The Finalmouse Starlight-12 Phantom Small is an ultra-lightweight, wireless gaming mouse. It's a continuation of the Finalmouse Starlight-12 lineup, so it has the signature magnesium alloy shell with a honeycomb design to keep the weight very light. At 44.5g, it's one of the lightest mice we've ever tested, and it features newer Kailh 8.0 switches and some minor adjustments to the manufacturing process to address quality control concerns in previous Starlight-12 models. Its small, symmetrical shape is well-suited for small and medium hands using any grip type. Performance-wise, it uses Finalmouse’s proprietary Finalsensor. It has excellent click latency, a very low minimum lift-off distance, and four CPI presets. However, there's no companion software, so you can't adjust the sensor settings or reprogram any buttons.
Note: Finalmouse releases its mice in drops, meaning they're only available until stock runs out. At the time of publishing, the Finalmouse Starlight-12 Phantom drop is over, and all units were sold. Currently, you can only purchase them from third-party resellers, which is how we had to buy our unit.
Our Verdict
The small Finalmouse Starlight-12 Phantom is a decent mouse for office use. Although its scroll wheel can't unlock for a free-scrolling mode, and it doesn't have L/R wheel tilts for horizontal navigation, it does feel very well-built and comfortable. It's also fully compatible with both Windows and macOS. It connects with its USB receiver, but it doesn't support a Bluetooth connection, and there's no companion software to reprogram buttons.
- Extremely lightweight.
- Feels very well-built and sturdy.
- Fully compatible with both Windows and macOS.
- No companion software to reprogram buttons.
- Not Bluetooth compatible.
- Too small for large and extra-large hands to use comfortably.
The small Finalmouse Starlight Phantom is a great mouse for FPS gaming. It's extremely lightweight, and it feels very well-built and comfortable to use. In terms of performance, it has excellent click latency, a very low lift-off distance, and four CPI presets you can cycle through using the CPI button behind the scroll wheel. Also, its feet offer a smooth gliding experience on mousepads and desks. Unfortunately, there's no companion software, so you can't adjust the sensor settings or reprogram any buttons.
- Extremely lightweight.
- Feels very well-built and sturdy.
- Feet and cable glide smoothly on mousepads and desks.
- No companion software to reprogram buttons.
- Too small for large and extra-large hands to use comfortably.
The small Finalmouse Starlight-12 Phantom is a mediocre mouse for MMO gaming. It doesn't have as many buttons as dedicated MMO mice, and there's no companion software to reprogram buttons. But, on the upside, it does feel very well-built, and its excellent click latency, very low lift-off distance, and four CPI presets are all well-suited for gaming.
- Extremely lightweight.
- Feels very well-built and sturdy.
- Feet and cable glide smoothly on mousepads and desks.
- No companion software to reprogram buttons.
- Too small for large and extra-large hands to use comfortably.
- Not as many buttons as dedicated MMO mice.
The small Finalmouse Starlight-12 Phantom is an okay mouse for travel. While it feels well-built and comfortable to use, it doesn't have a storage compartment for its USB receiver, and it's not Bluetooth compatible.
- Extremely lightweight.
- Feels very well-built and sturdy.
- Not Bluetooth compatible.
- Lacks storage compartment for USB.
Changelog
- Updated Sep 16, 2022: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.3. This update adds a new Sensor Latency test and makes minor changes to several of our existing tests, resulting in test result changes in several sections. For more information, you can check out our full changelog here.
- Updated Aug 17, 2022: Following the update to Test Bench 1.2, some of our test results have changed within both the Weight and CPI sections. We've added or modified some of the text in this article to clarify these changes.
- Updated Aug 15, 2022: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.2. This update simplifies our Weight test and expands on our CPI test from Test Bench 1.1, resulting in changes to test results in both sections. For more details, you can see our complete changelog here.
- Updated Jun 09, 2022: We've updated this review to Test Bench 1.1, which revamped our click latency test methodology. We've updated the text to reflect our new results in various sections, including the Click Latency test box, Usages, Introduction, and other locations where we discuss click latency.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The small Finalmouse Starlight-12 Phantom only comes in one colorway. There's a larger version of this mouse, the Finalmouse Starlight-12 Phantom Medium, that's also available. You can see the label of our unit here.
Popular Mouse Comparisons
The Finalmouse Starlight-12 Phantom is a continuation of the Starlight-12 lineup with a new colorway, some minor tweaks to the manufacturing process, new Kailh 8.0 switches, and a few adjustments to address some of the most common quality control issues present on mice in the original drop. At 44.5g, it's one of the lightest mice we've tested, and its size and shape are comparable to other ultra-light Finalmouse offerings like the Finalmouse Starlight-12 Small. As many users have reported, the scroll wheel is slightly off-center, though this doesn't impact the normal operation of the mouse.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the lightest mouse, the best wireless gaming mouse, and the best wireless mouse.
The Finalmouse Ultralight 2 - Cape Town and the Finalmouse Starlight-12 Phantom Small are both ultra-lightweight gaming mice, but the Phantom performs better overall. The Phantom has a better build quality thanks to its magnesium alloy shell, and it weighs 5g less than the Cape Town. The Phantom also has a lower minimum lift-off distance and a higher polling rate, and it's wireless. Alternatively, the Cape Town has a higher maximum CPI setting, and it's wired-only.
The Finalmouse Starlight-12 Medium and the Finalmouse Starlight-12 Phantom Small are wireless, ultra-light gaming mice that perform very similarly, but they have some minor differences. The Starlight-12 Medium is larger and better suited for small to large hands. Meanwhile, the Phantom Small is better suited for small or medium hands, and it's 5g lighter. It also has marginally better click latency.
The Razer Viper Mini and the Finalmouse Starlight-12 Phantom Small are both ultra-lightweight gaming mice. However, the Razer is wired-only, and it has better click latency and more programmable inputs. It also has companion software, which allows you to set a custom CPI within a much wider range. On the other hand, the Finalmouse is wireless, feels better built, and it's 17g lighter. Also, it has a more consistent sensor and a lower minimum lift-off distance.
The Logitech G PRO X SUPERLIGHT and the Finalmouse Starlight-12 Phantom Small are both ultra-lightweight, wireless gaming mice, but the Logitech performs better overall. It has lower click latency, a more consistent sensor, and a significantly wider CPI range. Plus, it has companion software that allows you to adjust sensor settings and reprogram buttons. On the other hand, the Finalmouse feels better built, and it's about 15g lighter than the Logitech.
Test Results
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