Clicks just moved beyond its keyboard-case formula to introduce a power bank with an integrated slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The 2150mAh Power Keyboard—launching this spring at $109, with early-bird preorders at $79—signals a modest but telling shift in how accessory makers are thinking about convergence. This isn't a market-defining moment, but it reflects a real tension: as phones become thinner and form factors multiply (foldables, flip phones, tablets), single-purpose peripherals are running out of runway. The question now is whether bundled accessories can actually solve real problems or just add complexity.

The move is logical. Clicks launched its keyboard case for iPhones at CES 2024, then expanded to Android devices and even Motorola's flip phones. The market response was real but modest—enthusiasts loved it, but it never became mainstream. The Power Keyboard is the company's answer to a constraint everyone in the accessory space faces: what happens when your product only works for one form factor? With Samsung releasing the Galaxy Z Trifold and more foldables coming, a magnetic power bank that works via Bluetooth removes that limitation.

The actual inflection here is subtle but worth noting. We're not seeing a market transition like we did when USB-C killed proprietary charging. Rather, we're watching accessory makers make a strategic bet on convergence. The theory: if your phone gets 20% charge from a power bank AND you get a keyboard you actually want to use, you've solved two problems at once. The pitch to consumers is elegant.

But there's tension embedded in this design. A 2150mAh battery is modest—roughly 35-40% of a modern iPhone's capacity depending on the model. As Clicks' cofounder Jeff Gadway told The Verge, the keyboard draws from that same battery over Bluetooth, so users have to manage what Gadway calls "protecting milliamp-hourage for keyboard usage." That's a new cognitive load. You're now thinking about power budget the way laptop users do. For some people, that's fine. For most, it's friction.

This matters because it shows how niche product categories evolve when they hit distribution limits. Clicks succeeded because there's genuine demand from people who want physical keyboards on phones—it's a real use case that Apple and Google have essentially abandoned. But that audience isn't huge. The addressable market for physical phone keyboards is maybe a few million people globally. Adding a power bank doesn't magically expand that. It just gives existing fans a reason to trade one peripheral for another.

The pricing tells a story too. $109 at launch, $79 for early birds. That's premium accessory territory—you're paying more than a quality Bluetooth keyboard alone, and more than a decent power bank. The bet is on convenience and integration. Whether that resonates depends entirely on whether you're the kind of person who carries multiple gadgets and wants to consolidate. For travelers, writers working on multiple devices, or anyone using a foldable tablet, this makes sense. For the mass market? It's still niche.

What's actually shifting is how accessory makers think about their addressable market when smartphones plateau. You can't grow by selling more keyboards to keyboard users. So you either expand into adjacent hardware (Clicks' move) or you accept a smaller, stable market. This is the natural evolution of a one-product company in a mature category. It's not innovation—it's persistence. The Power Keyboard is Clicks saying: we're not going away, and we're going to find ways to stay relevant even if you don't need a keyboard every day.

The Clicks Power Keyboard is product-line evolution, not market inflection. For builders in the accessory space, it signals that single-function peripherals need companion justifications to survive in a competitive market. Investors watching the category should note that convergence plays only work if the integration actually reduces friction—here, managing battery allocation adds it back. Decision-makers considering bulk orders for creative teams might find value in consolidation, but shouldn't expect mainstream adoption. Professionals using multiple devices daily (writers, developers, mobile creatives) are the real audience—about 5-10% of the smartphone market. Watch if Clicks' next move is toward enterprise positioning or if they're banking on the foldable tablet category to drive consumer demand. The spring availability window gives us six months to see if this convergence thesis holds up in real usage.