BlackBerry Key2 has enhanced design, better processor and dual rear cameras

The Key2 is the next in the series of BlackBerry’s top-of-the-line smartphones that come with a full-QWERTY keyboard. And its rectangular touchscreen-cum-keyboard comes with an enhanced design. But in the times of bezel-less, full-screen displays, can BlackBerry create a niche?

The Key2 is lightweight and the design has a soft texture. Its rectangular aluminium chassis houses the volume rocker and power keys with a customisable speed key on the right. An ejectable dual-SIM slot sits on the left. On top, the phone has a 3.5mm audio jack and the secondary microphone, and the bottom has a USB type-C charging-cum-data transfer port surrounded by 12-hole grilles on either side. The 4.5-inch screen with fullHD looks sharp. The screen is a delight for reading articles, books, news, emails, etc, but its 3:2 aspect ratio does not seem optimised for multimedia. For messages and emails, the phone’s swift QWERTY keyboard makes writing less prone to errors. The keyboard is touch-sensitive and can also be used to scroll. The space bar doubles up as a fingerprint sensor, which unlocks the phone instantly.

The phone comes with a customised Android Oreo 8.1. The OS features the BlackBerry Hub, a unified inbox that combines emails, texts and social media messaging at one place. It also allows managing multiple emails without switching between apps, with support for Gmail, Yahoo, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Exchange accounts, and more.  Even with multiple-apps running in the background, the phone shows no lags and responds well to both touch and keyboard inputs.

The Key2 is the first BlackBerry smartphone with dual 12-megapixel rear cameras, a regular lens of f/1.8 aperture paired with a telephoto lens of f/2.6 aperture. Both are assisted by phase detection autofocus (helps in quick and accurate focus). The front camera is 8 MP with f/2.0 aperture. While the cameras’ auto-mode performance is satisfactory, the other modes and manual mode offer a lot of scope for experiment and exploration. 

The phone’s small screen, power-efficient processor and optimised operating system make the 3,500mAh battery last for over 24 hours on a single charge. But in spite of Qualcomm quick-charge technology, the battery takes almost two hours to go from zero to 100 per cent.

At Rs 42,900, the BlackBerry Key2 is a niche product aimed at those who use their phones to write more than they watch. Compared to many other flagships, the Key2 is expensive. But it’s also the one phone that has both a touch-screen and a physical keyboard.