BlackBerry Key2 is official, and this device continues to feature its USP of a physical keyboard, which makes the the phones stand-out from other Android devices in market. But what has changed with the BlackBerry Key2, especially in comparison to the KEYone? We take a look at the differences in features, specifications of the two BlackBerry phones. BlackBerry Key2 vs KEYone: Design, Display There are some subtle and some very obvious changes in the Key2 compared to its predecessor. For one, the Key2 has a horizontally stacked dual-rear camera on back, while the original KEYone came with a single camera. The phone also has a textured back, and is lighter, thinner compared to the KEYone. The BlackBerry KEYOne's dimensions were 149.3 mm x 72.5 mm x 9.4 mm with a weight of 180 grams. The newer BlackBerry Key2 has the following dimensions 151.4mm x 71.8mm x 8.5mm with a weight of 168 grams. The Key2's keyboard has a matte finish, compared to the glossy one on the original KEYone. Read more: BlackBerry Key2 with dual cameras, physical keyboard launched The new Key2 is made of Series 7 aluminum alloy frame and comes with a "textured diamond grip" which makes it easier to hold, claims the company. The KEYone had an "aluminium frame", and impact-resistant display. The Key2's display has slightly thinner bezels and the keys are wider compared to its predecessor. Key2 still has a 4.5-inch display with 1620 x 1080 pixels with the 3:2 aspect ratio like the KEYone, which had the same 4.5-inch LCD IPS display with 1620 x 1080. The Key2's keyboard now has a newer feature called Speed Key, which is a customisable key for accessing apps and contacts by creating shortcuts. Just like the KEYone, the BlackBerry Key2's keyboard will respond to touch gestures as well. BlackBerry Key2 vs KEYone: Processor, RAM, storage and Battery BlackBerry Key2 comes with improvements on the processor, RAM and storage over its earlier variant. The phone is now powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor compared to the Snapdragon 625 series on the KEYone. Still, the Snapdragon 660 processor means a mid-range performance, and there's no top-end 845 processor version with BlackBerry Key series yet. BlackBerry Key2 now has a 6GB RAM coupled with 64 or 128GB internal memory. The microSD support is up to 256GB. Battery is 3500mAh with QuickCharge 3.0 technology from Qualcomm, and the company is claiming a 2-day usage on the phone. The original BlackBerry KEYone had 3GB RAM, coupled with 32GB storage. There was also microSD card support with up to 2TB limit. Battery on the original phone is 3505 mAh and BlackBerry had promised 26 hours of talktime with the KEYone. Coming to the software, BlackBerry KEYone ran Android Nougat 7.1 coupled with the company's host of security and enterprise features like DTEK for security, BlackBerry Hub, launcher, BBM, etc. The new Key2 runs Android Oreo 8.1 with the BlackBerry features also included. BlackBerry Key2 continues with a 3.5mm headphone jack on top like the previous phone. It also has a USB Type-C port on the bottom. BlackBerry Key2 vs KEYone: Camera differences BlackBerry Key2 ships with a dual-camera setup on the back with 12MP+12MP combination. The Key2 has one 12MP sensor with f aperture, dual PDAF (Phase Detect Auto Focus) while the other 12MP sensor has f aperture and PDAF. The camera is capable of 4K video recording, and has an HDR mode as well along with dual-tone LED flash. The Key2's front camera is 8MP with fixed focus and capable of recording 1080p video at 30fps. In contrast, the KEYone sports a 12MP rear camera with the Sony IMX378 sensor and 8MP front camera. The rear camera had support for 4K recording, PDAF, HDR, dual-tone LED flash, along with Electric Image Stabilization for videos. BlackBerry Key2 vs KEYone: Difference in prices BlackBerry KEYone was launched in India at a starting price of Rs 39,990. The company has a licensing deal with Optiemus to manufacturer its phones in India. Optiemus is a Noida-based smartphone vendor. The KEYone was sold exclusively on Amazon India. In the US the phone launched for a price of $549, which comes to Rs 37,000 plus when converted. BlackBerry Key2 has a higher price of $649, which is nearly Rs 43,800 on conversion for India. The Indian price of the BlackBerry Key2 has not been announced, nor has the date of sale been confirmed.
