Product1 publisher2 min readPublished
Clicks upgrades the Communicator for buyers who want it as their only phone
The keyboard phone gets 12GB of RAM, an Android 17 launch build, five years of security updates and its own eSIM line. Buyers have until September 30 to hold the $499 price for hardware that ships in December.
The Product Desk · Product desk
What happened
- The company promises three OS upgrades and five years of security updates; 9to5Google puts that support window at around 2032 and calls the policy short of Google's and Samsung's.
- Clicks pitched the Communicator at CES as a secondary device to pair with a main smartphone, and 9to5Google reports that customer interest in main-phone use drove the upgrades.
- The $499 pre-order price ends September 30 and the base MSRP rises to $650 on October 1, with reservation holders invited today to configure their final orders.
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Why it matters
- decision Anyone choosing between $499 and $650 has to decide by September 30, at least two months before the first units reach a buyer's hands.
- cost Kitting the phone out as a daily driver adds $74 of Dbrand parts and a $129 protection plan, and the configured total lands above the bare phone's October MSRP.
- exposure Whoever makes this their only handset buys cell service and repair coverage from a company shipping its first phone.
- constraint The memory and battery upgrades were handed to early buyers at no charge, while the five-year patch window is set at purchase and buyers cannot extend it.
A reservation holder who put money down at CES was holding a place for a second phone. Today that person gets an invite to configure a final order [12], and the $499 price holds only through September 30 [13]. From October 1 the base MSRP is $650 [13]. The gap is $151, about 30 percent of the pre-order price [15].
The spec changes are aimed at longevity. Going from 8GB to 12GB is 50 percent more memory [1][19], and 9to5Google noted that other phone makers are reducing RAM while raising prices [20]. Clicks also moved the launch build to Android 17 and raised the battery to 4,350mAh [6][7]. Three promised OS upgrades from Android 17 land on Android 20 [4][18], and 9to5Google puts the security window at around 2032 while calling the policy not quite on par with Google or Samsung [5].
According to 9to5Google, the team heard from potential customers who would be satisfied with the Communicator as their main smartphone, and that prompted the changes [3]. The part of the announcement that converts a companion into a primary phone is a phone number. Clicks Mobile is an MVNO selling voice and data over eSIM in the US and UK, with two months of free service for anyone who activates at launch [11]. The announcement does not include a monthly rate.
Configured the way a primary phone actually gets configured, the price moves. Dbrand's MNML case is $39 and its Prism screen protector is $35, and Clicks Care is $129 [8][10]. Add those to $499 and the total is $702, above what the bare phone costs in October [16]. Clicks Care covers accidental damage over a two-year term with a $49 deductible, so the first claim costs $178 between plan and deductible [10][17]. On a $499 phone that is roughly 36 percent of the purchase price [17].
A spare device usually gets retired when the main phone is replaced. The buyer has to price that against a 2032 support window before September 30. As a companion, the Communicator is $499, the existing line stays on the existing phone, and the owner never uses all of the support window. As the only handset, it puts Clicks in charge of the cell service and the repair channel as well as the software [10][11], and the five years of patches are fixed at purchase [4].
The memory and the battery, at least, came free. Clicks said buyers at the $499 price will not be asked to pay more for the RAM and battery upgrades [14].
What to watch
- Whether Clicks publishes a monthly rate for Clicks Mobile before the $499 pre-order window closes on September 30.
- Whether the December ship date holds for reservation holders configuring their orders this week.
- Whether Clicks states the three-upgrade promise as reaching Android 20 or as three years of releases.