It’s January, which means there’s a whole year of rectangular glass slabs ahead of us. But before that happens, I managed to find phones of a different shape lurking around the corners of the CES convention center halls. They weren’t center stage, of course. That was reserved for robots doing laundry badly. But in the margins at tech’s biggest show, I saw some glimmers of hope that the future of phones might not look as same-y as it has for the past half decade — at least, if you know where to look.
Clicks, the company known for its keyboard cases, didn’t just launch a combination MagSafe power bank and slide-out keyboard accessory. It also launched a whole-ass phone. The Communicator leans hard into Clicks’ BlackBerry DNA, with its full keyboard and Curve-esque design. The prototype units I got to play with weren’t functional, but the keyboard keys worked, and boy did they feel nice. The interchangeable back panels are sleek, and I’m personally campaigning for a fuzzy tennis ball optic yellow option.
The Communicator isn’t necessarily trying to put your main smartphone out of a job. Its creators envision it as a companion to your daily driver, something you leave the house with when typing out an email is going to be your focus more than scrolling through a feed of vertical videos. You know, like when you’re running between meetings at a convention for four days. But you don’t have to use it that way; Clicks cofounder and marketing lead Jeff Gadway told me that they’ve been surprised by the number of people expressing interest in the phone as a primary device. And you know what? Those people might be on to something.
A small Android phone that’s hip to be square
I need to tip my hat to Ben Sin for putting the MindOne Pro on my radar. It was easy to miss on the show floor; Ikko’s booth was in the farthest reaches of Central Hall past a concession stand selling questionable meatball sandwiches. But find it I did, and once I had it in hand I didn’t want to let this little phone go. It’s a full-featured Android phone with a square format, 4-inch screen, and 50-megapixel rear camera that rotates upward for selfies. The camera even acts as a kickstand if you want to prop the phone up! What a concept. I put the MindOne Pro in my pocket, and after a couple of weeks carrying the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, it felt light as a feather.
I’d never heard of Ikko, which apparently got its start making earbuds. Still, I’m a little wary of a phone maker when I’m unsure of its track record for providing software updates and being good stewards of your personal data. The MindOne Pro actually comes with a second OS installed: a proprietary OS that centers around AI apps. These AI features also come with free global data so you can use them even if you’re away from your home network. The company’s Kickstarter page mentions that you can preorder the phone and have it shipped without the Ikko OS, only Android, which is an appealing option if you’re interested in the small phone aspect and not all the rest. I’m hoping to test it out soon, so stay tuned for more.
The TriFold wasn’t even on the main show floor, but its presence at the show loomed almost as large as its 10-inch display. And in fairness, it is a rectangular glass slab. It just unfolds into a much bigger slab. I spent almost all of the time I was allotted with it using it unfolded — rearranging windows in DeX standalone mode, displaying three vertical video feeds side by side, and turning the whole thing sideways and scrolling through our homepage, which is surprisingly awesome. I’m not a tablet guy usually, but the versatility and promise of the TriFold makes me wonder if I could embrace that lifestyle if it meant I could get away with leaving my MacBook at home more often. I intend to test this theory as soon as I can.
There were other unusual phones about and some more familiar-looking shapes, but these three stand out to me as different ways to approach the same problem: Our phones are great, but they don’t quite work for us all the time. What if they weren’t so intrusive? What if they came with a keyboard? What if they were also a tablet that could also be your computer? Wouldn’t that be something? The rectangular slabs are incredible pieces of tech, and most people are probably just fine with that status quo. But for those of us asking for something else, I’m glad there are companies willing to try something shaped a bit differently.
Photography by Allison Johnson / The Verge