An iPhone cover featuring a built-in keyboard on the bottom has been announced by Clicks Technology, a recently established firm. Clicks is the name of the case as well; it costs $139 and the iPhone 14 Pro model begins arriving on February 1st, while the iPhone 15 Pro model will be available in mid-March. According to the website, the business is also accepting bookings for a $159 iPhone 15 Pro Max variant, which will be available in “early spring.” (It’s up to you and your conscience which of them is a decent buy.) Michael Fisher and Kevin Michaluk, also known as Mr. Mobile and CrackBerry Kevin, founded Clicks, which would showcase the case at CES the following week.
Of course, there have been other real keyboard covers made for the iPhone. But the one that comes to mind is Typo, a poorly handled keyboard cover that was backed by Ryan Seacrest and that, according to a previous edition of The Verge’s David Pierce, openly imitated the BlackBerry keyboard before BlackBerry sued Typo out of business. Two times.
However, this case is bright, contemporary, and seems to have been made with far more thought than the boring replica of an outdated phone that the other one was.
It has a Backbone controller-like connection to your phone. After carefully aligning the USB-C or Lightning connection protruding from the inner edge with the phone’s power port, slide the phone in and clasp the case around the top. Clicks takes its power straight from the phone and does not need Bluetooth or a battery. The iPhone 15 Pro’s pass-through fast charging is supported by the cover, according to the Clicks website.
In his video on the new case, Fisher touched on a few negative aspects. The size is the most evident. The iPhone TV will have remote-like dimensions thanks to clicks, which will initially presumably feel quite strange. Additionally, he said that because the case has an integrated magnet, MagSafe attachments like as wallets and chargers won’t adhere to it very effectively. Wireless charging should still function, though.
According to Clicks, a companion app will “continue to bring new functionality to the keyboard over time” and will be available shortly in the Apple App Store. The case will initially be offered in two colors: grayish-blue London Sky and yellow bumblebee. Fisher stated in his video that the first purchasers of the case would receive “Founders Editions,” which entitle them to “VIP support” and first dibs on future color options.
According to the company’s release, the Clicks team comprises former members of staff from Apple, BlackBerry, and Google. Given that artists utilize keyboards on their computers and other devices, Clicks claims to have designed their keyboard with creators in mind. Fisher, however, finds the decision to stop using physical keys in smartphones to be “kind of odd.”
According to Fisher, “Clicks brings the precision and tactility of a physical keyboard to iPhone, so people don’t have to wait to create or communicate with the satisfying feedback only real buttons can provide.”
It also has additional computer keyboard characteristics, such as a backlight. And a CMD key, as it’s for iPhones. Why is a CMD key attached to it? Naturally, to make advantage of the iOS keyboard shortcuts. Did you know that on an iPhone, you can type CMD + H to access the homescreen or CMD + space to access the search bar? I hadn’t till now.
According to the company’s news release, the Clicks case exists because physical keys allow users to “immerse themselves in apps and content” and restore screen real estate that is typically taken up by smartphone keyboards.
Immersion is one thing, but there’s also the frustration of tapping the virtual keys on a phone that cries out for you to fix it—even when you type each letter just right. It appears like the physical keyboard has made a comeback, if you’ve been longing for the return of a stumpy input chin on the bottom of your smartphone (probably with CMD + H).
