One of the more interesting devices at CES 2026 is a phone that doesn't really want to be a phone -- at least not in the modern sense. The Clicks Communicator harks back to the BlackBerry phones of old, featuring an integrated clicky hardware keyboard below a screen that's smaller than most of today's phones. And it's designed primarily to be a distraction-free complement to your existing do-everything smartphone.
See also: CNET Managing Editor Patrick Holland got some hands-on time with the Clicks Communicator at CES 2026 and declared it one of his favorite products.
With the tagline, "doing, not doomscrolling," Clicks Technology envisions the Communicator as a kind of back-to-basics smart device focused on communication and work. It says the device essentially pares down all of the distractions that come with today's large-screen, social media-centric smartphones. Many people have already started carrying a second phone for privacy or to set boundaries, the company said.
Watch this: The Clicks Communicator Phone Is My Favorite Thing at CES 03:33
Don't miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
The retro-styled Communicator, priced at $499, links up to your main phone so you can get emails and texts on it. To be clear, you still need a separate smartphone for this device to work.
A Clicks Communicator hanging out with an iPhone 17 Pro. Clicks Technology
Jeff Gadway, the company's chief marketing officer, describes the Communicator's relationship to your smartphone as what a Kindle is to an iPad. "It's a complementary product that stands on its own, optimized for a specific purpose," Gadway said in the Friday announcement.
The keyboard is "touch-sensitive," so users can scroll through messages without using the screen, and the device supports voice recordings. Other features include a 3.5mm headphone jack, a switch for airplane mode, expandable microSD storage and a physical SIM tray, as well as eSIM compatibility. It has a 50-megapixel main camera and a 24-megapixel front camera.
The Communicator, which has Android 16 installed, is 131.5mm tall and weighs 170 grams.
... continue reading