BlackBerry Key2 LE

Published on 19 Feb 2019 2 mins reading time Categories: MobilePhones

If you’re a fan of the BlackBerry Key2, you’re in luck: The Key2 LE is almost identical. It comes in at 5.92 by 2.83 by 0.33 inches (HWD) and has the same 4.5-inch display and textured back to provide extra grip. At just 5.5 ounces, it’s a hair lighter than the Key2 (5.93 ounces) thanks to its plastic frame.

On the top of the phone, you’ll find a 3.5mm headphone jack. The left side is home to a textured power button, volume rocker, and customizable convenience key, while the SIM and microSD tray sits on the right. On the bottom you’ll find dual speakers and a USB-C charging port.

The Key2 LE isn’t rugged or water-resistant. And while its plastic frame and rubberized back will likely survive minor drops, its protruding display is another story. You’ll definitely want to invest in a good case.

The 4.5-inch touch LCD is surprisingly good for a midrange phone. The resolution comes in at 1,620 by 1,080 with 434 pixels per inch. In our tests, we found colors to be very accurate, though the display is slightly cool. At 451cd/m2, it’s bright enough to use indoors or in direct sunlight.

In terms of specs, the BlackBerry Key2 LE doesn’t deviate much from the midrange norm. It features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor along with 4GB of RAM (for comparison, the standard Key2 has a Snapdragon 660). Storage comes in at a respectable 64GB, and you can add an additional 256GB of external storage via the microSD slot.

The BlackBerry Key2 LE is an excellent phone if productivity is your main concern. In addition to being the only midrange phone on the market with a QWERTY keyboard, it’s a better value than its more expensive sibling. Unless the capacitive touch feature on the BlackBerry Key2 is an absolute must, it’s hard to justify spending an extra $200 on it. If you’re less focused on productivity and more interested in streaming video, play games, and social networking, we recommend the OnePlus 6T. It’s a bit more expensive than the Key2 LE, but it gets you a faster Snapdragon 845 processor, a larger, nicer, 6.4-inch OLED display, and a more recent version of Android.