BlackBerry might have given up on its hardware ambitions but one final phone from the Canadian manufacturer is still in the works. The company is looking to bid adieu to its legacy ‘keyboard’ with the launch of an Android-powered Priv successor.
Earlier last month, the company’s CEO confirmed that though BlackBerry is pivoting to a completely software-focused business but the promise to deliver a QWERTY smartphone to users will be fulfilled. The last two smartphones – DTEK 50 and DTEK 60 – might have been rebranded Alcatel devices but the upcoming phone, codenamed Mercury, might be the last piece of hardware designed and manufactured in-house by BlackBerry. Thus, the launch of the same has us quite excited.
And the interwebs also can’t seem to control their nerves and leaked images plus rumors have already started pouring in. Here’s our first look at the new and final QWERTY device, whose photos have been leaked on Chinese social network Weibo.
As one can notice in the image, the smartphone will feature minimal bezels, a bulky and prominent front-facing camera, capacitive navigation buttons, and the infamous keyboard. The design is pretty similar to the Priv smartphone but the keyboard seems to fixed in this leak – while the previous phone has a sliding one.
Talking about specifications, the same have appeared on GeekBench earlier in October. BlackBerry Mercury is expected to sport a 4.5-inch display along with an aspect ratio of 3:2. It will be powered by a 2GHz octa-core Qualcomm chip coupled with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage. A 3,400 mAh battery will provide the required juice for the phone to function.
The smartphone is also expected to pack an 18 MP rear camera couple with an 8 MP front shooter for selfie needs. Also, it’s evident that the final smartphone from BlackBerry will surely run Android but the flavor hasn’t been confirmed just yet. This device, very much like the Priv, will be focused towards a niche market – who still prefer a QWERTY device.
