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Black Shark Mako M1 Review Dual-Mode Wireless/Wired Gaming Mouse

Thursday, November 18, 2021

 

Mako is the name of Japan's former princess, as well as the name of Black Shark's new gaming mouse - Mako M1 (model BS-M1) - a wireless/wired gaming mouse with interchangeable shells!



The Black Shark Mako M1 gaming mouse is plug-and-play and can be used via USB-C wired connection and via RF (radio frequency) wireless connection via the included 2.4Ghz USB dongle adapter. Being 2.4Ghz wireless, it has very low latency compared to bluetooth, which is ideal for gaming. That said, bluetooth mice have the advantage of multipoint connection, which allows you to connect the mouse to up to 3 devices. This is something you cannot do with the Mako M1 gaming mouse.


The neat thing about the Mako M1 gaming mouse is that in wired mode, Mako M1 doesn't require the use of the internal battery. This means, you can remove the battery to reduce weight and use Mako M1 like a regular wired mouse. The battery weighs 15 grams and measures 4.5cm long, 3cm wide and 0.8cm thick. It has 500mAh capacity and takes 2.5 hours to recharge and has a runtime of 16 hours (with RGB lighting off). During charging, the scroll wheel led lights solid red. The mouse will also enter sleep mode automatically (within 15 seconds) to preserve battery. To wake up, simple shake the mouse.


Another cool feature you get with Mako M1 are interchangeable shells. Simply detach and swap the top shells around. There are two shells included: a honeycomb style one with performations (weighs 6 grams ) and a solid shell, which weighs 10 grams. The top shells attach securely magnetically without wiggling around. Total weight of the mouse (including the battery) is 92 grams (with solid shell) and 86 grams (with perforated shell). If you include the cable, the weight is 119 grams. The maximum weight reduction that can be achieved with the Mako M1 mouse is 73 grams.


Removing and re-inserting the internal battery is very easy. The battery snaps into place securely without shifting around and can be easily pulled out by lifting it up by the pull tab. The top shell is also easy to detach, you simply lift the back end with the fingers. The Mako M1 mouse is made of ABS plastic and, just like ABS keycaps, will develop a greasy shine over time.


The bottom of the mouse is partially perforated and features large teflon mouse skates, as well as a switch to power off/on the mouse, as well as disable the RGB lighting. The USB-C charging/power port is located on the front inside a recessed cutout. 

 

The scroll wheel is rubberized and has a deep textured thread that makes it very grippy. More perforations can be found on the left side and right side, helping keep the weight down. Like all honeycomb mice with perforations, they do have one drawback and that is dust and water ingress when accidentally spilling a drink.

Mako M1 is equipped with a 10,000 DPI optical sensor - the PMW3325 (PixArt) optical sensor - which is the same sensor found in the Corsair Harpoon and MSI Clutch GM11 mice. The PixArt 3325 sensor has very good accuracy and tracks very well on different surfaces (e.g. desk, mousepad cloth, etc). It's possible to spin it out when flicking in games but only at lower DPI settings and, you really have to try hard doing it. The Mako M1 uses an PMW 3325, which is the second best budget sensor which also tracks pixel to pixel movements. The sensor also doesn't have any angle snapping, acceleration or prediction. The Mako M1 performs just as good as a top tier e-sports mouse.


The on-board DPI plastic button lets you change DPI right from the mouse. There are 6 default DPI levels to choose from (500/1000/1500/2000/3000/5000) and they're color coded to help identify the current DPI setting. The maximum DPI level is 10,000 but this can only be set via the software. Unfortuinely, the default DPI settings on-board the mouse cannot be customized. Mako M1 is also equipped with three RGB zones located on the scroll wheel, rear logo and base rim around the bottom of the mouse. You can choose from ten dynamic RGB lighting effects, one solid color (purple) and off mode. 

 

Toggling between lighting effects is done using the scroll wheel centre button + the left side back button. The RGB lighting effects are smooth and clear. The only downside is that the scroll wheel led and logo led cannot be customized. You can also adjust brightness and customize the RGB lighting effects but, you will need to download the software (BS-M1 saming software) from Black Shark website. 




There are a total of six physical buttons, including the left/right click buttons, two left side buttons, DPI button and scroll wheel centre button. All buttons are clicky and responsive and can be remapped only via software. The Mako M1 mouse has an 8-shaped base so, the mid-section is slightly narrower (5.5cm wide) than the front and back which measure 6cm wide.The length is 13cm long. The highest point of the mouse (the hump) is the midsection, which measures 4cm high.




Black Shark's software is compatible with Windows computers only. It gives you access to macro recording, button remapping, user profiles (up to 3) and polling rate (up to 1,000Hz). With button remapping, you can re-assign the function of each button (including left/right click buttons) to a function from the lis, including scroll up/down, fire key, keyboard shorcut and multimedia (e.g. volume, skip tracks, mute, play/pause)




The detachable cable (USB-C to USB-A) included looks and feels premium. It has a ferrite bead inline the cable, as well as rubber plugs with Black Shark branding on them. The cable measures 1.8 meters long and made of medium stiff braid. The cable is bendable and flexible so, it doesn't drag like stiffer cables. You won't need a mouse bungee cable holder.

 

The included 2.4Ghz dongle is not branded and seems like a generic 2.4Ghz dongle. There is also a rubber cable tie included. Mako M1comes inside a hard carboard box and protected with a thick removable foam insert. You can buy the Mako M1 gaming mouse from amazon and get 20% off using discount code 3R3JVPH3. Check out the review of the Black Shark Magnetic Cooler and Lucifer T1 earbuds.


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