Ploopy Adept Trackball: Specs, Features, Pros & Cons
A trackball, and open-source hardware at that, which makes it an unusual thing to find beside mainstream peripherals.
A trackball does not move. Your hand stays put and your fingers roll the ball, so it needs no desk space and puts none of the repeated shoulder and forearm movement into your body that a mouse does. People arrive at trackballs for one of two reasons — a small or cluttered desk, or discomfort from mousing — and both are good ones. The adjustment takes a couple of weeks.
Category strengths
Where the Ploopy Adept Trackball trails the average
- A much heavier build ?230.8 g vs 89 g (avg)
- A much lower max sensitivity ?12,000 DPI vs 25,600 DPI (avg)
- Fewer connection options ?
- A much lower switch lifespan ?5 million clicks vs 80 million clicks (avg)
How this VS Score was computed
Score 32: each known spec is measured against the median of all mice (80 products, medians winsorised to the 10th–90th percentile), then weighted. 42% of the scoreable weight could be used; unknown values, features not applicable to this class and proxies (battery capacity where a rated life exists) add or remove nothing.
| Specification | This product | Cohort median | Score weight | Points moved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max sensitivity | 12,000 | 25,600 | 1 | −27.0 |
| Connection | 1 | 2 | 0.8 | −20.0 |
| Weight | 230.8 | 89 | 1 | −19.0 |
| RGB lighting | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | −9.6 |
| Switch lifespan | 5 | 80 | 0.2 | −8.2 |
| Polling rate | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0.8 | +0.0 |
| Buttons | 6 | 6 | 0.6 | +0.0 |
Not scored: Max tracking speed (unknown: not scored); Max acceleration (unknown: not scored); Adjustable lift-off distance (unknown: not scored); Grip styles (unknown: not scored); Horizontal scrolling (unknown: not scored); Free-spin scroll wheel (unknown: not scored); Click latency (unknown: not scored); Debounce adjustment (unknown: not scored); Wireless polling rate (unknown: not scored); USB-C charging (unknown: not scored); Battery life (unknown: not scored); Battery capacity (unknown: not scored); Quick charge (unknown: not scored); Wireless charging (unknown: not scored); Onboard memory (standard for the class (84% have it)); Software customisation (standard for the class (97% have it)); Adjustable weights (unknown: not scored).
Editor’s note
The Ploopy Adept is a trackball, and it is also open-source hardware, which makes it an unusual thing to find next to mainstream peripherals.
A trackball does not move. Your hand stays put and your fingers roll the ball, which means it needs no desk space at all and puts none of the repeated shoulder and forearm movement into your body that a mouse does. People come to trackballs for one of two reasons: a small or cluttered desk, or discomfort from mousing. Both are good reasons, and the adjustment takes a couple of weeks.
Being open-source means the firmware, the case and the circuit design are all published. You can reflash it, reprogram every button, print a different shell, or repair it in five years when the manufacturer has moved on — none of which is true of a normal mouse. At 230.8 g it is heavy, but a trackball never moves, so weight is stability rather than effort.
The sensor is a PixArt PMW3360 at up to 12,000 DPI, which is a proven gaming-grade part, with six programmable buttons, onboard memory and a detachable USB-C cable. The Omron switches are rated to 5 million clicks — modest against the 100 million optical switches on gaming mice, though the button count sees lighter use here.
Buy it if desk space or wrist comfort is the problem, or if repairable, modifiable hardware appeals. Buy a conventional mouse if you play fast-paced games — trackballs remain slower for rapid, wide aiming.
Specifications
Quality bars are generated automatically against 79 other mice.
Sensor & tracking
Design & handling
Switches & latency
Connectivity
Battery
Features
Sources and verification
Where the specifications come from
- Independent testingrtings.com
Verification
- First published
- Specifications last checked
- Sheet completeness
- 14 of 34 specifications verified; the rest show as Unknown and are never estimated or scored
- Page type
- Product specification page — Compiled from the manufacturer’s published specifications and the cited sources; this is not a hands-on test.
- Basis
- Research-based: specifications and editorial text were compiled from the documents listed here and the manufacturer’s published data. We have not tested this unit ourselves; where independent measurements are mentioned they belong to the linked publication.
Mice with similar specs to the Ploopy Adept Trackball
Ratings & reviews
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The bottom line
The Ploopy Adept Trackball earns a VS Score of 32, trailing most of the 80 mice we compare here, at least on the spec sheet. Just be aware of a much heavier build and a much lower max sensitivity before you buy. Weigh those trade-offs against what matters most to you.
The VS Score is calculated from the weighted specifications above, compared with every other mouse we track — a shortlisting guide, not a substitute for your own priorities. See how we score.
