With a name like “Clicks”, you’d expect something to click in its concept. But the idea of a button keyboard for the iPhone will definitely click with some phone owners.
The world of the full touchscreen phone is here to stay, and it has been so long since we’ve seen a bunch of buttons on the front of a smartphone, you’d be excused for forgetting they once existed.
Remember the good ol’ days back when phones had keyboards on the front? Even touchscreen phones did it, such as the Facebook-connected HTC Cha-Cha, or even pretty much any keyboard phone from BlackBerry. We’ve even seen a reincarnation of a keyboard-equipped BlackBerry in the past decade.
It seems the days of keyboard-equipped phones have largely disappeared, and front-facing buttons with them. Most phones are full touchscreen panels with a software keyboard, and that’s just the way things are. You can always bring your own larger Bluetooth keyboard, of course, but it’s hardly convenient.
But if you’re longing for those old days and you have a current phone, there may be an accessory worth checking out.
Called the Clicks Smart Keyboard, it’s a literal compact keyboard inside a case for the iPhone, specifically made for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 range.
The keyboards come in a case that includes MagSafe, so you’re basically just snapping the keyboard case to the phone, but it also comes with shortcut keys and backlighting to use the keyboard case in the dark.
There are the occasional trade-offs, though: it stretches the phone’s look and feel by adding a keyboard, and while an iPhone is water resistant, the Clicks keyboard case is not.
However, it also brings a physical keyboard to the iPhone in a way not unlike keyboard phones, making it an intriguing addition for iPhone owners.
In Australia, the IQU Group is bringing the Clicks keyboard case in, where Australians will be able to find it from $229 for the standard sized iPhone and Pro models, while the Max variations will cost $249, available from the IQU online store, as well as Catch, Kogan, and others.
