BlackBerry keyone

blackberry’s latest smartphone wants to get physical, and we’re kind of into it

Screen

At just 4.5 inches, the KeyOne’s screen is almost as retro as the keyboard. The 1620x1080 resolution (434PPI) is nothing to shout out about either, but at least it’s all in safe hands, with Gorilla Glass 4 offering effective scratch and impact resistance.

design

While it won’t win any awards for style, the KeyOne has a smart, purposeful look. The aluminum frame is outfitted with a soft-touch back, meaning you won’t have any hazardous flying phone moments when you whip it out in a rush.

camera

If you like to spend time photographing your work space, you’ll be glad of the KeyOne’s 12MP rear camera, powered by a capable Sony sensor. If suit-selfies are more your cup of tea, you also get an 8MP front camera and a wide-angle lens.

If you’re yearning for a physical keyboard on your smartphone, then BlackBerry’s latest – the KeyOne – could be your new best friend.

You’ll get properly nostalgic over the QWERTY button basher, offering the kind of tactile feedback a touchscreen can only dream of. You can also scroll through pages by gliding your fingers over the keys, a bit like a giant trackpad. New to the KeyOne is a fingerprint sensor, and it’s so neatly tucked into the keyboard’s space bar, it’s barely noticeable.

Though the keyboard design is positively retro, the software powering this modern BlackBerry is anything but, with Android 7.0 Nougat on show. And this isn’t won’t be some nasty bloat-fest – the KeyOne is running lovely stock Android, for the pure experience.

A real selling point of the KeyOne is, unsurprisingly for BlackBerry, the highly secure encryption that’s good enough for world-leading governments. Enterprise users rejoice.

Thanks to the physical keyboard, the screen size is a mere 4.5 inches, which is small by current standards, but with the keyboard, the phone is a standard size. Realistically, the KeyOne is something you’re only going to appreciate if you really like typing a lot.