A new smartphone is in town, and it's none other than the BlackBerry KEYone. Release date is set on May 31, and that means the device is now available on Amazon and Best Buy.
For those who don't know, it was initially expected to roll out in April, but after a delay to ensure the manufacturer meets customer demand, the launch was moved to May.
BlackBerry KEYone: Release Date, Specs, And Everything Else
To reiterate, the BlackBerry KEYone is up for grabs on the last day of May at the two aforementioned retailers.
Going straight for what's under the hood, it has a Snapdragon 625, 3 GB of RAM, and 32 GB of internal storage that can be expanded by up to 2 TB via a microSD card. Its LCD display measures at 4.5 inches with a 1,080 x 1,620, clocking in at 433 ppi.
Keeping the lights on is a 3,505 mAh non-removable battery, with the company touting more than "26 hours of mixed use."
Needless to say, it's equipped with the iconic BlackBerry QWERTY physical keyboard.
As for the cameras, it sports a 12-megapixel rear snapper and uses Sony's IMX378 camera sensor, allowing it to take clear shots even in dark lighting conditions. On the other side, it has an 8-megapixel shooter for selfies and video calls.
From the look of things, it's a midrange smartphone, so it's no Galaxy S8 competitor or iPhone killer. That said, it does somehow manage to keep up with modern handsets with a USB 3.1 and Qualcomm's Quick Charge 3.0 technology, not to mention that it runs on Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box.
"This is an extremely exciting and humbling moment as we introduce a new BlackBerry smartphone to customers here in the U.S. with the launch of our BlackBerry KEYone. The KEYone is unlike any other smartphone available to consumers today, offering a premium communication experience, ensuring that our customers enjoy the security, long battery life and great functionality that have made BlackBerry mobile devices so iconic," Steve Cistulli, president and general manager for TCL Communication, North America, said.
BlackBerry KEYone: Price And Carrier Availability
The BlackBerry KEYone costs $549.99. For interested AT&T and T-Mobile subscribers, they should grab it at Best Buy — either online or at a physical store — for a GSM version. Meanwhile, the CDMA variant that's optimized for Verizon is available online at Amazon.
If those options aren't looking good, carriers, including Sprint, are scheduled to start selling the smartphone this summer.
Before this, leaks were all over the place when it comes to the BlackBerry KEYone — release date, specs, and whatnot were plenty. For the most part, they got it right, from the Android Nougat OS to the physical keyboard and 4.5-inch display. They were mostly wrong, though, saying it would have a Snapdragon 820, a 1,440 x 2,560 Quad HD resolution, and 4 GB of RAM.
Interestingly enough, BlackBerry launched tutorial videos to give eager customers a good look at the device before release.
What do you think of the new contender in the heated smartphone market? Feel free to drop by our comments section below and let us know.
