There's no getting around it: I'm a born-again BlackBerry addict. From the first hands-on through the second teaser and then the full review, it was pretty obvious how I felt about the BlackBerry KEYone. I loved it for re-addicting me to the physical keyboard, and I respected it for backing up that halo feature with incredible battery life. At the same time, the KEYone suffered many of the predictable pitfalls of your typical "reboot" product: my device's responsiveness slowed to a crawl shortly after the initial review period, and no amount of replacements or RAM upgrades could correct for that.
The BlackBerry KEY2, announced moments ago, packs a bevy of improvements that should correct for that. There's a newer processor under its textured rubber backplate; refined software riding atop a foundation of Android 8.1; and 50% more RAM than even the top-tier trim of the KEYone. The KEY2 also comes with a revised aluminum design that whittles away a lot of the bulk, making it more pocketable (and positively more pretty) than its predecessor. Best of all, the new BlackBerry's keys have been made 20% taller, and the slick glossy gelcoat has been replaced with a matte finish that evokes the BlackBerry Passport keyboard of years past.
Will those improvements make the BlackBerry KEY2 the next phone to grace your pocket – even at its newer, higher starting price of $649? Get an early look at every angle of the KEY2 in my BlackBerry KEY2 Hands-On – and be sure to check out Android Central's complete coverage so you don't miss the deeper dive!
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