The First Working Clicks Communicator Is Revealed: Take My Money

The most exciting phone revealed in 2026 was the Clicks Communicator and now we can see it in action.

It was the hype of CES for re-imagining how a smartphone with a physical keyboard should be designed in the modern era. After months showing off the physical design attributes, the company now has a working model so we can actually see the device in-use.

While there was already plenty to look forward to with this phone coming out at the end of the year, the latest video also reveals some stuff we never knew about the Communicator. From hidden hardware details to launcher optimization, let's break down those big changes the company just shared:

1. The Tri-Mic Architecture & The Top-Edge Cutouts

A device call "Communicator" should allow you to communicate however you want, including in whatever way you most want to talk on the phone. Clicks has shown how they've designed their phone with three working microphones to capture your voice clearly when you're on a call no matter how the phone is being held.

If you're inspecting the launch video carefully and notice two small holes near the 3.5mm headphone jack, you might assume both of those are microphones, but that's not actually the case.

• The Third Mic: One of these top openings houses a dedicated microphone, working in tandem with a secondary mic at the bottom chin and a third ambient mic embedded directly on the rear panel. Clicks has deployed a dedicated microphone algorithm team tasked with getting these three distinct acoustic nodes to work in concert, isolating voice dynamics while scrubbing out background interference.
• The Barometric Pressure Sensor: The second opening right next to it isn't an extra mic, it's an explicit port for a dedicated barometric pressure sensor. While many flagships bury this deep within sealed frames, exposing it slightly improves rapid ambient airflow detection. This means instantly accurate altitude data for GPS location arrays and localized micro-climate updates within your weather apps.

2. Silicon Integration: The Contoured Spacebar

We also got more information on the biometric unlock elegantly crafted into the keyboard.

The fingerprint sensor is embedded entirely flush within the spacebar. To prevent you from having to awkwardly shift your hand position to authenticate, the team sculpted a distinct, contoured slope on the space key itself. Your thumb naturally glides over the ridge, allowing you to unlock the device or authorize secure apps while keeping your hands locked perfectly in standard typing posture.

3. Ergonomics Meet Minimalism: The Custom Niagara Interface

On the software side, Clicks didn't try to reinvent the wheel; instead, they partnered with the minimalist masters behind Niagara Launcher to build a highly optimized, vertically driven interface that treats the physical keyboard as a first-class citizen.

• The Side Ribbon: Standard grid-based icon walls are gone. Instead, your apps live along a fluid, vertical ribbon on the side of the display, placing notifications and application shortcuts perfectly within thumb reach right above the physical keyboard layer.
• Instant Type-to-Search: The launcher treats the keyboard as a universal CLI (Command Line Interface). You don't tap a search bar; you simply start typing directly from the home screen to instantly find apps, dig up music files, or jump straight into deep-linked communication suites.
• In-Line Previews: Swiping right or holding down apps lets you preview incoming threads (like triaging messages) and shoot back replies instantly using physical key composition without ever pulling you away from your core home screen space.

4. Bare-Metal Swaps: The Chamfered Backplate

In a move that will make hardware minimalists rejoice, accessing the internal storage and communication trays doesn't require fishing around for a paperclip or a SIM ejector tool.

The removable backplate features a dedicated finger-pick groove. Clicks spent engineering cycles matching a chamfered edge on the flexible outer cover with a corresponding chamfered groove milled directly into the mid-frame chassis. It gives just enough leverage for a thumbnail to neatly pop the shell free without any unsettling structural flex.

Once inside, you have unhindered access to the primary SIM slot and a hot-swappable MicroSD expansion slot supporting up to 2TB of local storage.

When Does The Clicks Communicator Start Shipping?

While the internals shown are still in their pre-production phase, the architectural layout is locked down. The Clicks Communicator is currently demonstrating fully operational Rogers 5G radio stacks, functional Wi-Fi/Bluetooth arrays, and polished physical alignment.

Everything looks like it is firmly on track for its scheduled Q4 shipping window later this year. See below for our sit-down chat with the Clicks team at CES 2026: