Review of the Glorious Model O- Wireless

My first interaction with Glorious was with their first mouse, the Model O wired mouse. Since then, I’ve purchased two GMMK boards (TKL ANSI, and compact ISO) and Model O- wired. Those were my first hot swap keyboards and really got me back interested in the mechanical keyboard world. As for the mice, they were my first entries into the lightweight mice world. The addition of the O- (O Minus rather than O Negative) was nice for me as I have smaller hands, approximately 16cm from tip of middle finger to base of palm.

Having the option for a smaller mouse that I can comfortably palm grip has been part of what I’ve searched for in mice ever since I’ve been using a computer. Many times, that has meant sacrifices and a lack of higher end options. Sometimes it meant no, or reduced, side buttons. Sometimes it meant lower polling rates. Most other times though it meant that I had to compromise and get a bigger mouse than I really wanted. What I have found is that I have come to love mice of a particular shape, like the Model O/O-.

Years ago, one of my favorite mice was the Logitech mX518, then later the G5 and G7 which was my first “gaming” mouse that was wireless and featured rechargeable batteries. They, like many other gaming mice of the early 2000s, had the ability to add weights to make them heavier showing how we’ve had a full reversal of what is desired for many gamers today. After that came numerous other mice from the likes of Logitech, Corsair, Razer, and Glorious.

Which brings us to today with the Model O- from Glorious. For most of last year, 2021, I used a Razer Viper wired mouse. I really do still like the shape and feel of that mouse. The rubber side grips are something I still miss, and the slight texturing was comfortable to hold for me. It’s why I kept waffling between the Viper Ultimate, its wireless version, and the O- Wireless. The Viper Ultimate is the more expensive of the two, retailing for $150-160 depending on the color you get. The Model O- retails for $80. Half the price is already a huge gap but then sales also come into play. The Model O- I ended up pulling the trigger on during one of those sales where it fell to $60.

It's ultimately very similar to the wired version of course. It has the same cable braiding, same feel, same RGB, and similar weight. Importantly, it has a USB-C port for charging and data if you use it in wired mode, which you can do while it charges. A primary difference between the two however is that the wireless models use the new Glorious Core software which is more polished than the older software used for the wired mice and GMMK keyboards. The Core software is nice in that it lets you manage more devices, such as the GMMK 2 or Pro keyboards and newer mice so you can run one piece of software rather than multiple.

For shape and feel, it is very familiar to me as someone who used the O- wired for a long time. It’s very comfortable to my hands, with my thumb resting well against the two side buttons, and index on left, middle finger on scroll wheel and right button, with ring and pinky fingers resting against the right side of the mouse. For someone with hands much larger than mine and a palm grip, you’d need to get the Model O instead but even then, might find it too small depending on just how much larger your hands are.

I keep the RGB at 10% brightness when in wireless mode and 100% for in wired mode. At that usage I only need to charge it once every few days. That I can simply plug in the cable from the wireless dongle into the mouse for charging then replug it into the dongle after charging is completed. When it reaches low battery, 10% or under, lighting turns off and the scroll wheel turns red to show that it needs recharged. As it charges, battery status is kept on the scroll wheel with it turning to amber then finally green when over 80%.

I don’t tend to use adjustable DPI settings as much as some, but the option is there via the small DPI selector button just below the scroll wheel. It offers a selection from 100 DPI all the way to 19000 DPI. I’ve stuck with the stock settings where there are four settings that are shown on the mouse via an LED on the bottom. They are yellow for 400, blue for 800, red for 1600, and green for 3200. I keep it at the 1600 DPI level for both using the computer and for gaming and find it is a good balance of sensitivity and movement. Additionally, polling rate can be set between 125Hz and 1000Hz, which I’ve also kept at 1000Hz. You can also configure lift-off distance and debounce time for your tastes with either 1mm or 2mm for lift-off distance and 0-16ms for debounce time in increments of 2ms. I’ve kept these at stock of 1mm and 10ms respectively as I find those settings work well for me.

Build quality has remained consistent and I’ve had no issues there. All material gaps are small with no sharp edges or noticeably raised sections. It’s developed no creaking or other sounds and has stayed securely together with no looseness occurring over time. There are two major ways that I can see I’ve had the mouse for over half a year is the shining of the plastic where my thumb and index finger rest and make the most contact with the mouse when I use it. The second is the dust which naturally gathers in the hexagonal holes across the body of the mouse. This is the primary negative of having a mouse with literal holes all over the body. A burst of compressed air can get a lot of it, but some is best removed via a cotton swab. If you are bothered by that, you probably should look elsewhere for a mouse with a solid body.

But that’s a bit of the rub in this situation. The Model O- wireless is a frankly niche product. It’s wireless, lightweight, has RGB, and smaller than most desktop mice. It runs over 2.4GHz over the wireless dongle and not over Bluetooth like smaller, but mobile-focused mice. A Viper Mini wireless would be ideal, but that doesn’t exist as of my writing this. Perhaps the Logitech G305 would work but I haven’t had opportunity to compare the two side-by-side. Regardless, if you are in need of a small, wireless, gaming-focused mouse with plenty of features and that often goes on sale for under $60, it’s hard to beat the Model O- Wireless.