Though nominally branded as a CHERRY XTRFY product, which is expected given the merge of CHERRY and Xtrfy in 2023, the M64 Pro is clearly identifiable as a successor to Xtrfy mice such as the M4 or M8 Wireless. Much like on these, there is no need for software, as configuration is done entirely on-device through button combinations, and the ultra-low front from the M8 Wireless makes a return as well. What has changed, however, is that the M64 Pro not only innovates in terms of shape, but is also pushing boundaries when it comes to tech, being among the few mice currently available capable of true 8000 Hz wireless polling.

In terms of design, the M64 Pro continues the lineage of the M4 Wireless, albeit with some changes, the wider front being the most noticeable one. Unlike the M4 Wireless, however, the M64 Pro does without visible holes for weight-reduction entirely, yet weighs only 54 g, which is 17 g less than the same-size M4 Wireless, although that one had RGB lighting. Regarding build quality, I have little to complain about: On one of my two samples, there is a minor rattle when shaking the mouse, but no creaking or flexing of the shell when applying lateral pressure, and actuating the side buttons by pressing below them is impossible. In the pursuit of the lowest possible weight, the swappable rear cover of the M4 Wireless had to go, but considering the significant upgrade in terms of weight and build, I consider this loss a more than acceptable one.

For the main buttons, CHERRY XTRFY has opted for mechanical switches from Huano, more specifically the ones with a transparent blue shell and pink plunger. The same switches have seen notable use on the LAMZU Atlantis and Atlantis Mini, where they garnered a very positive reputation. That said, I'm not entirely on board with the implementation of these on the M64 Pro. While post-travel is low, pre-travel borders on high, resulting in a button response that is duller than it could be. The button design itself at least is good, as lateral play is minimal even when explicitly provoking it. Huano switches are also used for the side buttons, albeit regular ones with a yellow plunger. Pre-travel is fairly low on these, post-travel kept to a minimum, and the actuation point even across their entirety, which has button response feel snappy and pleasing. Much like on earlier Xtrfy mice, the scroll wheel encoder comes from F-Switch, but instead of the brown/pink core one, a brown/green core is used. Noise levels are appreciably low on this one, but tactility is merely above average, as the individual steps aren't quite as defined as they could be, though controlled scrolling is still perfectly possible regardless. As for the feet, these are very similar to the ones used on previous Xtrfy releases, still made of pure PTFE, and glide very well. As always, a set of replacement feet is included in the box, which is most handy.

Arguably the greatest effort has been put into improving performance as much as possible on the M64 Pro, and this work has paid off. With the included dongle, the M64 Pro is turned into a USB high-speed device, allowing for native support of polling rates above 1000 Hz. Right out of the gate, the degree of control the M64 Pro gives users about sensor settings is notable. At polling rates of 1000 Hz and under, the user can switch between three different sensor run modes: Standard Gaming Mode, Low Power Mode, and Pro Gaming Mode. Whereas Standard Gaming Mode and Low Power Mode are largely similar in terms of how the sensor framerate scales relative to a given velocity, with the most significant, yet in practice irrelevant difference being the maximum possible tracking speed, Pro Gaming Mode effectively makes the sensor behave as if it were wired, with major ramifications for performance. In Standard Gaming and Low Power Mode, the M64 Pro already achieves parity with the Logitech G403 (control subject) at 1000 Hz, provided MotionSync is disabled. Upon switching to Pro Gaming Mode, the M64 Pro now comes ahead of the G403 by roughly 1 ms, which is on par or better than what other mice muster at 4000 Hz. In fact, by switching to 4000 Hz, which defaults to Pro Gaming Mode anyway, motion delay isn't lowered even further. Hence, as long as Pro Gaming Mode is active and MotionSync disabled, motion delay will be on the same, downright excellent level. The only exception to this is 8000 Hz, for which a slightly larger buffer for retries has been implemented, to improve polling stability, resulting in a slightly worse motion delay of 0.5 ms relative to the G403. The only downside is that Pro Gaming Mode does reduce battery life quite a bit, though it'll still be higher at 1000 Hz than at 4000 Hz of course. To put it more simply: On the M64 Pro, one can enjoy the responsiveness of 4000 Hz even at 1000 or 500 Hz, owing to smart firmware design.

What's more, this not only applies to wireless motion delay, but to wireless click latency as well. As long as the M64 Pro is used in wireless operation, click latency will be at a stunningly low average of 0.3 ms, which is even lower than the already most impressive numbers posted by the Finalmouse UltralightX. In addition to being outstandingly low, click latency on the M64 Pro is also highly consistent, as reflected by a standard deviation of just 0.02 ms. Even with a high degree of sensor motion at 8000 Hz, missed polls for clicks are incredibly rare on the M64 Pro, leading to a remarkably consistent experience. As of now, the M64 Pro has the lowest click latency of any wireless mouse on the market, and also the most consistent. Neither polling rate nor debounce time, the latter setting of which in fact does nothing and therefore may be considered a legacy option, have any effect on click latency, and since a fixed value of defer-type debounce is applied upon lift-off, slam-clicking, which describes inadvertent button actuation upon resetting the mouse, is not present on the M64 Pro, either. In short, what the M64 Pro does in this regard is very close to perfection.

There are only two things one could criticize about performance on the M64 Pro: First, CPI deviation is a bit higher than it should be at +5%, which is mostly relevant due to the fact that the M64 Pro only provides fixed CPI steps, so any correction would have to be done by adjusting in-game sensitivity accordingly. Second, at polling rates of 1000 Hz and under, bouts of elevated noise occasionally show up, with no clear pattern or logic to their occurrence. That said, tracking is wholly unaffected by this, and the degree to which these bouts are pronounced is low to where one may consider them negligible. Furthermore, at both 4000 and 8000 Hz, polling is perfectly stable, which is particularly noteworthy for 8000 Hz, where even Razer tends to struggle on their wireless mice.

As mentioned, the sensor run modes not only affect performance but battery life as well. Using Standard Gaming Mode at 1000 Hz, CHERRY XTRFY cites a battery life of up to 90 hours. Given the battery capacity of 350 mAh, this is a plausible number, but verifying it is difficult if not impossible, as the only sort of battery indicator present on the M64 Pro is an LED lighting up in different colors, depending on the charge state segmented into four quarters. While the no-software approach has a lot of benefits, the lack of a precise battery indicator no doubt is among the downsides. It is fair to assume that both Pro Gaming Mode and 4000 as well as 8000 Hz lower battery life, but by how much is anyone's guess. Charging at least is a hassle-free affair on the M64 Pro: Since the M64 Pro also comes with a dedicated dongle extension cable, whose shielding is improved to ensure signal integrity even at 8000 Hz, the charging cable can be used exclusively for charging, and is flexible enough to allow playing while charging without feeling overly restricted. At around 0.25 A, the M64 Pro doesn't break any charging speed records, but isn't too slow, either.

Given how much the M64 Pro excels in the performance department in particular, it is no wonder that CHERRY XTRFY felt inclined to price it rather confidently. At $139.00, the M64 Pro costs a whopping $40 more than the Xtrfy M8 Wireless at $99.00, though the uplift in performance is also considerable. The M64 Pro indeed is peerless when it comes to click latency, and the only contestants in this department cost even more, such as the Finalmouse UltralightX at $189.00, or Razer's DeathAdder V3 Pro with the 8000 Hz HyperPolling Wireless Dongle for $159.99. In that sense, one could argue that the M64 Pro at least isn't out of line with the competition. Either way, for its sheer excellence in performance, the M64 Pro earns our Editor's Choice.