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BlackBerry bringing QWERTY back to the mainstream with cheaper Key2 Lite?
- Evan Blass has shared what could be the first leaked image of the BlackBerry Key2 Lite.
- The phone in the image is almost identical in design to the BlackBerry Key2 but made out of plastic.
- The phone will likely launch in late August or early September, potentially at IFA.
The BlackBerry Key2 looks like it might be getting a little sibling. Thanks to a fresh leak from Evan Blass, we have our first few details about the BlackBerry Key2 Lite and a real-life photo of the handset.
We expect the Key2 Lite to be a mid-to-low tier device, though it looks like it may have a very similar design as the standard BlackBerry Key2 and be around the same size. This means a rubber-like backing (though Blass later called it a “plastic Berry”), centered BlackBerry logo, and a dual-camera setup at the top-left.
Alleged BlackBerry Luna, a.k.a. the “KEY2 Lite” (Lite and not Mini ‘cuz they supposedly have the same form factor). Said/shown to come in red, blue, and copper. pic.twitter.com/fMza9pAAZC— Evan Blass (@evleaks) July 18, 2018
In a follow-up tweet, Blass writes that the BlackBerry Key2 Lite should be made official either in late August or early September. While unconfirmed, this could mean an announcement during IFA.
The original BlackBerry Key2 runs a Snapdragon 660 processor and includes 6GB of RAM. To release a lite version of this phone, TCL may scrap this CPU for something cheaper/slower and potentially include less RAM.
And that’s about all we know about the rumored BlackBerry Key2 Lite for now. As its big brother cost $649 at launch with 64GB of storage built-in, we can speculate that this handset might set buyers back around $400. That isn’t too bad of a price tag for those who have been wanting a modern smartphone that still features a hardware keyboard.