Logitech MX Master 4 vs MX Master 3S: Is the Upgrade Worth It?
An honest comparison of the MX Master 4 and MX Master 3S — what actually changed, whether the haptic feedback lives up to the hype, and who should upgrade.
Logitech launched the MX Master 4 in September 2025, and the first question every existing owner asked was the obvious one: is it worth replacing my 3S? After eight months with both mice side by side, the answer depends entirely on which generation you’re coming from.
The short version: if you have the MX Master 3S, keep it. If you’re on the original MX Master 3 or older, upgrade.
Here’s why.
What’s Identical Between the Two
A lot more than Logitech’s marketing suggests.
The 8,000 DPI Darkfield sensor is the same. The MagSpeed electromagnetic scroll wheel — the standout feature of the entire MX Master line — is unchanged. Battery life is rated at 70 days on both. The shape, weight (141g), and button layout are functionally identical. The thumb wheel, gesture button, and side buttons are all in the same places.
If you blindfolded a 3S owner and handed them an MX Master 4, they wouldn’t notice the difference until they started clicking.
What’s Actually New
Haptic Feedback (The Overhyped One)
The MX Master 4 has a haptic motor that buzzes when you trigger certain actions — switching apps, hitting scroll boundaries, activating gestures. Logitech demos it like a revolutionary tactile layer.
In daily use, it’s far more subtle than the marketing implies. The vibrations are gentle to the point of being easy to miss, and after a week most people stop noticing them entirely. It’s not bad — just nowhere near the killer feature it’s pitched as.
The Actions Ring (The Underhyped One)
This is the upgrade that actually matters. Hold the gesture button and a radial menu overlays your screen with eight customizable shortcuts. Macros, app launches, window snapping, paste-as-plain-text — whatever you assign.
Once you build muscle memory for two or three actions, it genuinely changes how you work. It’s the first new MX Master feature in years that I’d actually miss going back.
USB-C Receiver and Bolt 2
The 4 ships with a USB-C Logi Bolt receiver instead of USB-A. Wireless range and latency are also improved via Bolt 2, which matters more for high-refresh-rate displays and dual-PC setups than for general use.
Quieter Clicks (Marginally)
The 3S already had quiet clicks — that was its main upgrade over the original 3. The 4’s clicks are very slightly quieter still, but it’s the kind of difference you only notice in an A/B test.
What’s Missing
No charging dock. No Bluetooth 5.4 (still 5.0). No weight customization. The grip material is the same slightly-tacky rubber that some users find collects skin oils over time.
Price is also up — the MX Master 4 launched at $119 versus the 3S’s current $99 street price.
Should 3S Owners Upgrade?
No. The Actions Ring is great, but Logitech Options+ is bringing it to the 3S via firmware update (already rolled out as of April 2026). The haptics aren’t worth $119. The USB-C receiver is nice but not transformative.
Save your money.
Should MX Master 3 (Original) Owners Upgrade?
Yes. You’d be getting the quieter clicks, the 8K DPI sensor, the Actions Ring, the new receiver, and the haptics all at once. That’s a genuine generational leap.
The Mac version is the same hardware in space gray with Mac-optimized defaults — pick whichever matches your primary machine.
The Bottom Line
The MX Master 4 is the best productivity mouse Logitech makes, but it’s an iterative update dressed up as a major one. The Actions Ring is the real upgrade — and since it’s coming to the 3S and 3S for Mac for free, most existing owners don’t need to do anything.
If you’re shopping new, get the 4. If you already own a 3S, you already have the best version of this mouse you can practically buy.