Compared to the HK Gaming Mira-S and Mira-M, the Naos-M performs very similarly. PixArt's PMW3360 sensor did perfectly well in my testing, although the much higher CPI deviation this time around is a bit of a letdown. Click latency is still nice and low, buttons are of high quality on my unit, and the low weight (63 g) along with the highly flexible cable and good feet made the Naos-M a joy to use in games. Scrolling is still a bit too light for my liking, but it's nowhere near as slippery as on the Mira-S and Mira-M. Unlike on the Mira series, the Naos-M comes with full RGB lighting. The two LED stripes on the sides are highly reminiscent of Glorious mice, and the same applies to the included software. But that's hardly a bad thing, and aside from the apparently dysfunctional LOD adjustment setting, I found no issues using the Naos-M software. Just like on the Mira-S and Mira-M, HK Gaming included a set of grip tape and a set of replacement mouse feet, which is always very welcome and something I'd like to see more companies do. Speaking of which, even though the feet glide fine, I wouldn't mind them being a bit thicker. Admittedly, my mouse pad is fairly worn, but on some portions, I noticed the bottom of the mouse scratching the surface.

As for the shape, the Naos-M closely resembles the Zowie S2. It's not a one-to-one clone as it ends up being slightly smaller, though no doubt heavily inspired by this particular shape. Even the CPI button is located on the bottom, in exactly the same spot as on the S2. Just recently, we've seen the VAXEE ZYGEN NP-01, which also adapts the S2 shape, albeit combined with a right-handed ergonomic base. I consider the NP-01 a straight upgrade over the S2, and the same goes for the Naos-M. If you're into the S2 shape, there's really no reason to go for the S2 anymore since the NP-01 and Naos-M are basically the same thing at a lower weight and with much better cables.

Sounds like an easy recommendation, right? Well, there's a caveat: the price. Don't get me wrong, the Naos-M is a great mouse with minor flaws, but the elephant in the room is the price tag. Frankly, at $69.99, HK Gaming is simply charging too damn much. I really have no idea where that $20 premium compared to the original price of the Mira-S and Mira-M is coming from. At $49.99, the Naos-M would've been an easy Editor's Choice and worthy of a Budget award, but at $69.99, all I have in store is a Recommended. This becomes even more evident when looking at the competition. For $59.99, the VAXEE ZYGEN NP-01 offers similar performance and quality, albeit with technically superior specifications, along with a similar shape. The ROCCAT Burst Pro blows the Naos-M out of the water in terms of quality and offers optical switches and a roughly comparable shape as well, at $59.99. The Endgame Gear XM1 White goes for $59.99 and comes with its own analog switch technology coupled with better quality and similar performance. The SPC Gear LIX Plus has a shape that isn't too similar, but quality and performance are basically the same, at just $49.99. Lastly, the Razer Viper Mini at just $39.99 offers optical switches, barely worse performance, and better build quality.