BlackBerry KEY2 is a slicker way to kick it old school

Time to dig out your phone holster and crank up Backstreet Boys; BlackBerry is back again with the KEY2, a follow up to last year's KEYone. The KEYone was arguably a risky move, but the finished product was well excuted, and the KEY2 isn't really straying from that path. As the name might suggest, it's a follow up that iterates on the same idea.

The KEY2 still has a physical keyboard with cool software tricks, it still has a 4.5-inch touchscreen above with a slightly odd 3:2 aspect ratio, and it still runs BlackBerry's take on Android Oreo. It's very clearly a phone made for the fans.

"Although there are many different smartphones for consumers to choose from today, most tend to offer very similar experiences without much distinction from one to the next," said President of BlackBerry Mobile Alain Lejeune. "With the introduction of BlackBerry KEY2, we’ve created a distinct smartphone that captures all the traits that have made BlackBerry smartphones iconic."

While the KEY2 is immediately recognisable as a BlackBerry device, it's a little bit sleeker this time around. The bezels are smaller, the keys are slightly wider, and the phone is slimmer overall. On the back you'll find dual 12MP rear-facing cameras, that can be used in tandem for portrait modem.

Key specifications for the Blackberry KEY2 are a little beefier than last year. Inside you'll find a 4.5-inch 1620x1080 display, a Snapdragon 660 processor, 6GB of RAM, either a 64GB or 128GB of expandable storage, and a 3,500mAh battery. In what we presume is the spirit of keeping it old school, the KEY2 still has a headphone jack.

Local pricing and availability for the BlackBerry KEY2 has yet to be confirmed, but it will launch over the next two months globally with US pricing set at USD$649. The BlackBerry KEYone launched at $899 here.

Even if your BlackBerry days are long over, it's great to see a new smartphone that's genuinely different. Especially when the approach so many manufacturers have taken this year is "we'll put  a notch on it".

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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