The "BlackBerry revival" phone gets its first hands-on look – Clicks Communicator shown in official video
If you've been missing buttons, then this could be the answer
Quick Summary
Clicks has shown off the Communicator in a live demo for the first time.
That gives us a look at the user interface of the BlackBerry-style device, while the company targets a Q4 launch date.
Clicks first shot to fame with a Keyboard Case, before expanding that to the magnetic Power Keyboard that slides out from behind your device and the Clicks Communicator, which basically a modern BlackBerry.
While the Keyboard Case and Power Keyboard are already available, the Communicator has taken a little while to come to fruition. Now we're treated to a video of it working, giving us a great look at the user interface and what the experience will be like.
The Clicks Communicator is very much a modern take on the BlackBerry, hanging onto the physical keyboard and compact form factor, including a 3.5mm headphone socket and offering swappable back plates so it's easy to customise.
It is a fully functioning Android phone, claiming to run Android 17 and powered by mid-range MediaTek Dimensity hardware. It supports 5G to keep you connected, with a 4.03-inch touchscreen up the top.
There's a 50-megapixel camera on the rear and 24-megapxiel camera on the front, so you're not missing out on features if you choose to use it as your main phone, but the suggestion is that you use the Communicator as a secondary device.
This would mean you could keep your iPhone in your pocket for when you want to entertain yourself, but when you need to be focused on communication, then you can use a device dedicated to that task.
The home screen is designed to house your key apps, with the demo showing off WhatsApp, Gmail, Telegram, Messages and Slack so you can easily get to those. But there are also widgets, for Spotify for example.
Despite the focus being on communication, as it's a full Android device it looks like you can install any app you want – and I spotted Docs, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Uber and more during the demo, so it doesn’t look like you're sacrificing apps to use this format of device.
During the demo we get a closer look at some of the hardware, including the fingerprint sensor in the space bar, while it's also revealed that there's a barometric pressure sensor, which is said to aid with navigation and weather apps.
There's also support for microSD under the back cover, with support up to 2TB.
That's about the extent of the video, although there's the promise that more will be revealed in the coming months, with Clicks Communicator targeting a Q4 shipping schedule.
The price is set at $499, although a reservation can be placed for $199. There's currently no pricing other than US pricing, but international shipping is widely supported, the notable omission being India.
