A Real-World Button for Controlling Your Favorite Apps

Flic is a physical shortcut for whatever little digital workflow you want. Flic

As anyone who’s fumbled with an idiotic touchscreen interface in a car will know, sometimes a good old button is the best way to get something done. Flic takes that thinking and applies it to, well, pretty much anything you want.

Flic is a small rubber button about the size of a quarter. Using an app, you can assign it to a number of functions, and, eventually, its inventors hope, link it to other apps and services. If you’ve got a smart home setup going, you can use it to dim the lights and launch Netflix with one touch. If you’re jogging at night, you can use it as a panic button, configuring it to send your location and a distress signal to a friend in the event of trouble. If you really like sending a friend the eggplant emoji, you can probably use Flic to do it without taking your phone out of your pocket.