Earlier quoted context omitted.
The reason for the thinness of the Apple Mouse is so that gestures can be used on the top like a trackpad. If it were domes like a typical Logitech mouse, you couldn’t do that. Whether those gestures turned out to be useful is another question but that was the reason.
I imagine they also wanted to make 1 mouse ambidextrous. Maybe they should just tilt it and ask the user to choose handedness. I use a track ball and split keyboard and it has never been an issue no one can use my setup except me. The constant need to have lithium ion is really terrible. Battery life is less of an issue when I can swap batteries quickly with common sizes.
I found having to always keep a supply of batteries at hand was more inconvenient than just plugging in the mouse once in a while.