The Clicks co-founder explains who its tiny Communicator phone is for

Clicks is an apologetic gadget company, making gear that looks charming and out of place in a world where almost every smartphone is an all-screen slab. It was obviously two years ago when the company first unveiled its keyboard case that brought touch typing to the iPhone and eventually other Android devices. Rather than this being just a one-off curiosity, the company made two new announcements at CES 2026: a magnetic keyboard accessory that doubles as a battery and a small, chunky cell phone with a keyboard. And while there’s no working prototype of the Clicks Communicator available to press, I had the opportunity to check out the new Power Keyboard panel with Clicks co-founder and former BlackBerry CMO Jeff Gadway on where he thinks its products fit into the smartphone world.

At first glance, the $79 Power Keyboard seems like a big improvement over the original Clicks Keyboard case. It magnetically attaches to any Qi2-enabled phone and connects via Bluetooth. The keyboard itself is similar to the original Clicks keyboard, but there is a dedicated number row, which is a nice improvement. But what really caught my attention was its old-school slider form factor. When closed, the Power Keyboard sits on the back of your phone like a thick wireless battery pack, but it slides out satisfyingly to reveal the keyboard like older Palm Pre or BlackBerry Torch smartphones.

The Power Keyboard’s final trick is that it can charge your phone while it’s connected. The battery itself isn’t huge, so you’re not going to fully charge a modern smartphone. But it’s still a nice addition if you need power when needed. You can also set it to not charge your phone and use all the battery to power the keyboard; In this situation, the keyboard will last for weeks at no cost. You can also designate a percentage that can only be used by the keyboard. For example, if the battery charge drops below 20%, it will stop charging your phone and save that power for the keyboard.

As someone who has never owned a smartphone with a keyboard, I can’t comment on how good the Clicks keyboard actually is – there would be some learning curve before I felt comfortable with it. It certainly seems tiny to me, but if you just type and trust the autocorrect, you should get used to it before too long. It’s up to you to decide whether the benefits of using a physical keyboard are significant. It’s nice to see a larger screen without being obstructed by the virtual keyboard, but I feel far too set in my touchscreen ways to consider changing it. But some people just loved their keyboards, and for them, this gadget might do the trick.

The Clicks Communicator is the more unexpected of the two new devices the company is working on, but without a working demo model, I can’t pass judgment on how it will actually perform. When it was announced, Clicks specifically said it was targeting people who use multiple devices, a demographic that I wasn’t entirely convinced was important enough to warrant the Communicator’s existence. But Gadway assured me that the company did a lot of research before moving into the hardware production phase.

“There are people who are forced to carry a second device for enterprise deployment. Then there are people who are small business owners and want to have a separate phone for their small business,” he said. “In markets like Europe, employers need to give people the option of having a separate device and create more separation. There are travelers who want a second SIM card, and then there is this growing cohort of people on digital detox, digital minimalism and digital wellness.” None of these segments may be huge on their own, but add it all up and the Clicks team felt like they had a decent opportunity.

The other half of the thought process was making the Communicator different from an iPhone or Pixel: instead of having two essentially identical devices, Clicks wanted to create a Communicator with a distinct purpose. “Our thought process was that complementary technology devices are on the rise,” Gadway said. “You wear an Oura ring and you carry a smartwatch; you carry an e-reader to read and a tablet to consume content. So why shouldn’t your second phone be better in certain areas than your first phone instead of just being a direct copy?”

That’s where you’ll find the square 4-inch touchscreen, keyboard, and custom implementation of the Android Niagara launcher, which is a list-based user interface rather than a grid of apps. Custom Clicks implementation focuses on your messaging applications and quickly sorting new items (hence the name Communicator). The keyboard itself is touch sensitive and can be swiped to navigate and take action on what you see. But the Communicator is at heart just an Android phone, which means you can install whatever apps you deem essential – although its form factor changes what it’s best used for. “You can download all the apps you want, but we’ve optimized them to be better in specific areas,” Gadway said. “So, you know, do you want to watch mailboxed TikTok videos about it? Probably not. You could, but it’s not the thing you’re going to reach to do it. But we’re not going to give you a product that restricts what you can do.”

The advantage of being a small hardware manufacturer is that Clicks doesn’t need to sell millions of them – they just want to offer an alternative to people who might appreciate it, just like they did with their keyboard accessories. Of course, the Communicator represents a larger investment; it’s up for pre-order now for $399 (that’s Pixel 9a territory, for comparison). Once launched in the second half, we will see if it can find its audience.