After the Key 2 was launched in mid-2018, we have not seen a BlackBerry brand smartphone for a long time. With the expiration of the TCL license, this Canadian mobile device brand has been a part of OnwardMobility in the United States since August 2020. Interestingly, in a recent announcement, it is known that the company still intends to launch the first BlackBerry 5G Android smartphone with a physical keyboard in 2021.
Although the official has not yet shared any model names or design details of the new BlackBerry 5G device, graphic designer Ts Designer has teamed up with Lets Go Digital to build on the basis of the 2014 BlackBerry Passport model, what they think is BlackBerry Passport 2 5G Android smartphone.
The device is equipped with a physical QWERTY keyboard and a unique square screen with a diagonal length of 4.5 inches, and BlackBerry Passport 2 is expected to support IP67 waterproof (previously only the 2017 BlackBerry Motion had this feature).
Earlier this year, OnwardMobility said in accepting the exclusive food meal of Nikkei Asia that it will be equipped with top-of-the-line cameras on the new 2021 BlackBerry 5G device. For reference, the first-generation Passport only uses a combination of 2MP front cameras + 13MP rear cameras.
In the conceptual design of Ts Designer, you can see that the BlackBerry Passport 2 5G has been upgraded to a rear wide-angle + ultra-wide-angle dual-camera combination. And the position of the flashes arranged vertically also pays tribute to the original Passport.
The front of the new BlackBerry Passport 2 5G device is also expected to usher in modern transformations, including reducing the top border and making the device shorter overall, but still retaining the unique square screen + physical QWERTY keyboard.
As for the new smartphone being developed by BlackBerry, there are still many question marks. However, in the middle of 2020, OnwardMobility issued a press release stating that the new device will land in the North American and European markets in the first half of 2021.
Since Priv was highlighted in 2015, BlackBerry smartphones have been using the Android mobile operating system. However, it is currently unknown whether the first 5G smartphone of BlackBerry will be pre-installed with Android 11 or the latest Android 12.
The only thing that can be determined at present is that the first new BlackBerry 5G device will use the physical QWERTY keyboard, which is also a feature that many die-hard fans care most about.
