BlackBerry has always played a game of its own within
a pretty specific niche of the smartphone market. Despite all the turmoil
surrounding the legendary brand in recent years, that has remained mostly true
under TCL management, as well. Having said that, 850,000 BlackBerry Keyone
units shipped, might not sound like much, but it was apparently enough to merit
a successor.
Codenamed "Athena", it was first spotted
in a few detailed renders earlier this month. But given the visual similarities
with the original Keyone, those were subject to some forgery speculation from
the very get-go. However, a recently unearthed TENAA listing for a very
visually similar device mostly clears the air on the matter. Apparently the "Athena"
is real and will likely be released under the Keytwo or perhaps Keyone (2018)
moniker, pretty soon.
Looking at the new photos, there do appear do be
some discrepancies, compared to the original renders. For instance, while both
place the BlackBerry Convenience key on the right-hand side this time around,
its shape and position, relative to the power button appear to be slightly
different. The, likely plastic or rubberised pattern on the back of the TENAA
device also appears to extend all the way to the top bezel - a departure from
the original Keyone design, as well as the leaked new model renders.
These are minor details that could easily
be explained with an ongoing design revision progress. All the important bits
about the "Athena", the ones BlackBerry fans are likely to
appreciate, are still present and accounted for. Like, the slightly
re-designed, but still essentially identical full QWERTY keyboard. And right
above it, what looks like another 3:2 aspect ratio touchscren. Just like on the
Keyone.
This time around, however, the back of the phone
houses a dual camera setup - a BlackBerry first. The original renders, also
feature a 3.5mm audio jack and a Type-C port in clear sight. Unfortunately, the
TENAA listing does not contain any hardware information beyond this, so far. It
does divulge the phone's BBF100-4 model number. Which, by sheer similarity to
the BBB100-X designation of the Keyone, makes the successor scenario that
little bit more credible.
