Keyboard changes make it better than the KeyOne ; Not confined to BlackBerry’s own OS ; Gesture control and shortcuts in the keyboard are great

Too expensive ; Having the physical keyboard is restrictive in most situations ; Awkward to hold ; Camera just ok

For BlackBerry die-hards only.

Improved keyboard ; Useful Speed Key ; Lots of security features

Worst portrait mode camera yet ; 3:2 screen aspect ratio is odd ; Won't work with all US carriers

The new BlackBerry Key2 is a phone designed entirely for BlackBerry fans. You won't want this if you're thinking of upgrading from a Galaxy S7 and your muscle memory is trained for on-screen keyboards, but for old BlackBerry fans struggling with...

Keyboard greatly improved over KeyOne ; Battery life is very good ; Solid build quality improvements ; New 'Speed Key' makes multitasking much faster

Quite expensive considering mid-range specs ; Space bar feel is inconsistent with other keys ; Camera could be improved ; It's an undeniably niche phone

Good battery life ; Improved design & better keyboard ; Lots of customisation options

Fairly expensive ; Screen isn’t great for video streamers or gamers ; Cameras are just ok

Phone keyboards aren’t the future, but the Key2 is more interesting and worthwhile than “just another” Android

A big thanks to BlackBerry for sending us the Key2 to review and for being part of the launch event to get a hands-on for coverage.

I’m personally not convinced the world still needs a smartphone with a keyboard, not when touchscreen keyboards are so good today but if you do fancy something different from the usual black slabs, the BlackBerry Key2 appears to be well designed, well...