Presented at the Berlin IFA, the BlackBerry KEYone Black Edition arrives a few months after the first KEYone. Apart from the color difference, it is distinguished by its 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage, against 3 GB and 32 GB for the first KEYone. It uses the same Snapdragon 625 processor, the same 4.5-inch screen and, of course, the same physical keyboard. It is sold 650 euros, against 600 euros for the previous version.
This review builds on the differences between the BlackBerry KEYone Black Edition and the BlackBerry KEYone. The majority of the technical characteristics being shared by the two models, we refer you to the review of the latter to obtain more information on our feelings, in particular concerning the handling, the display quality, the power and the photo quality . For each of these points, the performances of the two devices are very close, not to say identical.
Always massive, more elegant
Rather massive, the KEYone was not distinguished by its aesthetic subtleties. Switching to a black version has the advantage of bringing a touch – and only a touch – of elegance. At the back, only the upper part and the brand logo are affected by this color change. On the front, the metal strip placed above the screen also turns black, which makes the sensors more discreet. An evolution which also concerns the slices (formerly silver) of the device.
The first technical difference is in the RAM, which goes from 3 GB to 4 GB. If this allows the smartphone to better manage the accumulation of open applications, this increase does not make the Black Edition a power bomb. In game and in benchmarks, performance has changed little. This new KEYone makes it possible to play all the games, by giving up part of the graphic details for the titles that consume the most graphic resources. The power was slightly insufficient for a smartphone sold 600 euros, it is even more so for a device sold 650 euros.
Battery life down slightly
Going from 32 GB to 64 GB of storage, the KEYone increases from 18 to 50 GB available after installing the OS. A significant difference, which allows you to better take advantage of the synchronization options of music streaming applications or downloads enabled by certain video-on-demand applications. Note that in both cases, the storage capacity can be extended using a microSD card.
In order to measure a possible impact of these technical modifications on the autonomy, we subjected the KEYone Black Edition to a versatile autonomy review, which measures the endurance of the smartphone facing the most common uses. The device lost an hour and a half of autonomy with 12:32 against 13:59 for its predecessor. An important difference, but not enough to worry users who are determined to charge their mobile each evening. This new edition will pass the day without flinching.
