BlackBerry Key2 Review: One of the most unique phones around it is not less than terrible

BlackBerry Key2 is an unequal phone in time, as it marries modern silicon and programs with an appearance that remembers phones from a good contract before its issuance. Models such as Priv and Keyone last year fighting a good battle for physical devices keyboards after a long period of the rest of the world.

Now KEY2 picks up the flame (unimaginable from the pun) with a medium -range Snapdragon 660 screen, a relatively high -resolution screen 4.5 inches, and a new 12 -megapixel dual rear camera system. The pricing rises from $ 100 to 650 dollars this year, and it is available in July not a believer in Amazon and Best Buy.

Specifications

Goodness

Not very good

Where do you buy, what is in the box, accessories, guarantee, and more

BlackBerry is aligned with the same with Amazon and Best Buy in the United States, where KEY2 will be sold open for only about $ 650. Some of these phones will make their way to the Best Buy retail stores, but the availability is not guaranteed in all locations, so we imagine that many shoppers will go online. Pre -sales open later this week, on June 29, before the full retail is available on July 13. You will have your choice for Key2 either in black you see here, or a handsome silver end.

You will be able to capture the unlocked phone by choosing the network, although the lack of any CDMA support means that you are likely to look at the AT & T or T-Mobile in the United States. So far, we have not heard of any specific plans for transport companies to sell KEY2 in their own stores.

When taking KEY2, you will find the phone full of QuickCharge 3.0 charger (it will also work with USB PD 2.0), USB Standard-A to Type-C, and a pair of analog earphones, with two groups of alternative buds of different sizes-annex away from certainty with Phones today. As the documents go, KEY2 comes with a welcoming bulletin, fast -starting with a variety of languages, and warranty card. Finally, there is a SIM to prepare KEY2 using the SIM card they choose.

Key2 side buttons feel unique, for easy operating.

Although we may not see a large collection of KEY2 accessories, there are at least two cases. BlackBerry announces the Silicone Soft Shell box that protects the back of the phone and its edges, as well as a more detailed leather made of real leather, closes to protect the screen, and includes holes to hold two cards. Pricing has not yet been provided to either of them.

In the United States and Canada, KEY2 comes with a 12 -month limited guarantee. If some defects appear in that time period, TCL (which makes BlackBerry phones these days) will fix or replace KEY2 – although you may end up with some parts used (“rebuilding them”) in this process.

Camera sample gallery

Our ruling: Do you have to buy BlackBerry Key2?

Maybe not. BlackBerry Key2 feels like a detailed phone, Frankensteond together in the mysterious corners of a factory of parts that should not be present. Because although he runs a modern version of Android (8.1 now, and although the promotion P has promised, since Keyone is still in Nougat, I will not keep my breath) and get a nice upgrade of devices this year with 6 GB of its RAM, this still seems to be a phone that is assembled by request to a very specific user-and its games are not Used.

BlackBerry tries to make Key2 a lot of things at once, and this can make your purchase decision feel confused a little. More than it is just a phone with a physical keyboard, it also dies in the safety of devices and access to exclusive software from BlackBerry as large sale points. This may be good for the type of user user that KEY2 shows, but to the average smartphone user may not add much value.

This is another big problem with KEY2, because even if you really like what is going on with both the device and the program, the phone still does not represent a good value. Part of this may be intended, as a “professional” phone like this does not want to risk as cheap. But when there are devices like OnePlus 6 that provide more objective phone at a lower price, it is difficult to recommend KEY2 for everyone except for the most dedicated keyboard fan.

This has become regrettable because it is clear that BlackBerry has some good ideas here that are implemented only in implementation: the use of the surface of the keyboard like the touch paint can be great, but allergic problems inhibit frequent use, and it is not frustrated that the key to the side installed on the side is not flexible like the shortcut of the speed key.

Even with major improvements to the Keyone keyboard, KEY2 still drops the ball with a bad light scanner and inconsistent gesture inputs.

Even if we remove all these “additional” things, KEY2 is still an unbalanced phone. Storage of 64 GB is very nice, and although moving to 6GB RAM must also be, multitasking is not smooth as this memory suggests. Performance can also be inconsistent, and although 660 does a strong job most of the time, stuttering sometimes and stopping stops reminds you that you do not work with the highest mobile phone devices around it.

KEY2 is a decent upgrade to Keyone, and it offers a well -estimated options. But it is also kept in many of the same way, and it is exhausted by the design decisions, programs and sales that do nothing to make the switch 2 attractive to shoppers. There is one person in a crowd might be KEY2 is the perfect phone, but the rest of us should continue to search.

Why buy?

• It can make excellent physical keyboard to fans of the upper software keyboard.

• It is difficult to overcome the battery life, and it can easily get a day or two between the drawings.

• It has an attractive design and attract attention

Why not?

• The performance of the fingerprint scanner is really annoying.

• The top pricing KEY2 puts the most equipped and more equipped devices.

• Even with double cameras, photography still looks like a later idea.