It doesn’t seem to get as bright as we’d like, but we didn’t have too much trouble reading the screen in broad daylight. Solid display, mixed performanceīy packing 1,620 x 1,080-pixel resolution into merely 4.5 inches, the KeyOne’s sharp LCD display hits an impressive 433 pixels-per-inch. But fair warning: The keyboard seems to collect dirt between the key rows, and so does the bezel around the rear camera, so you’ll need to clean them often. The exceptionally well-built KeyOne feels like a brick - in a good way - as though it will be able to survive accidental drops easily.
They should have been placed below the keyboard, or TCL should have just opted for on-screen keys. They’re easy to accidentally press when typing, and hardly offer any haptic feedback. The capacitive navigation buttons above the keyboard are more nuisance than convenience. Typing with a physical keyboard feels more satisfying. There have been complaints about the back popping off, which we have yet to encounter, but BlackBerry is offering replacement units for those affected, and is also strengthening the adhesive on the KeyOne’s display. The back is minimal, elegant, and the rubbery texture offers extra grip when handling the phone.
We haven’t seen a design like this before in a smartphone. We like how the top is flat with sharp corners, but the bottom is more rounded.
TCL has done a sound job in retaining the familiar look of previous BlackBerry-made flagships. Still, the phone is clearly designed for enterprise, and it just looks as though it’s meant to be a productivity workhorse. We wouldn’t call it ugly, but the top edge that houses the front-facing camera and LED indicator looks a little dated, the backlit keyboard is too glossy for our taste, and the two-tone front isn’t especially attractive, either. It’s thick, bulky, and has a smaller 4.5-inch display. The BlackBerry KeyOne runs against the current trend of wafer-thin phones with oversized screens. But the key selling point here is the keyboard, because, with its $550 price tag, there’s no other reason to buy the KeyOne. If you’re worried, don’t be - as we found in our BlackBerry KeyOne review, the smartphone has all the qualities of traditional BlackBerry phones, including excellent battery life and a priority on security. TCL is manufacturing the phone, but BlackBerry is in charge of software and updates - it’s all a part of the company’s new mobile strategy. There’s certainly a market with people longing for physical keyboards, even if it’s small, and the Android-powered KeyOne is a great choice. It’s always refreshing to see alternatives to the traditional all-screen smartphone design, and not many phones in this price range are still willing to offer a physical keyboard. BlackBerry and TCL generated plenty of intrigue when they announced the KeyOne at Mobile World Congress in February.
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