The Blackberry Key 2 is arguably one of Blackberry’s most admired smartphones, however, it comes at a price – selling for about $650 for those in the Westside. Now, in order to bring the iconic physical home button to a wider audience, Blackberry has today at IFA 2018 announced the Blackberry Key2 LE – a variant of the Key 2 with some stripped down internals.
Externally, the Blackberry Key2 LE looks similar to the Key 2 – sharing the same 4.5-inch 1650×1080 display, dimensions, dual rear cameras, Speed Key and security and privacy enhancements such as DTEK, and Locker. Away from the similarities, the Blackberry Key2 LE also highlight a new dual account management options for apps such as Facebook and Instagram, which allows you to keep business and personal profiles separate.
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To get the price down south, the brand has ditched the metals build on the Blackberry Key 2 for a polycarbonate body, while it also downgraded the battery size and camera sensors.The compromises don’t end there, the device gets a slightly downgraded 3,000mAh battery, and of course, the Snapdragon 636 chipset coupled with 4GB of RAM and 32GB/64GB of storage options, instead of the SD 660 SoC.
BlackBerry Key2 LE specs
- 4.5-inch screen with 1,920×1,080-pixel resolution
- 13- and 5-megapixel dual rear cameras
- 8-megapixel forward-facing camera
- Snapdragon 636 processor
- 4GB RAM
- 3,000-mAh battery
- 32GB or 64GB internal storage
- DTEK security software
- microSD card slot
- Quick Charge support
- Slate, champagne and red colors
The device will go on sale later in September in the US, UK, France, UAE, Germany, and Canada at $399 for a 32GB model, or $449 for a 64GB model, which is about $200 less compared to the standard Key2. It will be available in slate, champagne, and atomic red color options.