Previewed at CMS, BlackBerry has launched the KEYone, previously codenamed Mercury, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Here’s everything you need to know about the BlackBerry KEYone.
BlackBerry isn’t going anywhere. It has announced the BlackBerry KEYone at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, after previewing the design at CES in January.
The Android smartphone will run Nougat 7.1, and resembles a thinner version of the BlackBerry Passport and keeps the clever under-keyboard touch trackpad from that phone to help navigate the screen and scroll through apps.
The KEYone will be available globally at the beginning of April 2017, and will be priced at €599, £499 and $549 US. We will report information on a specific UK release date and operator partnerships in due course.
This one is a bit of a kicker. The KEYone, with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor (distinctly midrange) will set you back £499 SIM free. That’s a lot considering you could get a OnePlus 3T for £399 with a Snapdragon 821.
Then again – those after the KEYone are unlikely to care. BlackBerry elicits a fierce loyalty from its now small customer base. What BlackBerry is really hoping however with this device is to expand beyond that remaining loyal bunch and get the KEYone in the pockets of regular consumers again.
This could prove difficult at a shade under £500, especially when the cheapest iPhone ( iPhone SE , 16GB) costs £379 and Motorola’s rumoured Moto G5 will likely cost under £200.
