BlackBerry KEYone Review: Typing Purist’s Phone
12 min read
BlackBerry KEYone
RM 2688
Pros
- Excellent build quality
- Accurate & fast fingerprint scanner on spacebar
- Great 4.5-inch 1080p IPS display
- Excellent rear camera
- Great performance
- Excellent battery life
- Tactile & touch capacitive physical keyboard
Cons
- No IP-rated dust and water resistant
- Weak in entertainment (odd screen ratio, single speaker)
- Only included Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 adapter
- High price for mid-range spec
Intro
Owning a BlackBerry phone was one of the items on my wishlist before the Apple iOS and Android smartphone wave arrives Malaysia. Even though that time Nokia and Sony Ericsson were immensely popular among the consumers, to me, however, they felt extremely boring and lack of features compared to the BlackBerry. That’s why BlackBerry manage to grab my attention with the enterprise-user-oriented software features as well as the physical keyboard & trackball on certain models.
When I first received the review unit for the BlackBerry KEYone, that feeling of nostalgia hit me real hard because I finally get to use and thoroughly test a new generation BlackBerry smartphone that runs on Android operating systems. Read on to find out what do I think of the BlackBerry KEYone and whether if it suits your needs or not.
BlackBerry KEYone Specifications Overview
| BlackBerry KEYone | |
| CPU & GPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 (8 x A53 @ 2.0 GHz) Adreno 506 |
| RAM | 3 GB |
| Storage | 32 GB supporting MicroSD up to 2 TB (occupies SIM slot 2) |
| Display | 4.5 inches 1080p FHD (1080 x 1620) IPS Corning Gorilla Glass 4 |
| Camera (rear) | 12 MP f/2.0 aperture PDAF Dual tone LED flash Sony IMX378 |
| Camera (front) | 8 MP f/2.2 aperture |
| Battery | Non-removable 3505mAh Li-Ion Quick Charge 3.0 |
| Operating System | Android 7.1.1 Nougat |
| SIM | Hybrid dual SIM (Micro + Nano) |
| Connectivity | GSM / HSPA / LTE Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, LE, EDR GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS2 |
| Features | Capacitive Touch 4-row BlackBerry Keyboard |
Unboxing
What comes in the box:
- BlackBerry KEYone
- Charging adapter (Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0)
- USB-C cable
- Earphones & replacement earbuds
Contents
