Microsoft's wild new mouse design is both brilliant and bizarre

Ah, the humble mouse. While the age-old accessory is hardly the most complicated device around, it can be surprisingly easy to get wrong. Just look at Apple's Magic Mouse, which remains one of the company's least popular products thanks to its upside-down charging design fail. But this new concept from Microsoft might be one of the best we've seen.

It seems the company is working on a new 'bendable' mouse design, which would be far more portable than today's standard offerings. Unlike current 'bending' options, this one can fully fold in half. (Looking for Microsoft gear? Check out the best early Surface Pro Black Friday deals.)

According to the patent, spotted by WindowsUnited, the bending mouse is designed to provide a solution to the fact that today's computer mice are “too bulky or inconvenient to carry around,” and “lack an ergonomic design and may be uncomfortable to use.”

According to Microsoft, an "expandable shell" would sit atop a "deformable body" to allow the bending motion. Meanwhile, the mouse could include a motion tracker to detect movement. And in one image (below), Microsoft shows that the mouse can even bend around a table. Why? We're not sure. But it looks cool!

This is by no means the first 'bending' mouse – even from Microsoft. The Surface Arc mouse is "designed to conform to your hand" thanks to a similar 'deformable' structure – but this is the first that can be folded entirely in half. What we don't know is whether it can be used while charging – which that disastrous Apple mouse certainly can't.

For creatives who prefer things a little more tote-able (like the iPad mini 6), we have a feeling Microsoft's bendable mouse will be a hit. If, that is, it ever sees the light of day. As with all patents, this one could be purely speculative. But don't worry, there are already plenty of mighty mice out there – check out our guide to finding the best mouse in 2021.

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