though. HP is trying a similar idea with rentable printers that require a monthly fee. The printers differ from the idea of the forever mouse in that the HP hardware belongs to HP, not the user. However, concerns around tracking and the addition of ongoing expenses are similar.>>>>

  • What’s a mouse?
    I use a trackpad
    The lenovo version of trackpad on my thinkpad has buttons on the top & bottom along with trackpoint that works when nothing else will…
    I even have a usb keyboard with a trackpad

    I bought a gaming mouse [not logitech] to set up a distro that wouldn’t install by trackpad for $12 once the install finished, it sits on a shelf

    A forever mouse is a solution in search of a problem

    The customer base of people who use mice is shrinking, most people use their phones or pads a majority of the time

    • My experience is so different, and so are the market statistics. A “forever mouse” is a dumb idea just looking for a subscription cash grab, but the PC mouse market is expanding year over year as more people get desktop computers, and especially for PC gaming, an expanding market in its own right. The customer base of people who use mice might be shrinking in some Linux communities, but stating that across the board is just incorrect.

    • what you wrote sounds completely insane to me. sure i don’t use a mouse on my phone very much, but no way would i ever prefer a trackpad to a mouse for a desktop or laptop. and tons of people still carry a mouse to use with their laptops, based on my observations. i really think you may be an outlier here.