Teased last week, the BlackBerry Motion just went official a few days ago. Build by China’s TCL under its license with BlackBerry, the Motion is an all-display smartphone and the first Berry to carry IP certification rating.
This is the second BlackBerry device unveiled by TCL this year, the first one being the KEYone – a model which has seen some success so far. And in case you were wondering, here are the main big differences between the two models.
On the outside
Arguably the biggest difference between the two models is that the Motion comes sans the iconic QWERTY keyboard attached, while the KEYone takes advantage of it.
Naturally, the keyboard is the star feature on the KEYone – it also doubles as a trackpad and brings supports for shortcuts. Each letter key can be programmed with two shortcuts – one for a long press and another for a short one. In total, you have 52 shortcut options.
But as useful as the keyboard might be, at a time when companies like Samsung and LG are stretching their displays from top to bottom, it might seem a little strange to go back to a phone which offers only a small 4.5-inch display with 1620 x 1080 resolution.
As for the new BlackBerry Motion, it comes carrying a 5.5-inch Premium Anti-Scratch screen with 1920 x 1080 resolution. The lack of keyboard, makes the Motion stand a bit taller than its predecessor, but the phone boasts a standard design. So those seeking a bezel-less look will be disappointed here.
Unlike the KEYone, the Motion has a home button which also doubles as a fingerprint scanner. It also has the BlackBerry logo imprinted on it.
Both handsets include an aluminum frame with a soft material on the back.
On the inside
Inwards, the two phones are quite similar. Both take advantage of a Snapdragon 625 processor with Adreno 506 GPU. However, the Motion comes with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.
As for the KEYone, the phone is only available in a 3GB of RAM + 32GB storage configuration in the US, although a 4GB of RAM + 64GB storage version launched in select markets like India. Fortunately, both models include a microSD card slot for memory expansion up to 2TB.
The new BlackBerry Motion could be an interesting buy for those who value having a long battery life, as the phone includes a large 4,000 mAh powerhouse. As for the KEYone, it relies on a smaller 3,505 mAh one.
Other features
The two BlackBerry models stick to a single lens camera of 12-megapixel variety with f/2.0, phase detection autofocus and dual-LED flash. As for selfies, both rely on an 8-megapixel secondary camera with f/2.2 to do the job.
As we mentioned above, the Motion is the first BlackBerry handset to have IP67 certification for dust and waterproofing. The phone runs Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box but will receive the Android 8.0 Oreo update at some point. And according to the Canadian company, so will the KEYone.
The Motion debuts a new feature called the Locker. It’s a tool which allows users to lock their documents and photos in an internal storage area which can be unlocked via a PIN code or fingerprint authentication. With Locker, the phone stores the sensitive data in the internal storage rather than the cloud.
The Convenience Key includes four profiles on the Motion including Home, Car, Office and User which can be triggered by a home Wi-Fi network, in-car Bluetooth, meetings synced to the BlackBerry Hub or commonly used apps.
Pricing
The BlackBerry Motion will launch on select global markets later this month. According to a recent leak, the phone is headed for Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint in the US.
The phone launched for the equivalent of $463 in the UAE, so it might arrive in the States with a price tag of around $500.
The BlackBerry KEYone can be had for around $500, as well.
