The newest smartphone from BlackBerry is the TCL-produced KEYone, formerly known to many as the Mercury.
“An iconic BlackBerry smartphone made for the modern use,” said BlackBerry in its marketing material. The main feature of the Keyone is the physical QWERTY keyboard that also doubles as a fingerprint sensor as it’s embedded within the spacebar.
While the design is a shift away from BlackBerry’s recent Android-powered DTEK50 and DTEK60 devices, the KEYone is most similar to the Priv from 2015.
It’s important to note that the Priv was designed by BlackBerry while the Keyone is designed, manufactured and marketed through its new partnership with TCL Communications.
Nicolas Zibell, CEO for TCL Communication, said in a statement to MobileSyrup, “We’re humbled to play such an important role in the future of BlackBerry smartphones, which have been so iconic in our industry, and we’re eager to prove to the BlackBerry community that their excitement around this new BlackBerry smartphone is something they can be proud of as well.”
As for Canadian pricing and availability, BlackBerry stated that “Canadian-specific information will be coming in April.”
The company said the newest QWERTY smartphone will be “available globally beginning in April and will be priced at or under €599 EUR/£499 GBP/$549 USD.”
Below is a comparison of the Keyone, Priv, DTEK60 and DTEK50:
BlackBerry KEYone
BlackBerry Priv
BlackBerry DTEK60
BlackBerry DTEK50
Display
4.5-inch IPS LCD display, 1620x1080 pixels, 3:2 aspect ratio
5.4-inch (2560x1440 Quad HD resolution, 540PPI)
5.5-inch (2560x1440 Quad HD resolution, 534PPI)
5.2-inch (1920x1080 resolution Quad HD resolution, 424PPI)
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 Hexa-Core, 64 bit Adreno 418, 600MHz GPU
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 64-bit Quad-Core (MSM8996 with 64 bit Quad-Core 2+2 Kryo 2.15GHz / 1.6GHz) Adreno 530, 624MHz GPU
Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 Oct-Core, 64-bit (MSM8952 with 64 bit Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 + Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53) Adreno 405, 550MHz GPU
RAM
3GB of RAM
3GB
4GB
3GB
Storage
32GB (expandable up to 256GB)
32GB
32GB
16GB
Dimensions (in.)
149.1 x 72.4 x 9.4 mm
147 x 77.2 x 9.4 mm
153.9 x 75.4 x 7 mm
147 x 72.5 x 7.4 mm
Weight
180 grams
192g
165g
135g
Rear Facing Camera
12MP camera (f2.0, 1.55um) phase detection autofocus
18MP auto-focus camera, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), 4k Video Recording at 30 fps, 1080p HD video recording at 60 fps
21MP auto-focus, 4K video recording at 30 fps, 720p HD video recording at 120 fps
13MP auto-focus, 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps
Front Facing Camera
8MP (f/2.2, 1.125um)
2MP Fixed-Focus, f2.8, Image & video stabilization, 720p HD video recording
8MP Fixed-Focus, f2.2, 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps, Selfie Flash
8MP Fixed-Focus, f2.2, 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps, Selfie Flash
OS
Android 7.1 Nougat
Android OS, v5.1.1 (Lollipop), upgradable to v6.0.1 (Marshmallow)
Android OS, v6.0 (Marshmallow)
Android OS, v6.0 (Marshmallow)
Battery
3,505mAh
3410mAh non-removable
3000 mAh 4.4V non-removable Lithium Ion battery QC3.0 Enabled
2610 mAh 4.4V non-removable Lithium Ion battery QC2.0 Enabled
Network Connectivity
GSM/ HSPA/ LTE
Bands: LTE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 28, 29, 30 | TDD LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41 | Canada, LATAM, APAC
Bands: LTE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 28, 29, 30 | TDD LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41 | Canada, LATAM, APAC
Bands: LTE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 28, 29, 30 | TDD LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41 | Canada, LATAM, APAC
Sensors
Front-facing fingerprint sensor, Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Ambient Light
Accelerometer, Proximity, Ambient light
Fingerprint Sensor, Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Ambient light, Hall Effect
Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Ambient light, Hall Effect
SIM Type
nano SIM
nano SIM
nano SIM
nano SIM
Launch Date
February 25, 2017
November 6, 2015
October 25, 2016
August 26, 2016
Misc
Colour: Black, SIlver
BBM, BlackBerry Camera, BlackBerry Keyboard, DTEK by BlackBerry, Touch-enabled physical QWERTY keyboard
BBM, BlackBerry Camera, BlackBerry Keyboard, DTEK by BlackBerry
BBM, BlackBerry Camera, BlackBerry Keyboard, DTEK by BlackBerry
Display
BlackBerry KEYone
4.5-inch IPS LCD display, 1620x1080 pixels, 3:2 aspect ratio
BlackBerry Priv
5.4-inch (2560x1440 Quad HD resolution, 540PPI)
BlackBerry DTEK60
5.5-inch (2560x1440 Quad HD resolution, 534PPI)
BlackBerry DTEK50
5.2-inch (1920x1080 resolution Quad HD resolution, 424PPI)
Processor
BlackBerry KEYone
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
BlackBerry Priv
Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 Hexa-Core, 64 bit Adreno 418, 600MHz GPU
BlackBerry DTEK60
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 64-bit Quad-Core (MSM8996 with 64 bit Quad-Core 2+2 Kryo 2.15GHz / 1.6GHz) Adreno 530, 624MHz GPU
BlackBerry DTEK50
Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 Oct-Core, 64-bit (MSM8952 with 64 bit Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 + Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53) Adreno 405, 550MHz GPU
RAM
BlackBerry KEYone
3GB of RAM
BlackBerry Priv
3GB
BlackBerry DTEK60
4GB
BlackBerry DTEK50
3GB
Storage
BlackBerry KEYone
32GB (expandable up to 256GB)
BlackBerry Priv
32GB
BlackBerry DTEK60
32GB
BlackBerry DTEK50
16GB
Dimensions (in.)
BlackBerry KEYone
149.1 x 72.4 x 9.4 mm
BlackBerry Priv
147 x 77.2 x 9.4 mm
BlackBerry DTEK60
153.9 x 75.4 x 7 mm
BlackBerry DTEK50
147 x 72.5 x 7.4 mm
Weight
BlackBerry KEYone
180 grams
BlackBerry Priv
192g
BlackBerry DTEK60
165g
BlackBerry DTEK50
135g
Rear Facing Camera
BlackBerry KEYone
12MP camera (f2.0, 1.55um) phase detection autofocus
BlackBerry Priv
18MP auto-focus camera, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), 4k Video Recording at 30 fps, 1080p HD video recording at 60 fps
BlackBerry DTEK60
21MP auto-focus, 4K video recording at 30 fps, 720p HD video recording at 120 fps
BlackBerry DTEK50
13MP auto-focus, 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps
Front Facing Camera
BlackBerry KEYone
8MP (f/2.2, 1.125um)
BlackBerry Priv
2MP Fixed-Focus, f2.8, Image & video stabilization, 720p HD video recording
BlackBerry DTEK60
8MP Fixed-Focus, f2.2, 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps, Selfie Flash
BlackBerry DTEK50
8MP Fixed-Focus, f2.2, 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps, Selfie Flash
OS
BlackBerry KEYone
Android 7.1 Nougat
BlackBerry Priv
Android OS, v5.1.1 (Lollipop), upgradable to v6.0.1 (Marshmallow)
BlackBerry DTEK60
Android OS, v6.0 (Marshmallow)
BlackBerry DTEK50
Android OS, v6.0 (Marshmallow)
Battery
BlackBerry KEYone
3,505mAh
BlackBerry Priv
3410mAh non-removable
BlackBerry DTEK60
3000 mAh 4.4V non-removable Lithium Ion battery QC3.0 Enabled
BlackBerry DTEK50
2610 mAh 4.4V non-removable Lithium Ion battery QC2.0 Enabled
Network Connectivity
BlackBerry KEYone
GSM/ HSPA/ LTE
BlackBerry Priv
Bands: LTE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 28, 29, 30 | TDD LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41 | Canada, LATAM, APAC
BlackBerry DTEK60
Bands: LTE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 28, 29, 30 | TDD LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41 | Canada, LATAM, APAC
BlackBerry DTEK50
Bands: LTE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 28, 29, 30 | TDD LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41 | Canada, LATAM, APAC
Sensors
BlackBerry KEYone
Front-facing fingerprint sensor, Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Ambient Light
BlackBerry Priv
Accelerometer, Proximity, Ambient light
BlackBerry DTEK60
Fingerprint Sensor, Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Ambient light, Hall Effect
BlackBerry DTEK50
Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Ambient light, Hall Effect
SIM Type
BlackBerry KEYone
nano SIM
BlackBerry Priv
nano SIM
BlackBerry DTEK60
nano SIM
BlackBerry DTEK50
nano SIM
Launch Date
BlackBerry KEYone
February 25, 2017
BlackBerry Priv
November 6, 2015
BlackBerry DTEK60
October 25, 2016
BlackBerry DTEK50
August 26, 2016
Misc
BlackBerry KEYone
Colour: Black, SIlver
BlackBerry Priv
BBM, BlackBerry Camera, BlackBerry Keyboard, DTEK by BlackBerry, Touch-enabled physical QWERTY keyboard
BlackBerry DTEK60
BBM, BlackBerry Camera, BlackBerry Keyboard, DTEK by BlackBerry
BlackBerry DTEK50
BBM, BlackBerry Camera, BlackBerry Keyboard, DTEK by BlackBerry
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