I Tried the Buzzy Clicks Keyboard iPhone Case: Typing With Actual Buttons On an iPhone

There is a new iPhone case at CES 2024 (take a look at our CES favorites) that offers us one thing Apple’s engineers might need by no means dreamed of: a tactile QWERTY keyboard. It is the type of retro, “analog” tech that is been making a splash with Gen Z, however that older generations may discover nostalgic, harkening again to the times of BlackBerrys, Palm Treos and different early smartphones. Clicks is the identify of this buzzy, new iPhone Professional case, and I received an opportunity to attempt it out in individual.

As an iPhone consumer, I nonetheless discover myself eager for a bodily keyboard on occasion, significantly when my fingertips are damp after ending a sweaty exercise or dealing with a perspiring cup of iced espresso. I generally 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 partly 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 Provides 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 circumstances are obtainable for preorder now, ranging in value from $139 to $159. Shade choices embrace banana-yellow BumbleBee and a extra tame, grayscale London Sky.

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 screen area whereas typing is a dream, the case was surprisingly gentle, and I acclimated to the extra keyboard shortcuts shortly.

Essentially the most instant and apparent profit to the Clicks case is the change in display screen measurement when typing. Because the case already has a keyboard, the digital keyboard now not seems in your display screen whereas typing, supplying you with far more room. 

It was bizarre in a great way, an actual “wow” second, and the additional display screen 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 — actually useful for creators who do not need to toggle backwards and forwards to see how a draft publish appears.

The very best 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 sufficiently big for a keyboard would add a whole lot of weight, however the Clicks case was lighter than I anticipated. Stuffing my cellphone 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 connected 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 system. Some folks might discover the additional size clunky and decide to shed the case for on a regular basis actions, reminiscent of taking a cellphone name with out earbuds.

It was surprisingly simple to slide the Clicks iPhone case onto my cellphone, regardless that 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 connected, pulling the lip of the case excessive of my cellphone was simple. To take away, I pressed gently on the again to pop the highest of my cellphone ahead, then slid my iPhone out.

The case has a MagSafe pass-through port on the backside, so you may nonetheless have the ability to 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 screen, 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 is dependent upon the app, fairly than {hardware} preferences. 

However, each shortcuts had been deliciously handy and simple 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, just like how a Kindle or e-reader works.

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 a different 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 cellphone’s digital keyboard. It was onerous to inform how lengthy it will 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 a substitute. I am unsure I would need to write an article on my cellphone (As I have been doing with this very story whereas on the CES present ground), however it’s onerous to say after spending solely 20 minutes with the system. The iPhone 15 Professional Max mannequin I attempted had a extra spacious keyboard.

My Clicks iPhone case takeaways

What shocked me most was that the change in keyboard interface was on the spot. 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 advantage of having two seasoned business professionals on the helm: Michael Fisher and Kevin Michaluk, recognized respectively as Mr. Cellular and CrackBerry Kevin on YouTube.

We’ll have the ability to give a extra in-depth overview 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 perhaps match for iPhone Professional customers searching for a bodily keyboard expertise.