And all of that doesn't change the fact that I ended up without a charge a few times and threw the MM in the bin. With the replacement, I just plug the cable in and continue using it. I don't even know how fast it charges / how long it lasts, because charging doesn't disrupt the usage.

Given that it has a lithium ion battery and you’re very much not supposed to put it in a bin, i’m not surprised you ignored a low battery warning for weeks.

If you're unable to acknowledge basic information like "battery is low" and respond accordingly within several days nor able to wait a few seconds to get enough charge to last through your super critical meeting/whatever, I guess Apples mouse just isn't for you.

That's fine. It's why we have choices.

Now if you'll excuse me I must get back to complaining ad nauseam to strangers about how much I hate a mouse I don't use. Oh wait no I don't.

Yup, that mouse isn't for me. It's also not for a number of people who end up buying it. That's how reviews work: people who had negative experience talk about it so others like that (you know who you are) will not buy that mouse. We also talk about software/hardware design here. Acknowledging that wider accessibility means designing for people behaving in different ways and it saves you from years of repeated complaints - that's also important.

This isn’t an accessibility issue, this is a “stop putting your head in the sand” issue.

But what you're doing is even worse - complaining to strangers about legitimate complaints of strangers

As evidenced by other responders, no it isn't a legitimate complaint.

Every time it's mentioned people come out of the woodwork to complain about "how can I use it while it's charging".

Meanwhile the people that actually use one know that isn't an issue - and rebut the complaints.

But still doesn't excuse the bad design of the port location

I'm personally not saying that excuses it, but I've once read that it was an absolutely conscious decision by Apple to put the port where it is.

A lot of people tend to simply leave the mouse plugged into a cable when using it, even once it's charged. Apple is famous for the image that they would like their products to convey. They don't want people leaving the mouse plugged in because it's convenient or they're unable to act on a month-long warning. They want to force you to use the mouse as it was designed -- wireless.

I'm not saying it's good, I don't have one myself and I plainly don't like the ergonomics of it. I like the look and I think I would be able to work around the port-location constraint, but it just doesn't feel nice to hold.

Pretty to look at, though.

That isn't good design, it's a bandaid on bad design.