One of the most exciting pieces of tech I saw in recent years was the Clicks keyboard for the Razr. Thanks to the outer display on the Razr, you could basically have an Android-powered smartphone with a physical keyboard that was pocketable, fully-featured, could run all Android apps on the outer display, and came with that clicky keyboard.
The product itself had a few issues that keep me from using it all the time. It is a bit bulky on the Razr, and the software experience wasn’t perfect. The Razr forces you to use its own launcher on the external screen, and it’s not as good for a fully featured phone launcher. The keyboard layout has issues, like a retro Blackberry design instead of something that resembles software keyboards of the modern era, and there’s no ‘&’ key, but there’s a useless Gemini key. Well, useless if you’re not a slop-brained AI addict.
Clicks hasn’t done many updates to the software or firmware, which sucks, because there’s a bug that prevents USB-C passthrough from working, breaking Android Auto and forcing me to take the keyboard off to use it for development. Also, there are still a few rare crashes and bugs they need to fix. The keyboard itself drains the battery too. It just fell short of what I wanted the Clicks keyboard to make my Razr. I wanted it to feel like a brand new phone. It’s mostly fixable, but Clicks hasn’t committed the time to fix it. Even once they do, it won’t be something nearly as good as a true keyboard-equipped phone, like old Blackberry phones or this cool hack project.
This week, however, Clicks did announce an all-in-one product that is what I wanted the Razr + Clicks solution to be, if they can be trusted with another shot. Clicks is also finally launching a near-universal keyboard that attaches with MagSafe or Qi2, providing a keyboard and portable power to just about any device. It looks to be, unfortunately, too large for the iPhone 13 mini, so I’m measurably disappointed there.
These feel like the products Click’s wanted to launch for some time, and I’m excited enough about at least one of them to write an article about a consumer electronics product again.
Clicks Communicator
The Clicks Communicator is the newly revealed smartphone from the team that made the Clicks keyboard. It’s a small phone with a 4.03-inch AMOLED touchscreen display and a physical qwerty keyboard underneath it. The keys are touch sensitive, so you can use them to scroll content, the space bar houses a fingerprint sensor for authentication, and the lock button has a colorful LED indicator that can help you know who messaged you or on what platform, even with the phone screen-down.
I do hate that they went with this layout though, instead of something more modern that people are actually familiar with
The device is made primarily for messaging, but it will be a fully featured Android 16 smartphone. It has a front and a rear camera, cellular network support, and can place calls. It is a phone, not a companion device. However, the makers did see it more as a second phone. It’s the kind of phone you could use as a work phone or for business communication. Or, if you’re just looking to escape the endless scroll a little, the smaller display will make scrolling just a little less attractive.
The launcher will be a messaging-focused custom launcher they made with the developer of Niagara. If you’re not an Android user currently, Niagara is a simple and efficient home screen launcher that puts your widgets and favorite apps in a list, with a scrollable alphabetical list of your apps along the side. It’s fast and easy, and makes picking up your phone and using it right away easy. I’ve switched between Niagara and Nova launchers between the years, and I’m thrilled to see it here.
I do wish there were more vibrant color choices, but it’s far more than most companies give anyone
Besides being a communication device, you may decide you want to use it for something many of us have been missing: a music player. The phone will have an SD card slot and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Put Poweramp or some other music app on there, load up your music on an SD card, and enjoy having a device that’s storing all your music, without needing a streaming account that rips off artists or pays for AI-assisted weapons of war.
Clicks showed off three colorways, black, white, and green, and a variety of back plates that allow users quick color changes. It’s plastic, and features a small display, so you may not even need a case for it. Although, I do wish the colors were a bit more vibrant so I wouldn’t be so tempted to do so.
Clicks think people will like to use it as a communication device, primarily. You know, a phone. For those who only use their phone to communicate with others or perhaps read some news, it may be the perfect primary device too. By combining a screen around the size of the outer screen of the Razr, the Clicks keyboard, and customizations to the launcher and OS specifically for the device, it may be exactly what I was hoping Clicks’ previous efforts would turn out to be, rather than the disappointment that it was.
Clicks Power Keyboard
The Clicks Power Keyboard feels like what I’d expect an ultimate phone to look like, if it was all one device. Something that combines a Blackberry and the LG Wing into a single device. However, the Power Keyboard is just a battery pack with a slide out magnetic mount and Bluetooth connectivity. Still, something that simple can make your phone something that feels completely different.
Unlike other Clicks keyboards, the Power Keyboard will use Bluetooth to connect to your device. You’ll be able to use it with any phone that has MagSafe or Qi2 charging. Or, you can just use it as a Bluetooth keyboard for your tablet, phone, smart TV, computer, whatever you’d like. You’ll be able to swap the connection between three devices.
Slide up your phone as much as you need, and twist it into landscape if you want
It’s definitely a bit bulky, and I’d prefer to see something like this in an all-in-one design, but I could see someone wanting this over a Clicks keyboard case for a few reasons. You can bring your own case, it can charge your phone up, so it’s better than just carrying a battery pack when it can also be a keyboard, and the slide out and rotating design means you can use apps in landscape orientation, for writing or work, much more easily. Plus, being able to use one keyboard for your phone, smart TV, and a tablet could be useful.
Personally, I’m still disappointed it seems to be a little wider than the smallest iPhone Apple makes now, because this is something I would have loved for my iPhone 13 mini. I could see using it for my iPhone, iPad mini, and Apple TV. But I pick my iPhone 13 mini over a hardware keyboard any day. Instead I pre-ordered the Communicator.
The Clicks Communicator will be $200 off if you reserve your order before February 27th. The phone itself will release later this year for $499. If you reserve it, you can instead get it for $399 and also get two back covers, which will be $50 a piece, saving you $200. $399 is a great price for a mid-range phone with a keyboard, or, at least, it’s an excellent price for taking a risk on a new device.
The Clicks Power Keyboard will be $109 this spring, but is available for pre-order for $79.