Posted by microflash 7 days ago
Personally wish their marketing leaned into the productivity more than in this "second-device" trend. Never understood that if I am totally honest. The logic for buying a $ 700,- Light Phone over just installing a launcher and muting the colours is allegedly that it creates more friction, but there is just as much keeping you from just using your existing phone once you purchased a Light Phone as there is preventing you from uninstalling the launcher. Basically, I see this category as rather dishonest, at most holding on by a treat with the sunk cost argument that anyone truly addicted is unlikely to even feel, so I'd rather see them lean into what makes them great rather than chase an artificial category, often more focused on signaling the intent to lessen phone user over actually facilitating it.
State clearly, proudly and with full conviction that yes, this is a main device and yes, there are things this will do better than arguably anything else on the market, mainly because Clicks does keyboards a multitude better than any alternative, be it Unihertz or Minimal.
you can fight that, and lose (no market)
or accept second device status (for werk), optimize that use case, and be honest that it will not be the main device
In the comments below the Verge Article and announcement video on the Communicator, there is already confusion because of their second device marketing. Whether you can use it without another device, whether it can share data contracts like a smartwatch, what keeps one from using it as their sole smartphone, some even asking whether this actually allows for phone calls or is just for mailing.
They have clearly just confused the messaging for the core audience of Clicks and devices of this type by chasing what I'd argue is a mirage, a customer base that doesn't exist.
Keep in mind, Clicks doesn't need to speculate who will buy this. They already have a loyal consumer base (I paid over € 150,- including import fees for just the case and am far from alone), made up of power users who mostly will use this as their sole smartphone, just like we have been doing with our Clicks equipped iPhones, Pixels, Razrs and Galaxies.
Second device is a wholly different market, one that I suspect does not intersect much with the existing base of heavy power users, using their phones to reliably control e.g. IDEs and remote desktops on the go.
I'd argue the two are in fact polar opposites, someone who needs reliable input on the go is likely not the same someone who wants to use their phone less and equally would not want to just have reliable input only on e.g. their work device. For me, it's always a pain when I have to use a touch only keyboard despite previously doing fine with swiping, etc. so if a Communicator user wanted to have physically separate devices for work and private, they'd more likely go for a second Clicks, the keyboard is that nice and arguably locks you in tight.
Major concern as is often the case with new phone startups is the update policy and more importantly whether they'll be able to actually deliver over the years. Has been literally half a decade since I last used a Mediathek device, so maybe this changed, but back then they didn't have the best reputation for long term maintenance, providing drivers to enable updates, etc...
the power user base you mention is probably too small to sustain them long term
Or from the other side, why would the digital detox, second device crowd go for a fully featured Android phone with a color AMOLED with all the temptations that brings over a smartwatch or black and white screened device?
not sure if that makes them a power user
why do you equate second device with digital detox?
what happened to use the best tool for the job? use a phone with a physical keyboard when chatting on WhatsApp and then switch to a regular phone for Instagram and browsing web. not saying everybody should do this but if chatting is your life...
some people even use a phone and a laptop at the same time, they are already a second device person, so they could be a three device person
If they are willing to pay quite a lot over alternative smartphones, wait half a year to have it delivered, then sit down for roughly two weeks, forcing themselves to slowly touch type so as to build the muscle memory required to actually be able to type on a Clicks then I'd say they are more than likely power users and dedicated ones willing to sacrifice quite a lot of convenience for quite a long time.
Nowadays I easily get 80wpm on my Clicks, but it took a while and I can assure you, anyone who doesn't have a true need for a physical keyboard on a smartphone in 2026, something they know they'll get a benefit from if they can type faster and without looking, they won't spend more than a minute trying it and won't be able to use it.
Heck, Michael Fisher, one of the cofounders said, for this very reason: "If you only give yourself 5 minutes with it you might as well not even bother. Getting into a physical keyboard takes time" [0]
Be honest, for a secondary device that is a massive effort to invest.
> [...] why do you equate second device with digital detox? [...]
Because if you are not willing to use a Clicks as your sole device for two weeks (so it cannot be your second phone), you won't be able to type on one in any meaningful way. Which is what happens if it were your second device. At that point the digital detox idea of "it introduces friction" is the only other angle you can have.
> [...] use a phone with a physical keyboard when chatting on WhatsApp and then switch to a regular phone for Instagram and browsing web [...]
But, again, Clicks has been making cases for regular phones for years now, which allow this far better than carrying a dedicated phone with a second contract alongside a phone solely for media consumption.
If you want a physical keyboard and also want the 21:9-16:9 aspect ratio of most smartphones, use a Clicks case. No need for a second device.
And once, like me, you've actually invested the effort, once you've gotten used to a Clicks and are reliant on it, you'll likely not want a device without it, so again, the idea that someone buys and uses a Clicks Communicator alongside a regular smartphone without a Clicks cases is not really realistic for me. If I am browsing social media or the web, I now want a reliable keyboard that doesn't steal screen real estate just as much as when I am working on a document.
Basically, Clicks enabled phones are devices that encourage users to become dependent on a unique input approach and thus make switching to devices without the keyboard less pleasant. In other words, Clicks, in my opinion, is detrimental to a two phone lifestyle, unless both phones have Clicks. The amount of effort you have to invest to become comfortable with it and the experience you get once you are both make it an appealing secondary device, unless again, one wants to have a worse experience to "detox".
> some people even use a phone and a laptop at the same time, they are already a second device person, so they could be a three device person
By that logic the average person nowadays is a fifteen+ device person, but I suspect you know this conversation is focused on within a device category.
Regardless of the viability of the second device category, what is confirmed in the Youtube comments, on Reddit and here on Hacker News, is that this secondary device approach has muddled their communication and confused potential customers.
If you are faced with questions like "can this make calls", "is it like a smartwatch" and "can I use this on its own", you have not communicated what you are doing properly and no matter how large the alleged second device market is, you can't reach them either if these are unclear even for your previous customers.
but if it's like using a Dvorak and a Qwerty at the same time, it makes sense it should be the only device
How easy is it to build a custom android phone these days, with the help of Chinese suppliers of course?