An Exceptionally Light Pro Gaming Mouse

With how oversaturated the gaming mice market has become, even a newcomer behemoth like Sony struggles to stand out. So, while the Sony INZONE Mouse-A gets most things right, are those bare essentials enough for it to stand out among similarly priced and specced mice?

Price and Availability

The Sony INZONE Mouse-A retails for $150. Included in the box are a USB-A to USB-C cable, a 2.4 GHz receiver (dongle), and replacement skates.

It’s All About Shape and Weight

From a spec perspective, the Sony INZONE Mouse-A is comparable to other high-end mice. If numbers like 750 IPS, 70 G acceleration, 30,000 DPI, and an 8000 Hz polling rate sound familiar, that’s because most mice of its ilk—and even many cheaper ones—hover in this range. This is to say that Sony is bringing the market standard to the table, resulting in an inherently performant mouse. Consider the all-important box of “does it work as advertised” checked.

Instead, Sony sought to separate the INZONE Mouse-A from the pack through its shape and weight. At 48 grams, this mouse is lighter than most of its contemporaries, even if only by a few grams. It’s a slick beast for genres like first-person shooters that benefit from quick and precise actions. This is aided further by its buttery-smooth skates, though I think the mouse could be even more performant if they were larger.

Shape is also critical, and Sony is definitely serving an audience here. While it’s hard to say that the marketing-friendly collaboration with an esports organization truly resulted in a design that will give players a gaming edge, its aggressive hump definitely forces an active posture. It offers great support for claw grips, though the hump digs in a bit too much when using a palm grip. This is totally fine, as there are plenty of flatter mice that serve that purpose. If you use a claw grip or anything in-between, the INZONE Mouse-A is likely to be a comfortable companion.

Everything You Need, Nothing You Don’t

The more you pay for a gaming mouse, the fewer peripheral bells and whistles you tend to get. That’s why you won’t find any RGB lighting or other gimmicks here; this mouse serves only meat and potatoes, and it largely tastes all the better for it.

Aside from the previously discussed features, all that’s left are your standard two mouse buttons, two side buttons, and wheel. Optical switches ensure the mouse buttons are wonderfully precise, the large side buttons are easy to roll your thumb across, and I’m glad Sony opted to make the INZONE Mouse-A’s wheel accessibly big. A lot of modern mice don’t have a wheel that protrudes out far enough to comfortably scroll, so I don’t take this for granted.

That said, there’s a lot left to be desired from how these inputs feel. The short travel distance and lack of buoyancy of the mouse buttons (particularly the right button on my unit) results in mildly unpleasant hard stops to clicks, the side buttons feel hollow, and the wheel button is a big too firm. These are the types of little flaws I chalk up to this mouse being Sony’s first attempt, but for the same lofty price of $150 you can get similar mice that have already shaken off these growing pains through iteration.

One feature this mouse leaves out is Bluetooth connectivity. This seems to be a growing trend in gaming mice, and while it limits the INZONE Mouse-A’s scope of compatibility, it’s an understandable trade-off. 2.4 GHz is simply more responsive than Bluetooth by many orders of magnitude, making it the clear winner for gaming purposes. I didn’t mind it for this reason, but if Bluetooth is a must for you, you’ll want to look elsewhere.

Speaking of wireless play, the battery lasts a considerable amount of time. Sony claims it has up to 90 hours of uptime, which roughly aligns with my own tests, but what’s more important is how efficiently the device manages that charge. It’s quick to turn off when idle to conserve charge and instantaneously kicks back into action when jostled, so much so that I rarely noticed it had gone to sleep in the first place. Even the slightest delay in this execution could’ve been a major hindrance, but instead it’s arguably the mouse’s best feature.

Customization May Be Too Basic

High-end gaming mice may keep things simple on the outside, but the best ones offer robust software customization afforded by their top-of-the-line components. Unfortunately, Sony’s INZONE Hub software is extremely bare-bones.

The customization options break down to reassigning mouse button functions, changing the DPI, polling rate, and lift off distance (of which a 0.7 mm option is a notable inclusion), and toggles for motion sync and angle snapping. While this is all a general gamer would need, the type of person who would pay triple digits for a mouse expects more minute tweaking, like adjusting the acceleration curve. Even small quality-of-life features like turning off the 2.4 GHz dongle’s always-on light would have been welcome.

I imagine that the INZONE Hub will improve with time, and it’s even possible some features will get added in updates, but until then, this is one area where the INZONE Mouse-A isn’t sufficiently delivering for its price.

Should You Buy the Sony INZONE Mouse-A?

The Sony INZONE Mouse-A is a perfectly serviceable no-frills gaming mouse, and if you use a claw grip, the shape may be enough to win you over. It features quality components, but it could make better use of them with more robust customization software and more attention to tactile detail. It’s outclassed at full price, but if you catch it on sale, it’s worth considering.