Clicks Technology is expanding beyond accessories with the introduction of two new products ahead of CES in Las Vegas: its first smartphone, called the Communicator, and a new $79 snap-on slide-out keyboard designed to work across a wide range of devices. Together, the announcements underline the company’s belief that there is still an underserved audience for physical keyboards in a market that has largely moved on from them.
The Communicator is the more eye-catching of the two. Priced at $499, the device is intentionally reminiscent of classic BlackBerry hardware, complete with a front-facing physical keyboard and a compact screen above it. Clicks positions the Communicator as a secondary phone rather than a replacement for a modern flagship. The target audience is people who carry two devices and want one of them optimized almost entirely for communication and productivity tasks such as email, messaging, and document review.
To reinforce that focus, the Communicator deliberately avoids broad access to games and attention-driven social media apps. Instead, it runs Android 16 with a customized experience built around Niagara Launcher, offering streamlined access to tools like Gmail, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Slack. The idea is not to lock users into a walled garden, but to reduce friction and distraction for people who primarily use a phone to get work done rather than to scroll.
One of the device’s defining features is what Clicks calls the Signal Light, a customizable light strip on the side of the phone that can be set to glow in different colors or patterns depending on who is contacting you or which app is generating a notification. Messages from specific people or groups can be assigned distinct visual cues, allowing users to glance at the phone and immediately gauge priority without unlocking the screen.
That same physical control area includes a button referred to as the Prompt Key. When pressed inside a text field, it can be used for dictation; when pressed elsewhere, it functions as a quick voice note tool. Clicks has hinted at future AI-related integrations for this button, such as note-taking or agent-style tools, but those capabilities are not available at launch.
As expected from a company built around keyboards, typing remains central to the Communicator experience. The tactile keyboard features ergonomically shaped keys and is also touch-sensitive, enabling scrolling through messages, lists, and web pages without relying on the touchscreen. This hybrid approach mirrors earlier experiments in keyboard-based navigation while trying to preserve some modern smartphone conventions.
The hardware itself leans heavily into features that have largely disappeared from mainstream phones. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack, both physical SIM and eSIM support, expandable microSD storage up to 2TB, and a dedicated hardware switch for airplane mode. That switch can also be repurposed to interact with the Signal Light or keyboard inputs. The back cover is removable, allowing users to swap colors, with Smoke, Clover, and Onyx offered at launch.
Clicks is offering an early-bird price of $399 for customers who place a $199 deposit before February 27, with additional back covers included for those who pay the full early price upfront. Shipping is expected later in the year. On paper, the specifications are modest but serviceable, including a 4,000 mAh battery, 256GB of onboard storage, a 50MP rear camera with optical image stabilization, and five years of Android security updates.
Alongside the Communicator, Clicks is also launching the Power Keyboard, a standalone slide-out keyboard accessory priced at $79 for early buyers and $109 at retail. Unlike earlier Clicks products that were case-specific, this keyboard attaches via MagSafe or Qi2 magnetic connections and is designed to work with phones, tablets, smart TVs, and even AR or VR headsets. It includes its own 2,150 mAh battery and can be positioned to accommodate different device sizes and orientations. When paired with non-phone devices, it functions as a fully independent Bluetooth keyboard.
The Power Keyboard continues Clicks’ emphasis on tactile input and customization, with settings managed through the company’s mobile app on iOS and Android. Pre-orders begin January 2, with shipping planned for the spring.
Clicks CEO Adrian Li noted that the company has already shipped more than 100,000 keyboards worldwide, framing the Communicator as a logical extension rather than a sudden pivot. Whether that demand translates into sustained interest in a niche smartphone remains to be seen, but Clicks’ latest products make it clear the company is betting that physical keyboards still have a place, even if that place is no longer at the center of the smartphone market.
