BlackBerry Mobile to announce KEY² in two days
by Volker Weber
Photo @evleaks
BlackBerry KEYone gets a successor named KEY². The keyboard looks a bit larger and the right shift key is being replaced. Your guess is as good as mine, but this might a launch key. Power key moves to the right side, like on the Motion. I like the no-nonsense design. The internal specs should be similar to the Nokia 7 plus (SD 660). I hope it is going to come with Oreo 8.1 paving the way for an update for KEYone and Motion next month or August at the latest.
If you want a chiclet keyboard this is the only game in town. I expect BlackBerry Mobile to follow up with a cheaper fleet device, most likely with the KEYone specs.
Comments
What makes Blackberry any different than Apple? Why not wait for the official presentation in two days and to post your thoughts afterwards?
I don't like leakers getting any credit...They are raining every parade!
I will post my thoughts afterwards.
But quite frankly, there is no big parade. BlackBerry Mobile might me staging an event in New York, but what kind of surprise are you expecting? This is but a KEYone refresh. Midrange phone, keyboard, utilitarian design. Renders and photos of Athena have been floating around for months. The design is a crossover between KEYone and Motion.
Has it occurred to you that the leak is intentional?
Very interesting. To me these renders look much more appealing than the KeyOne whose physical keyboard I found too small and glossy. These keys look bigger and matte, more like the Bold 9900’s, the Q10’s or the Classic’s. My daughter for some reason keeps sticking to my old Q10 and insists that she prefers a physical keyboard (which to me is not as weird as it sounds in today's world, we all still use physical keyboards on our computers every day). So this might be an option for her to move to Android and into a more sustainable future as far as the OS is concerned.
I'm keeping my PRIV for now, still hoping for a slider some time this year.
Jochen, let her keep the Q10 as long as she is fine with her software. And remember that BBX is more similar to iOS on X. :-) The KEYone and Motion are as large as the 6" Nokia 7 Plus. I don't think the KEY² will be any smaller.
Martin, I seriously doubt there will ever be a slider again. Too niche, even in its heyday.
Sound advice. I am sure she agrees.
