Wireless on a Budget – Glorious MOW Review

Glorious has expanded their gaming mice program to the point where we’re getting several releases every year. The Model O Wireless represents their first foray into the wireless mouse market and I’m happy to report that this evolution results in their best mouse to date. That being said, the Glorious Model O Wireless may not quite reach endgame status for many gamers due to the shape and some other factors in its design.

When it came to wireless mice under $100 only the Logitech G305 really came up in conversation before but that mouse lacked a lightweight design and did not have a built-in battery.

Measurements (L x W x H)

 128 x 37.5 x 37.5 mm

Weight

69g

Packaging and Presentation

Glorious always puts a lot of effort into their presentation and it shows with a well-designed box and carefully packed contents. It’s a premium unboxing experience that measures up to the big boys but the lack of extra skates is a notable omission.

Design and Build Quality

One area of reservation I’ve had with past Glorious mice is that their build quality was not very consistent. The first impressions I had of this mouse was that it’s a significant step up from their past products. Build quality was great across the board with no rattles, creaks or side or bottom flex. You can squeeze on the mouse as hard as you want but it holds up and feels really sturdy. The mouse looks familiar if you’ve ever seen a Glorious mouse before and the RGB is top-notch as always.

I got the matte version and the coating felt really premium and better than on past models. It’s grippy enough to use without adding griptape and the surface feels smooth against your fingers without much texture.

Buttons & Scroll Wheel

When it comes to buttons the Glorious MOW is once again an improvement on past Glorious mice. M1/M2 have very little pre-travel with some post travel. The buttons don’t feel wobbly and if you click right in the middle of the finger grooves they are very sturdy. The only issues with the M1/M2 clicks are if you press closer to the top of the mouse where you can initiate some button wobble and side play when you hold your finger down on the switches. The Omron 20M switches feel pretty crisp in general and have a snappy response, although I feel like there is a slight difference in click feel between M1 and M2. M2 is just more tactile and has a louder click sound than M1, although this is a nitpick it is noticeable. These aren’t the best clicks available but they are the best clicks on a Glorious mouse available.

Side buttons are well placed but the same small size as the original Model O. I wish these were bigger, no pre-travel but moderate post travel is definitely noticeable. These aren’t as crispy as some other mice but they’re decent for regular use. DPI is well placed so it doesn’t activate by accident. For me these were perfectly usable in-game but there are lots of mice with better side buttons out there.

As for the scroll wheel it’s also improved from past Glorious mice as it feels like they really nailed the tensioning this time around. The wheel is tactile, well placed and has good grip. Middle click has a reasonable actuation force so you won’t press it by accident and the whole wheel in general is nice and quiet for the most part.

Shape, Performance and Software

At this point I’m going to assume you’ve tried the Model O shape given how popular that mouse was. If you haven’t tried that mouse, this mouse closely resembles the shape of the Zowie FK series.  If the shape didn’t work for you the first time, I wouldn’t recommend it for you again here. While wireless does make it feel better than it has I’d mostly recommend this shape for medium handed fingertip grippers. You theoretically could use this in palm but it’s by far the worst grip for the MOW. I usually claw grip and found this quite easy to use although the length of it makes it less comfortable than shorter mice like the Pulsefire Haste or XM1. If you have smaller hands I’d try to steer you away from the Glorious Model O Wireless.

This mouse was a good performer for me and I found it easy to adjust to the shape and weight. My aim was decent with this mouse and I had good experiences tracking, flicking and holding angles in game. The response time felt just as fast as any other flagship wireless mouse. The Model O Wireless has the added benefit of having a really flexible charging cable with a stress relief that’s angled upwards making it perfectly usable in a bungee. I’m mentioning the charging cable because battery life is a possible issue with this mouse. Glorious stated the battery life for the Model O Wireless being 71 hours that must have been measured under perfect conditions without RGB on or 1000hz polling rate. With the default RGB settings and 1000hz polling rate I only got about 24 hours of use on a full charge. That 24 hours included only about 8 hours of actual use and the rest of it was standby time. This is significantly shorter battery life than the Logitech GPW or Razer Viper Ultimate. If you want to use this mouse with RGB on and 1000hz polling at all times be ready to charge this mouse multiple times a week.

In terms of software the Model O Wireless uses the new Glorious Core software. It’s got an improved UI compared to past Glorious software and allows you to adjust DPI, RGB, Polling Rate, Debounce time and more. Pretty standard software all things considered.

Sensor and Skates

The wireless BAMF sensor is a re-branded PixArt sensor that offers the same performance as any modern top of the line sensor. It offers DPI up to 19,000 and you won’t be sacrificing any latency advantage by going wireless.

The skates are their proprietary G-Skates which are made from 100% PTFE. These have been improved from past iterations and I noticed they made the rounding on the edges better so these will feel smooth and not scratchy right out the box. These are good enough that you won’t feel tempted to rush out and get aftermarket replacement feet. I tested out the skates on a Esports Tiger Neon Pad , Artisan FX Hien XL and a Glorious Elements Ice Pad.

Conclusion

If you love the original Model O mouse or just the FK shape in general, upgrading to the Model O Wireless is a no brainer. If you want a good all around mouse to use for gaming and desktop use that looks and feels great, I can also recommend the Glorious Model O Wireless.

However if you don’t use fingertip grip and want a shape that’s more tailored to your hand you might want to wait until 2021 to find a wireless mouse that matches your handsize perfectly. If you really need to perform in game and play semi-competitively I still recommend getting a wired mouse with an ideal shape for you along with the best mousepad you can find instead of opting for one of the few wireless shapes that are available at the moment.

Pros

Excellent Value

Improved build quality, skates and clicks from past Glorious mice

Great looking RGB, coating and overall design

Cons

Battery Life can leave you charging your mouse several times a week

Not a safe shape for everyone

Small and unsatisfying side buttons

Rating

8.5/10

Bottom Line

The Glorious Model O Wireless is an important evolution for Glorious and is the budget king in terms of flagship Wireless mice although this comes at the expense of battery life. Get it you know the shape will work for you, skip it if you know it won’t.

Where to Buy

Glorious