Skip to main content

Upcoming BlackBerry Uni will feature touchscreen and retractable keyboard

Mobile World Congress 2024
Read our complete coverage of Mobile World Congress

After the surprising success of the KeyOne in 2017, TCL wants to keep a good thing going with the upcoming Blackberry Uni. Expected to launch in early to mid-2018, the Uni may have a few surprises in store for BlackBerry enthusiasts.

While details on the upcoming BlackBerry flagship are a little hazy, we’re learning more about it each day. Here’s what we know so far:

Recommended Videos

Design

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Will TCL surprise us with an entirely new form factor for the BlackBerry Uni? Well, if renders from a recent patent, first spotted by Let’s Go Digital, are correct it actually looks like the next BlackBerry flagship may look a lot like its 2015 predecessor, the BlackBerry Priv.

Like the Priv, it looks as though the BlackBerry Uni will feature a curved touchscreen display. While details are certainly sketchy, it does appear that the BlackBerry Uni will have a similar form factor to the Priv, so we could expect the screen to be around 5.4-inches.

A physical keyboard will sit below the display. While you can use the on-screen keyboard for quick replies, you can easily slide the physical keyboard down from the display when needed.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

At first glance, the back of the BlackBerry Uni looks almost identical to the Priv. Renders show the Uni with a center flush camera, but the camera appears to be getting a major upgrade.

The camera on the Blackberry Uni may actually sit below the keyboard slider. This change would give the phone two lenses — the primary lens that is available when the keyboard is exposed, as well as an auxiliary lens that can be used when the keyboard it tucked away. Since the patent for the upcoming BlackBerry Uni lists several different auxiliary lens possibilities, it’s possible we will see accessory lenses that can be switched out.

Software

Image used with permission by copyright holder

While we would like to see the BlackBerry Uni ship with Android 8.1 Oreo, it looks like it’s shipping with 8.0.  Since BlackBerry prides itself on quick updates, however, we’d expect to see an 8.1 update for the Uni shortly after it is released.

We’re almost certain that BlackBerry’s suite of productivity apps will make an appearance on the upcoming Uni as well. While lots of manufacturers add bloatware to their phones, BlackBerry’s productivity apps actually make the phone stand out.

Specifications

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Most of the specification info we have on the BlackBerry Uni comes courtesy of a Geekbench report from last year. While we believe the Uni is the BBF100-1 listed in the report, there’s certainly room for doubt, so be skeptical of these rumors until more information comes about.

The Uni will likely feature a Snapdragon 660 chip. While not as powerful as this year’s Snapdragon 845, it’s a good midrange smartphone processor.

In addition to the Snapdragon 660 processor, the BlackBerry will also feature a hefty 6GB of RAM. While there’s no word on storage, we would anticipate a 32GB and 64GB, similar to last year’s KeyOne.

Release and availability

When should we expect to see the BlackBerry Uni? Right now, it appears we may get a glimpse of the upcoming flagship at this year’s Mobile World Congress in March. If not, we would likely expect to see the device sometime in the spring. Since the phone will be at least one of the 2018 flagships for the company, we would expect to see a global release for the BlackBerry Uni.

Steven Winkelman
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven writes about technology, social practice, and books. At Digital Trends, he focuses primarily on mobile and wearables…
BlackBerry rises from the grave: New 5G phone with a keyboard coming in 2021
BlackBerry Key2. Credits: BlackBerry official.

BlackBerry is the smartphone brand that steadfastly refuses to die. The presumed-dead name has been resurrected once again, this time by a new company called OnwardMobility. It will work with manufacturer FIH Mobile to create and sell a 5G BlackBerry Android phone with a physical keyboard, ready for a potential release in the U.S. and Europe during the first half of 2021.

You read that right: A new BlackBerry phone with a physical keyboard and 5G, running Google’s Android software, is coming next year. TCL Communications was the last company to produce BlackBerry smartphones. It did so under license from BlackBerry Ltd., which continues to provide mobile security services, but isn’t in the hardware business anymore. TCL let its license lapse in February 2020 when modern, Android-based BlackBerry phones became a thing of the past. Until now.

Read more
TCL won’t make BlackBerry phones anymore, sending the brand back into limbo
BlackBerry Key2 LE review

TCL Communication has announced it will no longer be making BlackBerry smartphones, after taking over the dormant brand at the end of 2016, and bringing it back to life with a series of ever-improving devices. In a statement tweeted out by the official BlackBerry Mobile account, TCL Communication does not have the rights to design, manufacture, or sell BlackBerry phones any longer.

This means the BlackBerry Key 2 LE will be the last BlackBerry-branded phone produced by TCL Communication to be released, and it follows the BlackBerry Key 2, and the BlackBerry KeyOne. TCL Communication’s BlackBerry phones took the features fans of the brand loved — the physical keyboard, long battery life, and extra levels of security — and put them inside modern hardware with Google Android software. While not for everyone, they were successful with those either familiar with the brand, or those looking for something a little different.
What does this mean for BlackBerry?
The future of BlackBerry phones is once again unknown. While TCL Communication will not make another BlackBerry phone, it does not necessarily mean we will never see another BlackBerry phone. It’s possible the global license could be snapped up by another company eager to capitalize on the brand’s highly recognizable name. HMD Global, for example, has seen considerable success with the Nokia name since acquiring the license, while British phone maker Bullitt owns the license to make phones from brands including Cat, JCB, and Land Rover.

Read more
I love this over-the-top charger that’s a Cyber Week bargain
The front of the Anker Prime 250W Charging Station.

Everything about the Anker Prime 250W Charging Station is overkill, and that makes it the ideal Cyber Week 2024 deal. It gets you an over-the-top charging station for a wide variety of gadgets at a far more sensible price than usual.

I’ve been using the chunky charging dock for a few months, and it has probably all the charging ability most people will ever need.
A much more reasonable price

Read more