BlackBerry KEY2 Is Now Official: Long Live The Physical Keyboard

To most people, BlackBerry might seem like a part of ancient history given its status as one of the pioneers within the smartphone business but don’t get it wrong: the brand is still alive. In fact, a new BlackBerry phone has just been announced today in the form of BlackBerry KEY2.

Made by TCL who licensed the brand from BlackBerry Ltd, the new KEY2 comes with a QWERTY physical keyboard that is said to be touch sensitive and has an integrated fingerprint sensor. With keys that are apparently 20% larger than the phone’s predecessor, there is also a new key called Speed Key that allows users to set 52 custom shortcuts for faster access.

The new phone also comes with a 4.5-inch IPS touch display that has a native resolution of 1620 x 1080. Pre-installed with Android Oreo 8.1, it is also equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, 6GB of RAM, and up to 128GB internal storage with the support for microSD card of up to 256GB.

It is also the first BlackBerry device to feature dual rear camera which is consisted of a 12MP f/1.8 dual PDAF camera and another 12MP f/2.6 PDAF camera. On its front, the phone also features an 8MP selfie camera. Completing its general specifications is a 3500mAh battery which can be used with Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 chargers in order to reduce its charging time.

The new BlackBerry KEY2 will be made available as pre-order in select markets throughout the world starting from this month. Its exact availability and pricing for Malaysia is not yet known at the moment but as a guide, the phone will be released in United States for USD 649 (about RM 2582).

Stay tuned for more BlackBerry Mobile news at BlackJets