Technologies

My Clicks Communicator Hands-On: Boldly Going Where Phones Have Been Before

The new Android handset is meant to be a secondary phone optimized for messaging, with a BlackBerry-like physical keyboard, headphone jack and other features lost to time.

It’s one thing to have a great idea and another to actually make it a reality. The newly announced Clicks Communicator phone, from the keyboard phone case company of the same name, is a refreshing breath of fresh air that is also oh-so-familiar. You might easily mistake it for a BlackBerry phone from circa 2007, and that’s because it was designed by a former BlackBerry designer. However, it runs Android 16 and has a nifty, minimalist app launcher that looks sleek and contemporary. In the hour I spent learning about it and using a non-working prototype, the Clicks Communicator quickly became my favorite CES gadget in years.

The Communicator is a surprisingly smart take that combines old and new phone features in a way that, aside from Motorola, very few phone makers have successfully done before. It’s a straightforward-to-use Android smartphone with seemingly every popular feature that companies have removed over the past decade.

In its small design, there is a physical keyboard, a notification alert light, a headphone jack, a physical SIM card tray, support for a microSD card and buttons, oh so many buttons. Jony Ive’s soul must be hurting right now.

At a time when phones have become overly complicated, AI-centric attention stealers, the Clicks Communicator aims to provide an experience optimized for typing and voice-to-text recording, all while minimizing distractions. It’s designed to be a secondary device that complements your regular smartphone. The idea is similar to what Palm tried almost a decade ago, when it sold a small Android phone meant to complement larger ones. However, Palm’s phone didn’t offer amenities like a physical keyboard.

«Communicator is to a smartphone what a Kindle is to an iPad,» said Jeff Gadway, chief marketing officer at Clicks, in a press release. «It’s a complementary product that stands on its own, optimized for a specific purpose. In the case of Clicks Communicator, that means communicating with confidence in a noisy world.»

We expect our smartphones to do anything we want, but that often means compromising on how features are implemented. On an iPhone 17 Pro, for example, I can definitely type and respond to texts, emails and jot down the occasional random thought in the Notes app. But for me, and I expect many others, I have a much more enjoyable experience typing on a physical keyboard. I prefer to use a laptop to respond to a long or complex email versus writing it on a phone.

But the Communicator’s singular focus on input, along with the fact that it can be your only phone, unlocks a much wider appeal (at least on paper). I could see the Communicator being the ideal «work» phone for those jobs where you want a separate device from your personal smartphone. You could quickly respond to a Slack thread without being tempted to check out TikTok or Instagram.

It might be an attractive option to a growing number of people who crave a phone that doesn’t need all their attention every damn minute. This could be someone burnt out from being obsessively online or someone who misses having a physical keyboard and features like a headphone jack. It could appeal to a person who wants a minimal-feeling smartphone like the Light Phone and Punkt, which each have their own take on what a less distracting phone might look like.

The Communicator costs $499 and launches later this year. However, you can preorder the phone for $399 or reserve one for $199 right now. It joins the Clicks Keyboard Pro and Keyboard Case.

«We’re really trying to help have people see us as a company that’s building purpose-built tech for people who want to do shit and not doom scroll,» Gadway told me.

Clicks Communicator’s stand-out features

Name: The phone is named in part for the iconic handheld voice device from Star Trek. Clicks co-founder Michael Fisher also explained that calling the device a «communicator» really captures what the phone was designed for: to provide the best typing and voice-to-text experience (in terms of both hardware and software) that you’ll find on a phone.

Design: The phone is compact. Its aluminum frame and polycarbonate body felt solid in my hand. Small phone lovers, this one seems aimed at you. It weighs only 170 grams. Compare that to the iPhone 17 Pro, which is 206 grams. It’s roughly the size of a small SSD or magnetic battery pack. It has a 4-inch screen and a keyboard similar to the one found on the Clicks keyboard case — with keys that are 43% larger on the Communicator.

Android 16 and Niagara launcher: The Communicator runs on Android 16 and has a custom version of the Niagara app launcher. Messages from apps like WhatsApp, Telegram and Slack are curated directly on the home screen, allowing people to review and respond quickly without having to open and jump between apps.

Prompt Key and Signal light: On the right side of the phone is a button called the Prompt Key. You press and hold it to record voice-to-text. Surrounding the button is the Signal light (think Android notification light from years ago) that makes it easy to distinguish messages and notifications at a glance. It can be customized with different colors and light patterns to glow when getting messages from specific people, groups, or apps.

Removable backplate: The back has a sloped, ergonomic, and interchangeable plate — think Moto X. During my briefing, there were half a dozen different plates made of polycarbonate and leather. The backplate also supports Qi2.2 wireless charging.

Other features:

50-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization
24-megapixel front camera
4,000 mAh silicon-carbon battery
256GB onboard storage plus expandable microSD
Physical SIM card tray and eSIM
A 3.5mm headphone jack
Android 16 with 5 years of security updates
Global 5G, 4G LTE, and 3G/2G support, unlocked
NFC with Google Pay, Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 6
USB-C and wireless charging
4,000mAh battery
A 3.5mm headphone jack
A configurable mute switch

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 9 #677

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Jan. 9, No. 677.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun topic — but one of the answers describes something I’ve never heard of before. Also, some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: For cubs fans.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Like Gentle Ben.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

LAIR, RAIL, CROP, LAID, BALD, DEAN, BROW, DIZZY

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

BLACK, BROWN, GRIZZLY, PANDA, POLAR, SPECTACLED (That last one is the one I’ve never heard of! But it’s real!)

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is BEARSINMIND. To find it, start with the B that’s five rows to the right and three letters down, then wind up, over and down the whole far-right row.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Toughest Strands puzzles

Here are some of the Strands topics I’ve found to be the toughest.

#1: Dated slang. Maybe you didn’t even use this lingo when it was cool. Toughest word: PHAT.

#2: Thar she blows! I guess marine biologists might ace this one. Toughest word: BALEEN or RIGHT.

#3: Off the hook. Again, it helps to know a lot about sea creatures. Sorry, Charlie. Toughest word: BIGEYE or SKIPJACK.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Jan. 9

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 9.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? The Across clues were kind of tough today. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Question in a late-night text
Answer: YOUUP

6A clue: Plentiful
Answer: AMPLE

7A clue: Saint ___ and Nevis (Caribbean nation)
Answer: KITTS

8A clue: Baby-bringing bird
Answer: STORK

9A clue: Take care of the tab
Answer: PAY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Himalayan herbivores
Answer: YAKS

2D clue: Fail to include
Answer: OMIT

3D clue: «High five!»
Answer: UPTOP

4D clue: The «U» of UV rays
Answer: ULTRA

5D clue: Annoying to deal with
Answer: PESKY

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

I Got Up Close and Personal With Boston Dynamics’ New Atlas Robot

Before Atlas takes its first steps into the world of work later this year, I found myself face-to-face with CES 2026’s most talked-about robot on the show floor.

When I say that I went hands-on with the new Boston Dynamics Atlas robot, I mean that I actually held hands with it. This humanoid robot, which CNET just awarded the Best Robot of CES Award, is one of the most advanced in the world, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get up close and personal with it.

This product version of the robot, which is set to be shipped to Hyundai factories imminently to start working, has been the talk of CES this year. The specific Atlas robot I encountered was a static model that wasn’t turned on or fully operational. Our interactions were, therefore, sadly one-sided. Still, I ran my hands over its soft-touch plastic shell and gently prodded at its finger joints, wondering how it would feel if they gripped me back.

People tend to have varying feelings about humanoid robots — understandable given that they are built to some degree in our image, while also usually being stronger than us, with «brains» that we don’t fully understand. Atlas definitely evokes contradictory emotions for me — even more so when I stood face-to-face with it.

I’m in awe of the engineering, a little fearful of its capabilities, hesitant about what it could mean for the future of humanity and charmed by its design and styling. The periwinkle blue iteration of Atlas that I met on the show floor at CES 2026 almost bears more resemblance to a Dyson product than it does the industrial robots that defined Boston Dynamics’ early days, when it was best known for its work with DARPA.

«There’s a lot of really specific things about this robot that probably look a little weird,» said Zachary Jackowski, Boston Dynamics VP and general manager of Atlas. He pointed to the legs, which he described as «like nothing anyone else was doing.»

Atlas’ thighs are narrow set and in line with the torso, while the calves are wider set, attached to their upper counterparts with a circular joint. This robot is, in fact, all subtle curves and soft lines. There are no harsh edges or stark angles.

During a year when CES has been flooded with humanoid robots, Atlas definitely does stand out due to its design. It appears both less classically human and less industrial than some of its peers, while also lacking the often intimidating, featureless faces they tend to exhibit. Instead, it has two low-set cameras resembling eyes placed where you’d usually expect a mouth to be. Its face is a perfect flat circle, defined by an LED halo that gives it a somewhat Pixar lamp effect.

I asked Jackowski why Boston Dynamics decided to skew so relatively unhuman with this version of its humanoid. «Well, it’s not a human,» he said. «It projects the wrong first impression about a robot to have it pretend to be something that it’s not.»

Particularly in the early days of humanoids, he added, robots won’t have anything like human-like intelligence. People should look at it and see it for what it is — a tool for performing tasks safely and efficiently.

In fact, most of the design decisions were made to keep Atlas as simple, scalable and safe as possible, Jackowski said. I remark that there’s some irony in thinking of a humanoid robot as simple, given the complexity of the technology and development process to bring Atlas to life.

The key to making it simple, Jackowski said, is having a strong enough grasp of the technology to «accomplish the complex thing of building a humanoid robot,» but then being able to take it apart and understand that you can use fewer computers and actuators in it while achieving the same results.

And it’s essential to Boston Dynamics that Atlas is perceived as simple. After all, it’s a general-purpose humanoid, which might eventually be sent far and wide to fulfil all manner of roles. Jackowski calls it the «ultimate generalist.»

Simplicity aside, there are aspects of Atlas that Jackowski believes set it apart from other humanoids at the show. «The repairability of this robot is crazy good,» he said. «The runtime is crazy good. The strength is unlike anything.»

From working in Hyundai’s manufacturing plants, Atlas’s job trajectory is to eventually graduate to many of the same industrial environments where Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot works, before moving to bussing tables in the service industry and eventually into the home. The robot will evolve between now and then, Jackowski said. However, this could be an early glimpse of the type of humanoid that will eventually be our housemate.

That’s some way away, though, which is probably for the best. As I gaze up at Atlas, which I’d guess is around the same height as my husband, my feeling is that, however impressive Atlas is, I’m still not ready for it to move in.