Months after the launch of BlackBerry's latest flagship handset, KEYone, the reports are in that a follow-up smartphone will be out soon. Known as Motion, the device is said to be the first smartphone under the BlackBerry label to ditch the brand's classic keyboard in exchange for an all-screen display.
As reported by Engadget, the first details regarding the BlackBerry Motion came from Evan Blass. The well-known tech leaker recently took on Twitter to post the leaked renders of the smartphone. Based on these leaks, the most noticeable feature of the BlackBerry Motion is its edge-to-edge screen display, thus the signature BlackBerry physical keyboard is no longer around.
To note, this year's BlackBerry KEYone sports a touchscreen display, although the hardware keyboard is still present in the front. If Blass's leaks are indeed reliable, the BlackBerry Motion will feature a virtual keyboard instead, similar to most Android phones in the market today. According to Digital Trends, the BlackBerry Motion will be the first smartphone from the company to go without a physical keyboard since BlackBerry Storm.
TCL, a prominent tech titan who recently became BlackBerry's partner, revealed that the follow-up smartphone to the BlackBerry KEYone would be water-resistant. Both BlackBerry and TCL have not yet confirmed the official name of its next flagship mobile device, although earlier rumors suggested that the handset would get the "Krypton" moniker. However, according to the latest leaks, it would be known as Motion instead. It can be recalled that KEYone was also rumored to get a different name prior to its release, which was Mercury.
The BlackBerry Motion leaks also revealed that the smartphone will see reduced bezels, consistent with the latest trend. It will keep the 3.5mm headphone jack, with three buttons at the front. One of these buttons is expected to be the Convenience key, which was first introduced by the BlackBerry KEYone. Below this is a touch-sensitive button with the BlackBerry logo, believed to be the fingerprint sensor.
BlackBerry has no official announcement yet regarding the development and release date of the BlackBerry Motion. Although, the latest reports hint at a possible smartphone launch by the end of 2017.
