Do you like BlackBerry phones with keyboards, like the KeyOne? Then the latest BlackBerry phone, called the BlackBerry Motion, may not appeal. It ignores the brand’s most beloved feature in favor of a full touchscreen. Rumors have spread about the Motion’s existence for weeks, having also been known as the Krypton, and the device was made official at an industry event in Dubai on October 9.
The BlackBerry Motion is very similar to the company’s flagship KeyOne, aside from the lack of a physical keyboard, making it a midrange smartphone. The screen measures 5.5-inches with some hefty bezels above and below it, despite some optimistic rumors suggesting the phone would have a bezel-less design. The screen’s resolution is 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, and it’s surrounded by an IP67 water- and dust-resistant body, with a soft-touch rear panel and an aluminum chassis.
Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage space, along with a 4,000mAh battery. Qualcomm’s quick charge system operates on the phone, taking the battery from zero to 50 percent capacity in 40 minutes, according to BlackBerry’s information. There are two cameras: A 12-megapixel camera on the rear, and an 8-megapixel on the front. Finally, there is a fingerprint sensor in the Motion’s home button below the screen.
BlackBerry, and phone designer TCL, has been pushing the brand’s famed security features on all its previous releases, and the Motion is no different. A custom version of Android 7.1 is installed, with BlackBerry’s own technology to make it more secure. BlackBerry is promising monthly security updates, and an Android 8.0 Oreo update next year, although an exact date isn’t mentioned yet. The BlackBerry Locker feature is onboard, where data can be saved in a fingerprint or passcode-secured space on the device. BlackBerry has upgraded its Convenience Key feature, which now has switchable profiles for different environments, which are activated when the device gets a particular Wi-Fi connection, or a certain app is opened.
The BlackBerry Motion has a limited initial launch. It will be sold as a dual-SIM phone in the Middle East, where it’s priced at around $450. It’s will also soon be available in Canada on November 10 for $599 CAD, which is around $465. There’s no indication the phone will be sold in the U.S., but one rumor ahead of its announcement suggested it would make it to several networks eventually. Still, we’d question who will buy the Motion over the already available KeyOne, with its similar technical specification and physical keyboard.
Update: We’ve updated this post with information about the Motion’s Canadian launch.