ASUS Intros ROG Gladius II Wireless Gaming Mouse

[btarunr]

Wireless gaming mice are back in vogue as manufacturers are powering them with lightweight lithium-ion rechargeable batteries or induction current; and as gamers are beginning to care less about the added input-lag of wireless peripherals. To compete with the likes of the Logitech G Pro, which launched to generally positive reviews, ASUS launched a wireless variant of its Republic of Gamers (ROG) Gladius II. The new ROG Gladius II Wireless retains the shape, button-layout, and grip of the original Gladius II, but is wireless, lacks the bottom RGB LED diffuser, and weighs 130 g, just 20 g more than its wired sibling. It also packs a more powerful sensor.

The ROG Gladius II Wireless uses a combination of 2.40 GHz RF and low-latency Bluetooth BLE to achieve input latencies as low as 1 ms. The mouse packs a 16,000 dpi optical sensor (compared to the wired original's 12,000 dpi). At any point, if you're not sure about playing wireless, you can switch to the wired mode on the fly, by simply plugging in the included USB cable to its micro USB connector located up front. The mouse is remapped as a new device by Windows, and USB is used for both input and recharging the battery. We expect the ROG Gladius II Wireless to be competitively priced to the Logitech G Pro Wireless (around $140).



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[dj-electric]

The only way I can see this competing with the likes of G Pro is having a more ergonomic shape for bigger hands. Shape seems fine so far

 

[randomUser]

IMO heavy mouse is much better. So i like mice that are powered with AA batteries (if wireless), or have special weights that make it heavier (non wireless).
Li-ion usage is very bad, because it removes users' ability to replace battery, or buy a replacement from basically any store nearby.
Furthermore, i use Eneloops everywhere i can, because they are the best batteries out there.

 

[Assimilator]

"as gamers are beginning to care less about the added input-lag of wireless peripherals"

More like manufacturers have finally started to focus on eliminating that lag.

Li-ion usage is very bad, because it removes users' ability to replace battery, or buy a replacement from basically any store nearby.

Battery packs are replaceable last time I checked.

 

[randomUser]

None of my local grocery stores have li-ion batteries. The only way to get them is to go to electronics stores. But ALL of them have AAA or AA batteries.
You either have AAA or AA tradiniotal batteries.
There are thousands of various shapes and sizes of li-ion batteries, which means that for every device, you need to look for a seller who actually sells that type of battery.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

1ms lag is still quite a lot for competitive gaming. I can imagine there sill still be resistance to wireless there. Non-competitive games it should matter as much, which to me, I like.

 

[silentbogo]

The mouse packs a 16,000 dpi optical sensor (compared to the wired original's 12,000 dpi).

That's definitely an overkill, especially for a wireless mouse.... Heck, I'm still happy with 1600dpi on my 4K monitor, and the most I could realistically handle was 2400dpi (which coincidentally was on a wireless gaming mouse).

We expect the ROG Gladius II Wireless to be competitively priced to the Logitech G Pro Wireless (around $140).

I'm pretty sure they have no resources for custom low-power sensors and super-optimized wireless transceivers like Logitech does, so it's probably built with aftermarket parts like Pixart PMW3360 and nRF5-series controller (most likely 52840). So, they are comparing basically a "would-be mainstream" gaming mouse to a high-end gaming mouse with a bunch of cutting-edge custom hardware.
At least they were reasonable enough to not charge a full $200...

Battery packs are replaceable last time I checked.

The only difference is that in most cases you need to disassemble the mouse in order to replace the LiPo/LiIon pack.

None of my local grocery stores have li-ion batteries. The only way to get them is to go to electronics stores. But ALL of them have AAA or AA batteries.
You either have AAA or AA tradiniotal batteries.
There are thousands of various shapes and sizes of li-ion batteries, which means that for every device, you need to look for a seller who actually sells that type of battery.

If you ever owned a cordless phone, then you are already familiar with the Lithium cell and the replacement process. Most rechargeable mice have the exact same 2-pin low-current pack.

Another thing to remember is that you don't need to replace the rechargeable cell once a week/month. You'll only need to make a trip to electronics store about once every 3-5 years depending on the cell quality. In case of ASUS I'd say every 3 years seems just fine (considering how much time and money you'll save on those AA/AAA batteries).
I used to have a very-very old Logitech wireless combo (I think it was MX5000). I've used it for around 3-4 years and never-ever had to disassemble that Logitech MX mouse, never had battery issues, and I did not even notice a dramatic charge degradation (it was noticeable, but definitely not higher than 20%).

1ms lag is still quite a lot for competitive gaming. I can imagine there sill still be resistance to wireless there. Non-competitive games it should matter as much, which to me, I like.

Nonsense! Even the most advanced wired USB gaming mouse has an input lag of no less than 1ms.
Even those ridiculous 2000Hz gaming mice, that were once so popular, still have a 1ms lag, cause they are basically 2x USB HID endpoints working at 1000 packets/s (e.g. big fat pile of marketing bullshit).

 

[Assimilator]

I'm pretty sure they have no resources for custom low-power sensors and super-optimized wireless transceivers like Logitech does, so it's probably built with aftermarket parts like Pixart PMW3360 and nRF5-series controller (most likely 52840). So, they are comparing basically a "would-be mainstream" gaming mouse to a high-end gaming mouse with a bunch of cutting-edge custom hardware.
At least they were reasonable enough to not charge a full $200...

I can guarantee you that 99% of potential purchasers won't notice a difference either way (and I'm probably one of them). That said, if Asus does insist on charging the same price for an inferior product, then they can respectfully get f**ked. I just want something that performs the same or slightly better than my ancient G400 and even-more-ancient MX518, but without wires and having to futz around with AA batteries, and without costing a bajillion bucks... why is that so much to ask?

The only difference is that in most cases you need to disassemble the mouse in order to replace the LiPo/LiIon pack.

I'm hoping that Asus does the logical thing and makes the battery easy to swap out (think the packs on Xbox controllers, which can be replaced by rechargeable LiPo batteries). They could be a bunch of bastards and make it non-removable or some shenanigans to encourage upgrading (planned obsolescence), but let's hope not.

 

[silentbogo]

I'm hoping that Asus does the logical thing and makes the battery easy to swap out (think the packs on Xbox controllers, which can be replaced by rechargeable LiPo batteries). They could be a bunch of bastards and make it non-removable or some shenanigans to encourage upgrading (planned obsolescence), but let's hope not.

Ever since I've got a chance to play around with a bunch of A4Tech Bloody wireless mice, I dreamed of modding my G5 into wireless nRF24L01-based mouse with hot-swappable Nokia BL5C battery pack.
It can be fitted perfectly into an original weights cartridge, if I just cut out the insides.

Another thing that A4Tech incidentally did right, was not implementing the USB HID mode. USB is only used for charging and firmware updates, so if you are in the middle of the gaming session, you can plug-in the USB and continue playing without re-initialization or interruptions, cause it still broadcasts the wireless signal. You can even plug it into your smartphone charger or powerbank, and just keep going