To meet the needs of users who pursue the tactile feel of physical buttons, British startup Clicks will showcase a protective case accessory for iPhone models during CES 2024, which will allow users to input text through the physical buttons below.
With a similar design, someone has made an accessory product with the same concept called Physibo in the past, and even put it on the Kickstarter crowdfunding website to raise funds, but it was ultimately unsuccessful.
The design of Clicks is very simple. It uses the Lightning or USB-C at the bottom of the iPhone as a connection, and can input text content through the full QWERTY keys configured under the protective case, allowing users to type directly with physical keys.
Unlike previous designs that mostly connect to the iPhone via wireless methods such as Bluetooth, Clicks connects directly to the iPhone via the bottom port and operates on the iPhone's power. The button backlight can be turned on or off manually.
In addition, the button design of this protective case accessory is relatively small, so the actual operation may not be very convenient. People with thicker fingers and larger palms may easily press the wrong button or press it by mistake.
Clicks expects to sell this protective case accessory with a starting price of US$139, available in yellow and black styles, and compatible with iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
