Last year in February, BlackBerry announced the BlackBerry KEYOne that came with a physical QWERTY keyboard. And now, as promised earlier, BlackBerry at an event in New York has announced successor to the KEYOne – dubbed BlackBerry KEY2.
Being a successor to the KEYOne, the BlackBerry KEY2 does look similar to its predecessor. Just like the KEYOne, the KEY2 also features a physical QWERTY keyboard which has fingerprint scanner embedded on the space bar. Moreover, this physical keyboard is touch-sensitive and can be used for navigation.
Having said that, the physical QWERTY keyboard on the BlackBerry KEY2 comes with some improvements over the KEYOne. Firstly, the height of the keyboard on the KEY2 has been increased by 20% for a more comfortable experience. Secondly, it comes with a ‘Speed Key’ that gives you shortcut access to different functions.
In terms of build, the BlackBerry KEY2 features a Series 7 aluminium frame for extra durability along with a textured “diamond grip” back that prevents the phone from slipping off your hands by providing a better grip.
The BlackBerry KEY2 features a 4.5-inch IPS LCD display that has a resolution of 1620 x 1080 pixels. The display is also covered with 2.5D Curved Gorilla Glass for protection against scratches. Speaking about the innards, the BlackBerry KEY2 is powered by Snapdragon 660 SoC which is mated to 6 GB RAM. The KEY2 also runs Android 8.1 Oreo and comes with BlackBerry’s DTEK security suite.
While the BlackBerry KEYOne sported a single camera at the back, the BlackBerry KEY2 boasts a dual camera setup on its back. This dual camera setup consists of two 12 MP snappers – one of which has f/1.8 aperture and the other one having f/2.6 aperture. That said, for selfies and video calls, you get a single 8 MP snapper on the front.
Lastly, the BlackBerry KEY2 packs in a 3500 mAh battery that fuels the entire package. BlackBerry says that this battery can offer up to 2 days of battery life, and, the smartphone also comes with a feature called Smart Battery Experience that learns from your “daily charging habits and recommend when to charge up so you have enough battery life”.
Commenting on the launch of the BlackBerry KEY2, Alex Thurber, SVP and GM of Mobility Solutions at BlackBerry said, “BlackBerry phones are the world’s most secure Android smartphones. We design them for security from the inside out and we’re proud to partner with TCL Communication on the launch of their all-new BlackBerry KEY2. BlackBerry has been iterating and perfecting our approach to mobile security for decades, and we’re excited to have this new genuine, modern BlackBerry smartphone available for our fans around the world to enjoy.“
BlackBerry KEY2 Specifications
- CPU: 2.2 GHz Snapdragon 660 octa-core processor
- RAM: 6 GB
- GPU: Adreno 512
- Operating System: Android 8.1 Oreo
- Display: 4.5-inch IPS lCD display with 1620 x 1080 pixel resolution, 3:2 aspect ratio, 2.5D Curved Gorilla Glass and 433 ppi pixel density
- Rear Camera: 12 MP (f/1.8 aperture, Dual PDAF, 1.28 μm pixel size) + 12 MP (f/2.6 aperture, PDAF, 1.0 μm pixel size) with dual-tone LED flash, HDR, 4K video recording at 30 FPS, Portrait Mode and Optical Superzoom
- Front Camera: 8 MP with Selfie Flash via LCD display
- Internal Storage: 64/128 GB
- External Storage: Expandable up to 256 GB via microSD card
- SIM: Dual SIM
- Connectivity: 4G LTE, GPS, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, NFC, USB OTG, FM Radio, 3.5 mm headphone jack, USB Type-C 3.0
- Other: Fingerprint Scanner on physical keyboard, Speed Key, Backlit Keyboard, BlackBerry DTEK Security Suite
- Colors: Silver, Black
- Battery: 3500 mAh with Quick Charge 3.0
BlackBerry KEY2 Price and Availability
- Price: $649 in US (around ₹43,765), €649 in Europe, £579 in UK, $829 in Canada
- Availability: Starts shipping globally this month
