If you miss the rugged, efficient simplicity of your old BlackBerry phone, there’s a new Android device in town that is aiming straight for your heart.Announced at trade show CES 2026 in Las Vegas, the Clicks Communicator looks very similar to your faithful BlackBerry and is designed, as the name suggests, to be a communication hub that triages messages from all your apps.The catch here is that it is not a standalone phone, despite running Android 16.Instead, the Communicator pairs to your existing smartphone to take away that device’s distractions and leave you with a “purpose-built smartphone designed to complement today’s flagships by prioritising context, input, and control,” as Clicks puts it in a press release.
Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Read more: Motorola takes aim at Samsung and Google with a surprise new Android phone Read more: All Android owners warned not to ignore latest free software update The Communicator runs Android 16 but can pair with both Android and iPhone devices to be used as a secondary phone.The idea is you can reply to messages from different apps in one place, without having to hop into the apps themselves and become distracted.“Communicator is to a smartphone what a Kindle is to an iPad,” said Jeff Gadway, Chief Marketing Officer at Clicks.“It’s a complementary product that stands on its own, optimised for a specific purpose.
In the case of Clicks Communicator, that means communicating with confidence in a noisy world.”Clicks is a venture founded by Kevin Michaluk, the founder of now-defunct BlackBerry fan and editorial site Crackberry, Michael Fisher, the tech YouTuber who goes by MrMobile, Jeff Gadway, former BlackBerry director of product marketing, and Adrian Li Mow Ching, who is CEO.Its existing products include phone cases that add physical keyboards for iPhones and Android phones.Article continues below ADVERTISEMENTThe new Communicator has an earpiece, 3.5mm headphone jack, and importantly, a BlackBerry-style physical keyboard underneath the 4.03-inch touchscreen that hides a fingerprint sensor underneath the spacebar.
All the keys are touch sensitive, just like the BlackBerry Passport from 2014, which lets you scroll through lists, apps and menus without touching the screen.Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Tech news, reviews and latest gadgets plus selected offers and competitions Subscribe Invalid emailWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you.This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding.
You can unsubscribe at any time.Read our Privacy PolicyGet More of Our News on GoogleSet Daily Express as a 'Preferred Source' to get quicker access to the news you value.Clicks has teamed up with Niagara Launcher, a popular app for Android phones that you can install to replace your phone’s default launcher interface.
It is a minimalist look that simplifies apps into an alphabetical list, and in images from Clicks, appears to list your messages in chronological order so you can reply to them.On the side, the power button can be programmed to glow different colours depending on your preferences to show who has messages, or if you get pinged by a certain app.You’ll also be able to buy the Communicator in different colours and the back is detachable for Nokia-esque customisation.For a secondary, companion device that can’t be used on its own, Clicks is asking $499, with an early bird price of £399 overall if you are willing to pay $199 to ‘reserve’ yours before February 27.Apple's John Ternus shares insight into the new iPhone “You will be invited to choose your Communicator color and Covers closer to launch later this year,” the company says, with no specific date.The device was unveiled at CES, but only with dummy units and no working version given to journalists to test out.Where some firms have opted to release so-called dumbphones to appeal to people who want to disconnect from the noise of the modern smartphone, Clicks is taking another route.It has admitted you probably can’t go without your smartphone, and is mixing a play for nostalgia with your desire to own a device that doesn’t beg for your attention.Whether or not you want to carry around a second phone just for that is up to you.
