There is a new iPhone case at CES 2024 (take a look at our CES favorites) that provides us one thing Apple’s engineers might need by no means dreamed of: a tactile QWERTY keyboard. It is the form of retro, “analog” tech that is been making a splash with Gen Z, however that older generations would possibly discover nostalgic, harkening again to the times of BlackBerrys, Palm Treos and different early smartphones. Clicks is the title of this buzzy, new iPhone Professional case, and I obtained an opportunity to strive it out in particular person.
As an iPhone person, I nonetheless discover myself eager for a bodily keyboard every now and then, significantly when my fingertips are damp after ending a sweaty exercise or dealing with a perspiring cup of iced espresso. I typically crave the precision typing that I get on my laptop computer, in addition to the somatic satisfaction of smashing a bodily keyboard with my thumbs. This is the factor: Not solely has the iPhone by no means had a bodily keyboard, it was revolutionary partially as a result of it did not. Save for the house button and another controls, the iPhone celebrated its all-virtual keyboard.
Watch this: This iPhone Case Offers You a Bodily Keyboard
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The Clicks case, created by decades-long business veterans, launches Feb. 1 for the iPhone 14 Professional, and later within the spring for iPhone 15 Professional and iPhone 15 Professional Max. Clicks instances can be found for preorder now, ranging in value from $139 to $159. Coloration choices embody banana-yellow BumbleBee and a extra tame, grayscale London Sky.
Mannequin
Clicks case value
Ship date
iPhone 14 Professional
$139
Feb. 1
iPhone 15 Professional
$139
Mid-March
iPhone 15 Professional Max
$159, $30 deposit
Early spring
This is what I skilled when changing my iPhone 15 Professional right into a keyboarded handheld smartphone for the primary time.
Fingers-on with Clicks keyboard case for iPhone Professional
Let’s get to the underside line first, then dive into the small print. The additional display house whereas typing is a dream, the case was surprisingly mild, and I acclimated to the extra keyboard shortcuts shortly.
Essentially the most rapid and apparent profit to the Clicks case is the change in display measurement when typing. Because the case already has a keyboard, the digital keyboard now not seems in your display whereas typing, providing you with far more room.
The keys on the iPhone 15 Professional Max model felt a bit cramped for my fingers.
Nick Wolny
It was bizarre in a great way, an actual “wow” second, and the additional display actual property alone could also be well worth the funding. On the demos I noticed, which showcased an in-progress Instagram Story draft, the distinction was dramatic — definitely useful for creators who do not need to toggle backwards and forwards to see how a draft publish appears.
The most effective half? No spelunking in your Settings to replace keyboard preferences; the change takes impact instantly as quickly as you plug the case in.
I believed including a case large enough for a keyboard would add loads of weight, however the Clicks case was lighter than I anticipated. Stuffing my telephone into both the entrance or rear pocket of my Levis was doable, though the case clearly jutted out. Since accessing numbers with the Clicks case hooked up requires both a Shift or quantity lock command first, you will not have to fret about intra-pocket keyboard button mashing locking you out of your machine. Some individuals could discover the additional size clunky and choose to shed the case for on a regular basis actions, equivalent to taking a telephone name with out earbuds.
It was surprisingly straightforward to slide the Clicks iPhone case onto my telephone, although the USB-C port juts out on the backside. Just like the keys themselves, the case has a rubbery high quality with a little bit of stretch, so as soon as the port was hooked up, pulling the lip of the case excessive of my telephone was straightforward. To take away, I pressed gently on the again to pop the highest of my telephone ahead, then slid my iPhone out.
Clicks will debut with two colours to begin: BumbleBee and London Sky. They’re accessible for iPhone 14 Professional, iPhone 15 Professional and iPhone 15 Professional Max fashions.
Nick Wolny/CNET
The case has a MagSafe pass-through port on the backside, so you will nonetheless be capable of use charging wires or different equipment as wanted.
Clicks comes with a number of preprogrammed keyboard shortcuts and allows you to customise extra shortcuts of your individual, for a complete of as much as 36 instructions. I examined two shortcuts intimately: Command-H, to return to the house display, and a spacebar shortcut, which scrolls down an internet web page when on a browser. Once I requested SVP of Product Advertising and marketing Jeff Gadway whether or not this shortcut would additionally work on social media feeds, he stated it relies on the app, somewhat than {hardware} preferences.
Nonetheless, each shortcuts have been deliciously handy and straightforward to undertake — I had them down in only a few tries. I might see myself studying lengthy articles or web sites with out having to maneuver my thumb repeatedly, much like how a Kindle or e-reader works.
The iPhone 15 Professional and Professional Max fashions have a USB-C port, whereas the iPhone 14 Professional mannequin has a lightning port.
Nick Wolny/CNET
The Clicks keys are tactile with a little bit of a rubbery high quality, and lean extra towards Tamagotchi than Magic Keyboard. The bodily keyboard is laid out in another way out of your iPhone’s digital keyboard, primarily due to Clicks’ wider backside row, which provides a command key, tab key and symbols key.
On the iPhone 15 Professional mannequin I demoed, the bodily keyboard was smaller than your telephone’s digital keyboard. It was onerous to inform how lengthy it could take for me to acclimate to the buttons, however on my maiden voyage issues felt a bit crowded. I ended up tilting my fingertips ahead so I might kind with my nails as an alternative. I am unsure I would need to write an article on my telephone (As I have been doing with this very story whereas on the CES present flooring), but it surely’s onerous to say after spending solely 20 minutes with the machine. The iPhone 15 Professional Max mannequin I attempted had a extra spacious keyboard.
Again view of the Clicks iPhone case.
Nick Wolny
My Clicks iPhone case takeaways
What stunned me most was that the change in keyboard interface was prompt. It went into impact the second I plugged the case into my iPhone, which had me questioning why another person hadn’t considered this sooner. Maybe that is the good thing about having two seasoned business execs on the helm: Michael Fisher and Kevin Michaluk, identified respectively as Mr. Cellular and CrackBerry Kevin on YouTube.
We’ll be capable of give a extra in-depth evaluate of the Clicks iPhone case sooner or later, when the corporate begins fulfilling orders subsequent month. However so far as first impressions go, this case is likely to be match for iPhone Professional customers searching for a bodily keyboard expertise.
A detailed up of the again of the Clicks telephone case.
Nick Wolny