Following the release of the BlackBerry KEYone earlier this year, here comes a new model with the BlackBerry Motion. Essentially this is a full touch-screen version of the KEYone and it is also the first BlackBerry device that comes with water resistance.
On paper, the BlackBerry Motion that’s also manufactured by TCL is quite similar in specs to the BlackBerry KEYone. Over at the front, it gets a 5.5″ Full HD IPS display with DragonTrail Glass on top. It still runs on a popular Snapdragon 625 processor under the hood that’s mated to 4GB of RAM and it comes with 32GB of onboard storage. If you need more space, you can expand further via microSD up to 2TB.
Imaging wise, it has a 12MP f/2.0 main camera with PDAF and dual-tone LED flash. It can record 4K videos at 30fps. For taking selfies, the Motion has an 8MP f/2.2 front camera that comes with its own LED flash.
The BlackBerry KEYone has an excellent battery life with its frugal processor and a rather large 3,505mAh battery. The new Motion aims to take that further with an even larger 4,000mAh unit that is rated to push 32 hours of mixed use. It still charges via USB Type-C and it has support for Quick Charge 3.0. According to BlackBerry, you can get a 50% charge in just 40 minutes on the plug.
Like its previous models, the Motion gets a Smart Convenience Key which can be used to launch your favourite apps and functions. There’s also a fingerprint sensor embedded in the home button which makes it easier to unlock or to confirm purchases from your phone. For the first time on a BlackBerry, the Motion has IP67 water resistance which is on par with the iPhone 7/8.
As usual, the BlackBerry Motion gets a host of security features built-in along with its productivity apps such as BlackBerry Hub, BlackBerry Calendar, DTEK and BlackBerry Boost charging. There’s also a private locker mode where you can take photos of your weekend and private documents using the fingerprint sensor. These photos will be password protected and it won’t be uploaded to the cloud for greater security. Out of the box, it runs on Android 7.1 Nougat and it will be upgraded to Android Oreo in the new year.
The BlackBerry Motion will be available first in the Middle East and it comes with Dual SIM capability. It is now open for pre-order in UAE and KSA at Dh1,699 (about RM1,959) and 1,699 Riyal (about RM1,918) respectively.
