BlackBerry has come out with another Android phone, but I don’t expect people to cheer for it. However, there’s still a section of consumers who continue to believe in what BlackBerry has stood for – privacy and security.
Even though it’s running on Android, the BlackBerry Key2, successor to the KeyOne, claims to pack in everything that’s been BlackBerry’s forte. The fact that the KeyOne did launch in India, makes us believe the Key2 will also hit Indian shores sometime later this year.
According to the company, BlackBerry managed to sell over 60,000 units of the KeyOne in the past 12 months, which, for its current market share, is quite impressive.
So, what does the Key2 offer for its price, which is going about $100 dollars higher than KeyOne? Here’s everything that’s worth knowing about the silent giant.
Yes, the BlackBerry Key2 is an upgrade, but the phone isn’t going to set the cat among the pigeons. The display quality and the size is exactly the same as the KeyOne, and at a time when bezel-less screens and notch designs are being showcased from all corners, BlackBerry sticks to its guns.
This offer from BB might work out with Android Oreo but the prospect of a gesture-friendly Android P could put some doubts into the minds of people who still prefer this phone over the regulars. The design of the QWERTY keyboard has been tweaked a bit to make sure typing (hard to believe but yes) is easy.
The switch from Snapdragon 625 to Snapdragon 660, paired with 6GB RAM will surely make a difference to the performance of the Key2. No, it’s not going to be multi-tasking beast like a OnePlus 6 or even the Nokia 8 but still capable of getting the regular work done.
We got a taste of Snapdragon 660’s capability with the Nokia 7 Plus earlier this year, and the result left us impressed.
Cameras at the back get dual sensors now with marginal focus on making this phone shutterbug-ready. But who are we kidding, BlackBerry phones were never prescribed for cameras. Even though they’ll get the job done, we still have no intentions of going in-depth with its capability (probably leave it for our review).
Top it all, the small-sized phone packs a 3500mAh battery with support for USB Type C for charging. BlackBerry phones’ history on that front has never been a concern and with Key2 the record is likely to remain intact.
Android – In BlackBerry’s Suit
Ever since BlackBerry moved base from its own operating system to Android, people have been busy identifying the changes. The regular Android, per say, isn’t known for its security or mishap-free dynamics, but BlackBerry claims their version is.
There’s a whole lot to explore and understand about the back-end security of Key2 with Android. Developers and security experts have raved for how effective BlackBerry’s version of Android can be, keeping privacy and security its priority.
According to them, the Key2 is unrootable, which might not be a developer-friendly feature but doesn’t compromise on the safety of the device. The processor on the Key2 is injected with cryptographic keys, that are hard to circumvent into. All this nicely compliments BlackBerry’s DTEK software suite, that keeps all data on the Key2 secured within a password/biometric-locked folder.
All these features and probably the look of the Key2 seems to be appropriate for the elite executives and CEOs who fancy high-end security in their phones. For everyone else, it’s just another mid-range phone with a steep price tag and physical keypad in 2018.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)