All tech brands know that it is very important to be ahead of everyone else in the stiff smartphone competition.
That is why Canada's BlackBerry Ltd., the former leader in the smartphone market, is revamping its product line to be on top once again in the niche that is now dominated by other brands like Apple.
In September, BlackBerry released its newest flagship phone called the BlackBerry Passport to compete with Apple's brand-new iPhone series. The Cupertino-based company also launched its latest product lines called iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which happen to be the most successful iPhone products to date.
Can the Passport help bring back BlackBerry to its former glory by being pitted against the iPhone 6?
Here is a comparison between the flagship devices:
Design and Display
The BlackBerry Passport got its name and design based on an actual passport. It has a measurement of 128 x 90.3 x 9.3 millimeters and is weighs 194 grams. It has a 4.5-inch IP LCD display with 1440 x 1440 pixel resolution and 453 ppi pixel density. The smartphone has a stainless steel frame that gives it a sleek appeal, and it is also designed to be wider compared to other smartphone devices.
On the other hand, the iPhone 6 comes with a measurement of 138.1 x 67 x 6.9 millimeters and weighs 129 grams. It features a 4.7-inch IPS LCD display with 750 x 1334 pixels resolution and 326 ppi pixel density. It has an all-metal body with a slightly curved screen, which makes it look more chic compared to the square BlackBerry Passport.
Internal Features
BlackBerry's newest product contains a Snapdragon 801 chipset with a 2.26 GHz Krait 400 quad-core processor as well as an Adreno 330 GPU. It also has a 3 GB RAM with an internal storage of 32 GB. The storage can be expanded using microSD up to 128 GB.
Apple's iPhone 6 contains its signature Apple A8 64-bit dual-core processor that provides a maximum processing speed of 1.4 GHz. It also comes with a PowerVR GX6450 graphics. Compared to the Passport, the iPhone 6 has no microSD slot yet it is offered in three internal storage variants: 16 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB.
Operating system and signature features
The Passport runs using the latest BlackBerry 10.3 OS that lets users get Android-supported apps through the Amazon Appstore. It also has the usual touch-enabled physical QWERTY keyboard which is what the Canadian mobile brand is known for.
Meanwhile, the iPhone6 runs using iOS 8, and it already offers the Touch ID and Apple Pay services that the company had been developing for a while.
Camera
For the first time, BlackBerry equipped its latest mobile product with a better camera in the Passport. The product features a powerful 13-megapixel primary camera that has an autofocus capabilities as well as a LED flash function. It also has a 2-megapixel secondary front-facing camera that also supports HD video recording.
The iPhone also has an impressive camera feature, with its 8 megapixel primary rear camera with image sensor, dual LED flash, and full HD recording. The secondary camera, on the other hand, is 1.2 megapixels.
Pricing
U.S. network carriers offer the unlocked BlackBerry Passport for $599. Meanwhile, the unlocked iPhone 6 has varying price according to the storage capacity, wherein the 16 GB can be purchased for $649, the 64 GB variety has a price of $749, and the 128 GB units can be bought for $849.
