Verdict
The Clicks Keyboard for iPhone is a neat estimation , and the agiotage build matches the premium price , but the small keys make it hard to touch eccentric at a level that ’s quicker than using the on - screen keyboard . It also bring in your iPhone very , very tall .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Clicks Keyboard for iPhone face to emulate the physical keyboard experience offered by pop sword like Blackberry in the early- to mid-2010s , but is it worth its insurance premium price tag ?
The Clicks Keyboard for sure pop the question a unparalleled experience in the iPhone accessory market place , with a full QWERTY backlit keyboard snuggle beneath your iPhone that brings it closer to the Blackberry experience of past times than anything else we ’ve seen so far .
However , an imperfect typing experience , the added heftiness and height to your gadget , and the aforesaid premium price tag will likely keep the Clicks keyboard in the kingdom of recession accessory – for the first - gen accessory , at the very least .
Design
Though Clicks has done a good occupation at split up itself from the loyalist of the telephone set - and - keyboard era , Blackberry , it ’s hard to not make connections between Click ’s new accessory and the nostalgic use of Blackberry phones in the early 2010s – for me as a 30 - something - year - old , anyway .
I cogitate it ’s what has thread such stake from the technical school marketplace ; it ’s the first premium keyboard case of its sort for the smartphone earned run average , bringing a touch of old - school to new - shoal devices .
Well , I say gimmick , but the Clicks Keyboard offering is limited to just iPhone for now , and even then , support is a piffling flake come to - and - omit . You ’ve got a USB - one C variation for the iPhone 15 collection , and there ’s a Lightning version for older devices , but that ’s restrain to just theiPhone 14 ProandiPhone 14 Pro Max .
It gets even more confusing when you bring color pick into play ; theiPhone 15 Pro&15 Pro Maxcases are useable in BumbleBee , London Sky , Miami Beach and Royal Ink . If you ’ve got aniPhone 15or15 Plus , you ’ll only be capable to get the Miami Beach or Royal Ink finish , while 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max substance abuser only have BumbleBee and London Sky to choose from .
Oh , and there ’s a slight difference in price too , with the cases for 6.1 - in iPhones coming in at a not - undistinguished £ 109/$139 , while the 6.7 - column inch case fare in at £ 129/$159 .
That ’s about as clear as mud , right ? Yep , I call back so . But once you ’ve go through the slightly Byzantine ordering summons , what do you really get for your money ?
The good intelligence is that the Clicks Keyboard for iPhone is very well made . The gentle , silicone polymer upper natural enclosure has enough flex to slot your iPhone into place without issue while also delivering some kind of stupor absorbency , and the complementing polycarbonate skeleton feels sturdy in the hired hand .
That premium find extends to small details of the case , like button covers for the power and book buttons that are separate from the case and move slightly when depressed , pernicious Clicks branding on the side and a nice vegan leather panel at the bottom of the case for add together grip when typing .
But , of course , it ’s all about the keyboard . It ’s a QWERTY keyboard , though other keyboard layouts are on the path grant to Clicks , with circular backlit keys that straightaway separate itself from the square - off key of Blackberrys of past . Each paint has a diam of 5.6 mm , and while there ’s only 0.2 millimetre of travel , it still provides a satisfying click in use .
There are n’t dedicated button for identification number or punctuation , however ; you ’ll need to push the 123 Francis Scott Key to reach the keyboard ’s secondary keys . With this button either pressed or held , you’re able to access numbers on the top quarrel and mutual symbols and punctuation mark on the bottom two rows .
That said , the Clicks does have consecrate buttons for iPhone - centric routine , including an Emoji winder and a dedicated key for iPhone bid for the moments when you really ca n’t be bother to typewrite out your substance . What ’s more , the equipment has specific holes for the mike and utterer so you do n’t need to remove the case to apply this functionality .
I mentioned specific Lightning and USB - C variants of the sheath for different model of iPhone , and that ’s because the keyboard itself does n’t have a battery . Instead , it practice the Lightning / USB - C port of your iPhone to deliver both power and data .
It ’s an easy process to insert your phone ; just shut down back the flexible top one-half of the case and slide your iPhone into place . It should click once in full relate to the typesetter’s case , and you should see the keyboard ignite up too .
With passthrough burden also useable via the Lightning / USB - C embrasure on the bottom of the case , you could still top up your iPhone as require . Clicks claim that the case is slight enough to not interfere with MagSafe charging , and while that is true for MagSafe chargers that sit flat on your desk , I found it far too great to use with a MagSafe dock that holds my iPhone up at an angle .
And that ’s the heavy arrest when it comes to the Clicks Keyboard ; it turns your iPhone into a big , bulky , cumbersome twist , measuring in at 188.3 mm tall and 10.8 millimeter thick – and that ’s when pair with an iPhone 14 Pro . I can only imagine how comically retentive it ’d make 6.7 - inch devices .
Features and performance
The Clicks Keyboard casing for iPhone is a well - build up , dependable - depend spot outfit – but how does it execute in daily use ? Well , that ’s where things get a little cloudy .
I want to preface this by saying that I was a vast Blackberry fan in my earlier eld , going through various iteration of Blackberry Bold and Curve – and it was all down to that keyboard . That , and BBM , of trend , but that ’s a unlike story tout ensemble .
I beget so right at spot typewriting on the keyboard that I would walk along and compose entire text message without looking at the concealment once , so it ’s safe to say that I was excited to get to that level with the Clicks keyboard .
Clicks itself suppose that it ’ll take a while to get used to the typewriting experience . Per the company , it ’ll take 20 minutes to get used to the push , two hours to adjust to the layout and ascendance , two days to master the typing and lead off using shortcuts and two whole weeks to gain full mastery of the accessory .
Reader , I used the keyboard for over two calendar week and I can safely say that I never have near to describe my skill as master - storey .
It started out pretty rough , with plenty of misspressed keys and world-wide error , though the experience did start ironing itself out over a few days as I got used to the layout . By five day in , I discover myself instinctively using the physical keyboard for day - to - daylight tasks like replying to texts .
However , at no stage did my touch typing become as accurate as I ’d have liked , and that meant that I was still fairly ho-hum at using the keyboard after the full two weeks . In fact , I never reached a head where I typed faster with the physical keyboard than the practical one , peculiarly considering I use the swipe - expressive style of text input that makes things even faster .
For me , it boils down to two things ; the condition of the keys and the space between them . The circular headstone of the keyboard surely facilitate the Clicks oppose off any Blackberry emulator rhetoric , but it also mean that the surface domain of each key is much pocket-size than it demand to be , and the col between the keys are meridian space for your fingers to flow into , resulting in peck of mispresses .
And , when you look at the keyboard itself , there ’s plenty of additional distance that Clicks could ’ve utilised to make the keys a little heavy with smaller disruption between them , making the keyboard much easier to practice . Yes , it would n’t have had the same visual flare , but case accessories subsist and pop off by usability , and I do n’t call back this is quite there . For me and my fairly large fingers , anyway .
That sound out , there are benefits to using the Clicks keyboard in your day - to - day life story . The biggest is the extra screen real estate you get back when using a physical keyboard . Without the need to exhibit an on - screen keyboard , you may see a whole lot more of the screen , perfect for replying to those essay - distance messages on WhatsApp .
The keyboard also provides admittance to a range of keyboard shortcuts to help make navigating the iOS experience even easier . mastery + H would take you to the Home screen , while Command + Space would work up the iPhone ’s universal search . There are also shortcuts within specific apps , like Command + N for starting a new subject matter in the Messages app .
I found myself using these shortcuts , of which there are over 30 in total , more often than using the keyboard for existent typing . That ’s even more true when you factor in that you may set up your own custom keyboard shortcuts to run Apple Shortcuts on your iPhone , immensely expanding what the keyboard can do .
It does take a bit of setup , require you to go into the Accessibility configurations on your iPhone to enable its use , but it ’s well deserving it .
Once set up , I created keyboard shortcuts to access various Apple Shortcuts like turn over my impertinent lights on and off , accessing apps like ChatGPT , and even multi - step mechanisation that ’d turn off my light , along with my Apple TV , and put my iPhone into Sleep Mode , all with a simple button press .
That ’s easy my favored aspect of the Clicks keyboard , essentially turn your iPhone into a smart home / mechanisation remote that can head for the hills just about anything you’re able to make in the Shortcuts app without even having to peek at your iPhone ’s presentation .
There ’s also the Clicks app for iPhone where you’re able to tailor certain elements of your Clicks experience , like choosing whether the Enter key should broadcast a message or depart a raw paragraph , with unexampled features revolve out lento over sentence .
The catch is that many of the newer features are exclusive to the USB - C version of the case , with Lightning users pretty much out of luck on anything pushed out to the keyboard since its initial release – and according to Clicks , that wo n’t modify with this first - gen product .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
My extortionate learning curvature aside , the Clicks keyboard remains the only premium keyboard accouterment for iPhone users .
Even after two weeks of use , I still found it faster to typewrite messages using the iPhone ’s on - screen keyboard .
Final Thoughts
I have a go at it the idea of the Clicks Keyboard for iPhone , and the company should be applauded for its first attempt . There are a lot of great ideas here , specially when it come to integration with Apple Shortcuts , that make it stand out from practically any other accessory on the market right now .
However , even as an avid Blackberry drug user back in the day , I could n’t quite get used to the keyboard , with rather small-scale keys and gaps between them that my fingers of course splay into . This mean that , even after two weeks , I still found it quicker and easier to habituate the on - silver screen keyboard .
Then there ’s the tally duration and heft that the twist tot up to your iPhone , an especially authoritative factor for those wielding 6.7 - column inch iPhones like the iPhone 15 Pro Max that might make it a battle to fit into a pocket or purse .
Some Blackberry purists may get used to the keyboard and love the experience on offer , but for the vast legal age of users , it ’s credibly easy to just stick to your iPhone ’s on - screen keyboard .
Trusted Score
How we test
We used the Clicks Keyboard for iPhone for over two weeks to assure that we got the best intromission to the forcible keyboard as possible . We tested all extra feature too , including impost shortcuts , and used the fellow app for iPhone too .
FAQs
Sadly not ; the vitrine is designed to be a tight fit and thus , the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max case wo n’t couple the dimensions of the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus .
