Jon BraggFollowing on from its first BlackBerry-branded phone launched earlier this year, Chinese company TCL has announced a new keyboard-less BlackBerry phone will be released in the coming months.
In a media briefing ahead of IFA 2017, TCL – which acquired the rights to the BlackBerry brand late last year – provided some initial details about the currently unnamed device.
TCL’s François Mahieu told Engadget that they are planning to incorporate IP67 protection against water and dust, as well as a battery life of 26 hours or more, into the new BlackBerry, in keeping with the brand’s association with building durable devices.
Mahieu expects iPhone and Samsung Galaxy users could choose to “make the switch” to the new phone when it launches sometime in October.
Meanwhile, GSMArena reported that TCL had dubbed the BlackBerry KEYone a “runaway success” with sales split roughly 50/50 between businesses buying for their employees and people buying the phone themselves.
