Why wait for the Clicks Communicator to scratch your BlackBerry itch? The QWERTY Minimal Phone 2 could be the answer
This compact Android phone brings back the physical QWERTY keyboard, but with a much more modern OLED display and powerful internals
Quick Summary
The Minimal Phone 2 is a new 5G Android phone with a physical QWERTY keyboard, 3.92-inch 90Hz AMOLED display and Minimal OS software designed to reduce distractions.
It has launched on Kickstarter from $549 (£410) for early backers, although that super-early-bird tier has already sold out and current pledges start at $599 (£450).
If you've been looking at the upcoming Clicks Communicator and thinking "I want one of those, but I don't want to wait", the Minimal Phone 2 could be worth a look. It's smaller, distinctly BlackBerry-inspired and already up for grabs through Kickstarter.
The QWERTY keyboard is obviously the star here, with a full physical layout built directly into the phone. The keys are backlit and slightly sculpted, with each row fanning out to make thumb typing more natural.
But unlike the original Minimal Phone, which used an E Ink display to make the phone less distracting, the Phone 2 has a proper 3.92-inch AMOLED panel running at 90Hz. That makes it much better equipped for things where E Ink struggles, while the compact 1080 x 1240 display still keeps the device smaller than a typical smartphone.
Underneath, there's a MediaTek Dimensity 8300 processor, 8GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage. You also get 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, NFC, a 50MP rear camera, 20MP selfie camera and, pleasingly, a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The hardware is only half the story. Minimal OS is designed around doing things quickly from the keyboard, with a command bar that can send messages, make calls, create calendar events and add notes without making you dive through a sea of apps.
There's also Minimal Hub, which pulls emails, texts, missed calls, voicemails and calendar invitations into one unified feed. An Activity Bar shows how much of each hour you've spent focused or drifting into social media and entertainment, giving you a rather blunt reminder when your phone is stealing your attention.
The 122.6 x 72 x 9.48mm aluminium phone comes in Onyx and Pearl finishes, with an Ember Founder’s Edition also available. It's small enough to feel different from the slab-like smartphones we're used to, while still running full Android and giving you access to the Google Play Store.
The Minimal Phone 2 is now crowdfunding on Kickstarter, with current pledges starting at $599 (£450) for 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. A 512GB version costs $675 (£510), while the Founder’s Edition with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage is $899 (£675).
That's not cheap, particularly when the Clicks Communicator is also heading for the same nostalgia-loving audience. But if what you really miss is the feeling of typing on a proper keyboard - rather than another touchscreen phone pretending to be minimalist - the Minimal Phone 2 looks like a better fit.
