Logitech MX Creative Console

The ultimate control pads for your Mac

- Hollin Jones

Modern creative apps have so many tools and features that a keyboard and mouse are often not the most efficient way to work with them, even if it is very familiar. Logitech's MX Creative Console is a clever two-part hardware system that pairs with the company's Logi Options software and provides a much better way to interact with certain pro apps, as well as more widely used software like Apple Music, Zoom and Spotify.

To get started, download the free Logi Options app for Mac which also manages any other recent Logitech peripherals you may have, and connect the two boxes - the batterypowered dialpad over Bluetooth and the keypad over USB-C. The dialpad uses removable batteries and while a fixed rechargeable battery might have been nice, it's not a deal breaker.

The keypad comes with an optional stand so it's more ergonomic to tap the buttons, while the dialpad sits flat.

A number of apps are supported by default and are pre-configured, including Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, Capture One and Zoom. The hardware auto-adapts its profiles based on the app you currently have in the foreground so it will always be correctly set.

Logi Options doesn't have to be running to use the hardware, only to configure it.