Red Magic GS001J gaming mouse review: From gaming phones to mice
Note: This article was first published on 25 August 2023.
A respectable first outing
Red Magic is a company better known for its gaming smartphones, such as the well-speccedRed Magic 8S Pro. The GS001J marks its first foray into the stacked gaming mouse space, and it will need to do a lot to go up against a bevvy of established names and upstart competitors.
The TL;DR version:Software bugs and glossy finish aside, it's a great mouse for a casual gamer looking for an affordable and versatile rodent that can work in wired and wireless modes.
You can tell right off the bat that this is a Red Magic mouse. The company's distinct futuristic aesthetic has made its way here as well, with a glossy, translucent shell that hints at the tech packed within. Red Magic's logo shines through at the back of the mouse, flanked by two LED strips at the bottom of the primary mouse buttons. Together with its aggressive angles and angular lines, it is a little tacky— breaking from the more minimalist design of brands like Pulsar and Lamzu— and I personally would have preferred a more utilitarian design.
I'm also not a fan of the glossy finish. It is a magnet for grime, and you will find yourself wiping it down ever so often to keep it in tip-top condition. However, you might like it if you have particularly dry hands.
Fortunately, the rest of the mouse is a lot more functional. The shape is a safe, symmetrical one, lending itself to a wide variety of grip styles. At approximately 120mm long, it is a medium mouse that sits in the middle of the pack in terms of size as well. Nothing about the design really stands out, and Red Magic does not appear to wish to assert itself too much in terms of shape. Even the hump is fairly neutral— neither particularly high nor low. So if you're looking for a generous hump that will fill your palm, or a low-profile rodent that you can fingertip grip, this is not quite it.
The sides are cut relatively straight as well, lacking any prominent ergonomic curves. They flare out slightly toward the rear, without really affecting how you hold the mouse.
The main mouse buttons have a matte coating and use KailhBlack Mamba switches, which are rated for 80 million clicks. There is some post-travel, but nothing that will bother you in-game. The split button design is separate from the top shell, which helps with the click feel. Each click feels sufficiently tactile, although I couldn't shake the feeling that they could still be a tad crisper. The side buttons have a nice and springy feel— you won't have to worry about these sinking into the mouse either.
The mouse feet come with a thin plastic film over them, a protective layer you'll have to remember to remove. The glide is smooth out of the box, with no noticeable scratchiness. The mouse also ships with an extra pair of replacement feet, along with grip tape if you're not a fan of the glossy sides.
There is a versatile array of connectivity options as well, and you can use the mouse in wired, 2.4GHz wireless, and Bluetooth modes. The cable is a soft and supple paracord-style cord, providing minimal drag. Wireless performance was solid, and I didn't experience any signal drops or stuttering during my time with it. You can toggle between the different modes using a dedicated switch at the bottom of the mouse. The dongle stows away neatly in a niche at the bottom too, so you won't lose it. There is also a DPI button for on-the-fly sensitivity changes, which can come in handy when moving from your game to desktop.
Red Magic has also included an adapter that will let you bring the supplied dongle closer to you, in case your PC is farther than usual.
The Red Magic mouse checks a lot of the right boxes when it comes to its specifications sheet. The 26,000 DPI PAW3395 optical sensor is one of the best on the market, offering flawless tracking with no acceleration or jitter. Its 75g weight is respectable— it is on the heavier end of the spectrum by today's standards, but not too shabby for Red Magic's first mouse. The cable interfaces via USB-C, something Logitech took ages to implement on its mice.
What really impressed me was the build quality. The slightly garish design belies a surprisingly solid build. The scroll wheel is smooth and tactile, and there is no noticeable flexing or creaking when pushing down on the sides or bottom. For a relatively affordable first attempt, theGS001J acquits itself quite nicely, while still packing a ton of features.
However, the mouse stumbles on the software front. I could not get the Red Magic Cloud driver to detect the mouse, regardless of whether it was in wired or wireless mode. That's a shame, because the driver offers additional customisation options, such as DPI steps, polling rate, macros, and lift-off distance adjustments.
Conclusion
At S$135, the Red MagicGS001J offers great bang for your buck. Its design may not be the most tasteful or classy, but you really can't fault it when it comes to its features or build quality.
While the company clearly has to iron out some bugs on the software front, it has produced a great mouse for a casual gamer looking for an affordable and versatile wireless rodent. Its safe shape helps it appeal to a wide swath of gamers, and it's difficult to see someone picking up the mouse and hating its shape.
What's left is to polish its software and refine its design further— perhaps with less glossy plastic and a more subdued look.
The Red Magic GS001J is available to buy on its website.
< PrevPage 1 of 1 – Red Magic GS001J gaming mouse review: From gaming phones to micePage 1 of 1 – Red Magic GS001J gaming mouse review: From gaming phones to micePage 1 of 1 Page 1 of 1 – Red Magic GS001J gaming mouse review: From gaming phones to miceNext >