Summary
- Clicks Keyboard enhances typing experience on iPhone, offering over 36 shortcuts to simplify tasks.
- Android users can also benefit from Clicks with the perfect fit on the Nothing Phone 1, supporting key shortcuts.
- Android’s customization makes it an ideal platform for Clicks, but native support for more devices is on the horizon.
From new Pixels to single-purpose AI gadgets, this year’s seen no shortage of tech announcements, and my personal favorite just so happened to be one of the highlights of CES 2024. The Clicks Keyboard, built exclusively for the iPhone by my friends Michael Fisher — better known on YouTube as Mr. Mobile — and Kevin Michaluk, adds physical buttons while allowing you to almost double the amount of content you can fit on your iPhone screen.
I’ve been trying out Clicks on the iPhone 15 Pro Max for the past couple of weeks, and it’s been transformative to my workflow. Although I thought it would just be the BlackBerry experience for the modern generation, after a few days of typing away, it was the keyboard shortcuts that shined through, simplifying my every tasks while the buttons themselves became my favorite way to type on my phone.
But it’s not always an iPhone in my hands. I use an Android phone alongside Apple’s latest hardware every day, and switching from Clicks to a non-Clicks typing experience made me wonder if I could use this keyboard with any Android phone. After all, with Apple’s move to USB-C, the only thing keeping me from using Clicks on Android isn’t the connector — it’s the shape and size. And after testing various phones, I realized that the Nothing Phone 1 is the perfect fit.
Why I love Clicks
An accessory made for ex-BlackBerry fans
As great as predictive text can be, it’s also frequently unreliable, especially when using swipe gestures on the on-screen keyboard. To that end, I’ve noticed that Clicks makes me type better the first time around. We’ve all heard the phrase, “Think before you speak.” Clicks is the internet version: “Think before you type.”
It goes further than that. Buttons mean combinations and shortcuts, and Clicks supports over 36 keyboard shortcuts using various combinations of the modifier keys and the QWERTY keyboard. This uses iOS’s native accessibility options and hardware keyboard support, including shortcuts like quickly accessing your Home Screen, Notification Center, and Command Center.
However, that support comes from iOS. Whether or not I could get the same functionality on Android took a little more experimentation.
More than just buttons for Android
Power users rejoise
Android tablets have proven time and time again that Android can support hardware keyboards and key shortcuts — unless you’re rocking a Pixel Tablet, of course, where Google makes you shop for third-party options. The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is my Android tablet of choice, and using Samsung’s first-party keyboard, it is capable of the usual array of shortcuts you’d expect from a powerful tablet that also runs Windows apps. But what about an Android-powered phone?
My favorite thing about using Clicks with the Nothing Phone 1 is that the keyboard shortcuts just work exactly as well as you’d hope. The CMD icon on the Clicks Keyboard acts as the modifier key (the equivalent of the Control key on Windows or the Command key on Mac) and lets you quickly access OS shortcuts or launch apps.
Here’s the list of shortcuts available on Android. The Android menu describes the Magnifying glass icon, but from my testing, it mostly translates to the CMD key on the Clicks keyboard and enables the following shortcuts:
- CMD + N: Access the notification center
- CMD + Enter: go back to the home screen
- CMD + Delete: go back a step
- ALT + TAB: Recent apps (cycle forward)
- ALT + SHIFT + TAB: Recent apps (cycle backward)
- CMD + /: Open the keyboard shortcuts menu in an app
- CMD + B: Open the default browser
- CMD + L: open the default calendar app
- CMD + C: Open Contacts
- CMD + E: Open the default email app
- CMD + P: Open the default music app
- CMD + S: Open Messages
Those are the ones shown in the Android physical keyboard menu, but there are also a few more that work even though they are not listed in any menu:
- CMD + M: Open Google Maps
- CMD + A: Open the Calculator app
- CMD or Mic key: Press once to launch Google Assistant
There doesn’t appear to be a way to customize the above shortcuts, at least not natively. Clicks is available in different styles for different regions, including AZERTY for Europe. And yes, I’ve checked: you can easily program the physical keyboard to match your Clicks keyboard in a different region.
The perfect combination
Android is the perfect OS for a product like Clicks, thanks to its ability to customize the overall experience and endless possibilities, but the various size and shapes of even the most popular devices makes support more difficult than you might think. So while Clicks isn’t available natively for any Android phone just yet, support could be around the corner if enough people demand it — or, you know, enough OEMs make devices the size and shape of the Nothing Phone 1.
Like you, I also can’t wait to see Clicks officially support some of my favorite Android phones, but for now, if you’ve been craving hardware buttons for Android, Nothing’s first-gen device is your best bet. After all, the best iPhone accessory combined with a great all-round phone that’s affordable and powerful? That’s a winning combination.
Nirave is a creator, evangelist, and founder of House of Technology, which covers the best health and technology products. Following a heart attack at the age of 33, he’s been focused on the impact of technology in helping us live longer, more fruitful, and happier lives. He can also be found on Instagram and Twitter and publishes the Impact Newsletter at impact.hot.tech.
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