Clicks reveals SoC, software support for its BlackBerry-like Android phone

We’ve reached that point of maturity in the smartphone ecosystem where practically all great Android phones look and feel the same. If you’re itching to get your hands on something different, you either need to look at foldables or explore more experimental form factors such as the Clicks Communicator. This Blackberry-like Android smartphone was shown off at CES, but there were still a few details we didn’t know about it. Clicks has now finally confirmed the SoC used on the phone, and the number of Android updates it will receive.

Clicks has confirmed that the Communicator will be powered by the 4nm Dimensity 8300 (M8883) SoC. This SoC was launched in late 2023 and features 1x Cortex-A715 prime core, 3x Cortex-A715 performance cores, and 4x Cortex-A510 efficiency cores. We already know the phone comes with 256GB of storage, along with a microSD card slot for further expansion (up to 2TB), so the only missing information right now is the amount of RAM and its tech.

Further, Clicks highlights that the MT8883 platform offers a long runway for Android and security updates. Software support for the platform is planned through Android 20, with five years of security updates. We confirmed with Clicks that the Communicator will indeed be updated all the way till Android 20, with five years of security updates, which is up from its initial promise of updates till Android 18.

Clicks also announced that the Communicator now supports new keyboard layouts, including French (AZERTY), German (QWERTZ), Korean, and Arabic. Customers will be able to configure their preferred keyboard layout, along with their Communicator color and back covers, closer to shipping.

Clicks has also extended the early bird window to March 15. Right now, customers can either pay $199 as a reservation deposit to lock in the $399 early-bird price, or pay $399 right away to get two additional back covers. Clicks Communicator is promised to begin shipping later this year in Smoke, Clover, and Onyx at a launch price of $499.