Most manufacturers have tried several times to shave crucial grams off their various mice to ensure they can market it as an "esports mouse". That in itself isn't completely ridiculous, and the market has responded quite clearly; having as little built-in resistance as possible can be important to some, and in some cases it can ensure a more precise input, whether you're playing RTS games with lots of distinct movements, or in a competitive FPS environment where the few movements need to be as precise as possible.
NZXT is now also going all out with their Lift Wireless Elite, a mouse that comes in at a slightly lower price than many competitors, but retains the same core design philosophy described above. The problem, again, is that perhaps too much functionality has been sacrificed in a frantic search for the whole lightweight concept.
First of all, it's worth mentioning that the Lift Wireless Elite weighs only 57 grams. Sure, that's 10 grams more than the similarly priced Turtle Beach Burst II Air we reviewed and praised last year, but it's far from heavy. Furthermore, NZXT has achieved this status in addition to "honeycombing", i.e. poking holes in the outer shell. At the same time, however, I have to say that this mouse is small, as in really claw grip small. It's so small that my hands wouldn't be able to comfortably use it for hours at a time, which is why it's recommended that you try it before you buy. There are many people who definitely prefer the claw grip, and for them this is probably not a problem.
Underneath is the PAW3395 sensor, which, like the one you'll find in the Turtle Beach competitor, goes to 26,000 DPI. That's not the same as many of the more expensive competitors, and whether NZXT should have more is hard to say. However, it does give access to 650 IPS tracking, and either 4K or 8K polling rate depending on whether you go wired or not. These are fine specs, no doubt about it, and this is where they remain competitive on a number of critical parameters.
They also use their own Rapid Optical Switches, which they say have 0.2ms response and are good for 100 million clicks. That's fine on the face of it, and most importantly, these switches really feel good under your fingers. They're responsive, well-designed, and deliver a more tactile click every time.
There's nothing wrong with the sensor, the switches or the 70-hour battery life, but unfortunately, we have to come back to the fact that when the main competitors manage to drive down the price of wireless mice, use an advanced sensor and have storage for a USB dongle and Bluetooth, why doesn't this have either?
Sure, the entire bottom of the Lift Wireless Elite is hollowed out, that's how they saved money, but NZXT doesn't think about storing the included dongle inside this cavity, even though it would have been easier than if they had used a different design philosophy. Furthermore, Bluetooth is just a smart way to ensure that your mouse can work in a variety of usage scenarios, not just one.
Yes, it's cheaper than a Razer Viper, and everything from construction to materials, sensor to switches is competitive. But we can afford to expect more now, and we can afford to point to manufacturers like NZXT and ask critically why they can't provide broad functionality without compromising on weight.