Technologies

Logitech MX Anywhere 3S: New Mobile Mouse Has Quieter Clicks and 8K DPI Optical Sensor

The company’s upgraded mobile mouse features a new 8,000 DPI optical sensor and its button-clicking sounds have been toned down.

As is typical for a Logitech «S» product update, its new compact MX Anywhere 3S wireless «mobile» mouse doesn’t look any different from its predecessor. However, it offers some performance upgrades, notably quieter operation and an upgraded 8,000 DPI optical sensor that Logitech says tracks on most surfaces including glass and offers faster workflow with high-resolution monitors. The new mouse ships in June in graphite, pale gray and rose colors for $80 (£65, AU$130).

See at Logitech

Like its predecessor, the MX Anywhere 3, Logitech positions the MX Anywhere 3S as a premium Bluetooth travel mouse as well as an everyday mouse for those with smaller hands (it’s an ambidextrous mouse so you can use it with either your left or right hand). Weighing 95 grams, it’s considerably lighter and smaller than Logitech’s $100 flagship MX Master 3S (141 grams), which also has an 8K DPI optical sensor and the quiet clicks feature. The MX Anywhere 3 has a 4K DPI optical sensor.

Read more: Best wireless mouse of 2023

The MX Anywhere 3S is available only in a universal version that works with Windows, MacOS, iPadOS (13.4 or higher), Android (9.0 or higher), ChromeOS and Linux computers via Bluetooth (the MX Anywhere 3 also comes in a Mac version targeted at Apple users). For better or worse, Logitech’s Logi Bolt USB dongle is no longer included but you can still connect up to three devices via Bluetooth and switch between them by tapping a button on the bottom of the mouse. Logitech says the laptop and mobile device users who tend to buy its MX Anywhere mice tend not to use the dongle and opt for Bluetooth instead, so it left the dongle out though you can request one with the company if you really want one (the mouse is compatible with Logi Bolt).

The MX Anywhere 3S in the graphite color.

Logitech

I’ve used the earlier MX Anywhere 3 off-and-on for the last year or so with my laptop and it’s a great travel mouse — maybe the best out there — and features very good ergonomics and performance, plus good customization options via the Logi Options Plus app. While the new updates aren’t exactly game changers that would give an MX Anywhere 3 owner like me a burning reason to upgrade, you can definitely hear the difference when it comes to the quieter clicks. That said, but those clicks sound muffled but aren’t completely silent. The difference in optical sensors is harder to discern but a higher DPI sensor can come in handy when you’re using a high-resolution display with your cursor tracking faster across the screen.

The mouse is equipped with the same smooth MagSpeed electromagnetic scroll wheel that «zips through 1,000 lines per second with accuracy to stop on a pixel and auto-shifts between ratchet and free spin mode,» according to Logitech. The MX Anywhere 3S doesn’t have a side scroll wheel but you can hold either of the side buttons while scrolling with the scroll wheel to scroll horizontally, which spreadsheet jockeys will appreciate. Those side buttons also have predefined app-specific settings. For instance, in Zoom and Microsoft Teams, the forward button starts and stops your video and the back button mutes and unmutes your microphone.

The Logitech MX Anywhere 3S has a 8K DPI optical sensor.

David Carnoy/CNET

Battery life is rated at up to 70 days on single charge and you can get around 3 hours of use from a 1-minute charge via the USB-C charging port. With my MX Anywhere 3, I tend to have to recharge after about a month, but that’s with with pretty heavy use.

I’ve been impressed with how the MX Anywhere 3 has held up over time — and, as I said, the MX Anywhere 3S appears to have the same design. The silicone side grip, which is pleasing to the touch and offers a nice grip, shows some slight wear in spots but is mainly in very good shape. No carrying case or pouch is included but it survived just fine after I stored it in smaller compartment in my backpack and sometime the side pocket of my slim laptop cover.

Like a lot of companies embracing sustainability directives, Logitech says this latest iteration of the MX Anywhere mouse incorporates a higher percentage of recycled plastic in its plastic components: 78% for the graphite version and 61% for pale gray and rose colors.

At the time it launched the MX Anywhere 3S, Logitech also unveiled the MX Keys S ($110), an upgraded version of its MX Keys keyboard that features better battery life, an improved key layout, customizable backlighting and a new Smart Actions feature that allows how to create shortcuts with a single keystroke via the Logi Options Plus app. The MX Anywhere 3S mouse also support the Smart Actions feature.

The Logitech MX Anywhere 3S is available in a rose color — The mouse in the rose color.

Screenshot by David Carnoy/CNET

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, April 6

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 6.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword has my favorite Australian cartoon as an answer. If you’re a fan of Bingo, Bandit and Chilli, you’ll nail that answer. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Nibble : food :: ___ : drink
Answer: SIP

4A clue: Like a kid doodling in class, maybe
Answer: BORED

6A clue: Popular Disney+ show about a family of Australian cattle dogs
Answer: BLUEY

7A clue: Fill in, as a puzzle
Answer: SOLVE

8A clue: Perceive
Answer: SEE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Some first-chair performances in an orchestra
Answer: SOLOS

2D clue: «Go me!»
Answer: IRULE

3D clue: Loud chewing or talking during a movie, e.g.
Answer: PEEVE

4D clue: Ammo for a Red Ryder rifle
Answer: BBS

5D clue: Part of an Easter egg kit
Answer: DYE

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 6, #665

Find hints and answers for the New York Times’ Connections puzzle for Sunday, April 6.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections puzzle was a challenging one. The yellow and green categories were pretty easy, but I struggled with blue and purple. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: We’re not close.

Green group hint: Pay the bills.

Blue group hint: Don’t get a shock!

Purple group hint: Think 420.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Aloof.

Green group: Utilities.

Blue group: What an electrometer measures.

Purple group: ____ joint.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is aloof. The four answers are cool, distant, remote and removed.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is utilities. The four answers are cable, gas, trash and water.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is what an eletrometer measures. The four answers are charge, current, resistance and voltage.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ joint. The four answers are dovetail, hip, pizza and Spike Lee.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 6, #195

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 195, for Sunday, April 6.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Is it just me, or is Connections: Sports Edition getting tougher each week? Or am I getting dumber? Fight fans, you might do all right today, but there was one compound word in your category (green) that I literally have never heard before. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Get out of here.

Green group hint: It happens in the octagon.

Blue group hint: They call it football.

Purple group hint: Not on…