Capacitive touchscreens revolutionized the modern smartphone, completely changing the way people can use their mobile devices. As such, it’s no surprise that physical mobile keyboards went the way of the dinosaur shortly after the original iPhone launched. Despite the fact that we’ve had touchscreens on our phones for over a decade and a half now, typing on a physical keyboard remains faster, more accurate, and more satisfying. The Clicks Creator Keyboard is looking to bring back the tactile typing experience to the modern smartphone.
A keyboard case for the iPhone, the accessory adds a physical keyboard below the smartphone, allowing you to have a clear view of the full screen, so you can type long paragraphs of text on any app you want. It’s not just any keyboard, either, as they put on a full set of QWERTY keys similar to those on good old Blackberry phones, so they should allow fast and accurate typing with satisfying feedback.
The Clicks Creator Keyboard is a smartphone case with a built-in QWERTY keyboard at the bottom, so any time you want to do some long typing on a phone, you just slot it in the case and start typing. It has round keys with a fair amount of separation, so you can type comfortably without hitting the key next to it, complete with backlighting that you can toggle on and off, so you can see what you’re typing on even in the dark. The keys are precision-tuned, too, so they provide an excellent balance of click, resistance, and feedback that makes typing a more engaging affair compared to an onscreen keyboard.
Aside from the usual letters, numbers, and symbols, the keyboard also comes with a voice command button for bringing up your virtual assistant, among other iOS shortcuts, making it perfectly suited for modern smartphone use. And since you get unimpeded access to the whole screen, you can still swipe and tap on any virtual control on your phone, allowing you to use the keyboard with practically any app.
The Clicks Creator Keyboard connects to the iPhone through either the Lightning or USB-C port, so you get a direct connection to ensure minimum latency. According to the outfit, the case is designed to feel like a natural extension of the iPhone, so it feels good to type on it despite the extra height it adds to your mobile device, all while supporting both wireless charging and passthrough charging, so you can replenish the battery the whole time it sits in the case. How comfortable is this use? We’re not entirely sure, as there definitely looks to be a bit more weight at the top, compared to the bottom, but we’ll have to judge that ourselves when we do get a chance to try it.
As of now, the Clicks Creator Keyboard will be released in only three variants: one for the iPhone 14 Pro, one for the iPhone 15 Pro, and one for the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Price is $139 for the first two and $159 for the bigger Pro Max. It will make its debut at CES 2024 next week.
