Gadgetory

Wow these pictures man I love this camera yo yo guess where I just got done did you clean your car nope I just got 28 females down on this blackberry really I mean don't you need to work on a computer for that kind of stuff no I'm telling you man the physical keyboard on this blackberry is definitely something worth checking out here wanted to give it a shot oh cool man thanks so this is the BlackBerry key to the successor to the BlackBerry key one that I was very fortunate to test out last year I did get some hands-on time with this device during launch and quite frankly I had mixed feelings about this particular smartphone and how well would it compete with the rest of the Android flagship smartphones in 2018 especially considering it's $650 price tag that is expensive you know it's a premium price to pay for a smartphone of this caliber but either way I've been using the key to for about a month and it has been an interesting experience quite frankly similar to the key one so I'll be spending the majority this video talking about using the physical keyboard on Android smartphone in 2018 what's it like adapting a lifestyle that's completely different from a typical average Android smartphone so let's discuss all right so let's talk about some of the improvements that BlackBerry has done to the key - when compared to the key one in terms of the physical keyboard so from a material finish it's now matte black versus a glossy plastic finish from the key one so this does a few things one it helps a little bit with the grip so if you're typing on the smartphone you would notice that you'd actually be able to hit all those buttons easily because there's that extra texture that adds and it really complements the typing experience and obviously it doesn't get greasy as faster as plastic so I really like the matte finish plus again it aesthetically looks really nice with the device blends in really well with the aluminum unibody frame so from a design standpoint I love what blackberry has done in terms of the material choice for the physical Keys the buttons are a little bit bigger than last year's model so they do complement the typing experience the tactile feedback is excellent again it is an awesome experience when you're composing emails once you're used to it there's a less room for typos because it is a physical keyboard with individual buttons so you can feel them as you're typing them over something like a virtual keyboard where you just sort of tapping on the glass do not that the phone doesn't vibrate when you're typing on the physical keyboard but rather you get this tactile sort of experience the act returns are pretty short yet they're defined the spacebar key still acts as a fingerprint reader which is a great implementation in the first place where job library for still keeping that the speed key is a new feature that has been added to the key to so this essentially allows the user to quickly switch between apps without having to go through the home screen and it is programmable so for instance I can assign I for Instagram F for Facebook C for Chrome or G for Gmail and I can access those apps by holding down the speed key and pressing those respective buttons it's a cool feature a customized ability is just endless with all these 52 buttons you can assign them with to a certain app but personally I haven't really taken advantage of this feature because I'm so used to exiting out of the app and looking for other apps and accessing them but I don't want to hear your thoughts on speaky what do you guys think about it is it a cool faster way to access apps switch apps in particular flick typing is still present consider it as an autocorrect functionality with G port or I guess a Blackberry version of that so you can flip up to register your desired word or flip back to erasin it's quick and fast it works really well it's pressingly better than G board if I'm being fairly honest now the presence of this physical keyboard is a godsend when it comes to multitasking you can have a YouTube video playing at the top and have your mail app below and you can start composing your email without any unnecessary interruptions so for instance on my pixel 2 I tried opening up a YouTube video on the top and of course I tried composing an email but right now when you look at it I'll have the virtual keyboard sort of taking half the screen and then I have my email but then the video is completely cut off so you know from a realistic screen to body ratio it just doesn't make any sense when it comes to multitasking especially for this particular feature but for the key - it works really well because the screen size is just perfect for that split view so yeah I think overall the execution when it come to multitasking is just a lot better on the key - it makes a lot more sense than key - when compared to something like an Android smartphone or for instance a pixel do and get in this case the scroll feature is still present but it's not that big of an improvement compared to the key one it works pretty well with some apps and not so much with others for example with Google Docs it skips like 50 lines with just a gentle swipe now I thought that the center area this keyboard Westworld sensitive but having used a smart phone in one hand I realized that the whole keyboard is sensitive and it doesn't have any palm rejection so if I hold this keyboard pretty stiffly like that I have noticed times where the screen would just keep scrolling up and down in a faster manner and it just takes away that whole experience when you're viewing content if you're just reading up something online so yeah that's just something that I want to mention speaking of one-hand operation that was quite the challenge with the key - in fact the key one as well typing again it gets significantly slower especially when you are trying to reach a secondary number keys it is again very highly inefficient I think the physical keyboard is really geared towards two-hand operation you really need to use both of your thumbs for the fastest experience now considering that this is a physical keyboard glide typing is totally out of question when you compared to other Android smartphones with a virtual keyboard featuring that so if you're looking for something with one hand operation or something that you can quickly compose text with key to is definitely not for you because I can quickly compose texts and emails with that feature I should also mention that I've run into times where I would accidentally hit the home screen or the home button when I'm trying to reach for the T or the Y one of the keys at the top row so that gets a little bit knowing especially when you're trying to type up something and I think part of this has to do with how sensitive the capacitor where the navigating buttons are which are capacitive by the way so that I did find a little bit annoying so do keep that in mind if you're an emoji lover then the BlackBerry key too is certainly not for you because by default device uses the BlackBerry keyboard so the emoji collection is fairly limited plus it opens up a half of the screen real estate if you were looking for a certain emoji so again it really takes away from that experience but you don't have the option to search for a particular emoji or even a gift now if you were to compare this to something like G board it be of a larger collection because it gets constantly updated and I would much rather prefer G board over the BlackBerry keyboard just because the collection is there now you could technically use G board on the key too it's just a matter of switching back and forth between the BlackBerry keyboard and G board and that can be done automatically within the notifications tab where when you're trying to compose a text or an email it'll automatically pop up it's just a matter of your user preference the only issue is that when you're trying to use the secondary functions you'll have to hold the shift key and you know compose or hit that secondary function button whether that's a number or if you're trying to capitalize a certain letter but when you're using the BlackBerry keyboard accessing the secondary functions it's just a matter of simply hitting the alt or the shift just once and you'll be able to use those secondary keys so that's something to keep in mind again it's possible but personally I just don't think it's a feasible option so having discussed my experience using the physical keyboard on the key - what are some of the workarounds when it comes to using the device in general when it comes to other tasks well let's start with the display it is a significant compromise for someone who heavily invest their time on phones consuming content the lack of front-facing speakers I mean I really wish if the earpiece acted as a left channel just to add that extra kick when it comes to watching a video or something as the bottom facing one can be easily muted and of course there's a lack of water resistance remember if water gets into this device through the tiny gaps the phone's functionality is pretty much compromised last but not least there's a lack of wireless charging so there are a lot of compromises and it's a drawbacks with the key - and I think someone who's willing to invest six hundred fifty dollars on something like the key - should really you know look at their existing lifestyle and see themselves or start analyzing probably put together a pros and cons list and see hey what are some of the features that I see myself using with the key tone what are some of the features I don't really care what I don't really use so yeah that's that's that the display is pretty much the same size as the key one you get the same 4.5 inch 16 20 by 1080 IPS display color reproductions just as expected they're good viewing angles and a balanced contrast ratio it's again nowhere closer to the saturation levels found on Sam flagships it's not a super-bright panel I'll be honest so viewing outdoors might be a little bit of a challenge battery life in one word is exceptional it features a 3500 milliamp hour battery the exact same capacity as its predecessor I was easily able to get through a couple of days with a single charge under casual use and this involves checking my email browsing the web checking up on social media like Twitter and Instagram and messaging as well now if you're a heavy user say for example you consume a lot of media content then you can certainly get through a day and a half worth of use on the key - I don't think you'll be able to kill the battery in a single day just because the way how they've built this device in terms of the specs and how efficient it is it's pretty interesting because you've got a smaller display a pretty efficient processor and so all of these things sort of work hand-in-hand to give you that really good battery life now I just want to quickly go over the software experience on the blackberry k2 so out of the box BlackBerry has loaded it with Android 8.1 Oreo and it is expected to receive the Android P update later on now from an OS perspective nothing really has changed from the key one you're getting the exact same sort of bloatware apps like bbm blackberry hub and a few other applications that are of course preloaded on the on the phone but I really don't see myself taking advantage of them then there's the Locker app which I found to be particularly interesting because it's a pretty important feature and actually one of the key selling features of the key - essentially it's a private hub that lets you add certain apps folders documents or even pictures with your fingerprint verification in my case I had my banking app set up so every time I open them it would have to or I would have to authenticate the startup with my fingerprint it's an added layer of security in my opinion and if you're with someone who's working in the corporate world where you're dealing with a lot of confidential files photos and all the other kind of stuff this is something that you could take advantage of where you would obviously need that extra authentication to access those files so kudos to Blackbird for including that and I really wish if other Android smartphones would be able to directly integrate that I'm sure third-party apps are available but still it would be pretty cool to have that out of the box and the last thing that I want to discuss here is the camera performance on the key - and this probably gonna be a short segment but I'll say right now it's pretty terrible I mean look looking at these pictures it definitely like it's coming from a smartphone that's 150 to 200 dollars rather than a $650 smartphone I mean these pictures they don't do any justice you know the sensor doesn't do a really good job exposing for the highlights HDR doesn't really work that well I mean eyes left all these settings in auto mode I thought HDL would do some justice but that was not the case one of the best gaming headsets is now available through mass drop the PC 3 7 X has fantastic drivers incredible comfort and the best microphone in the class plus they look awesome for a gaming headset check out the drop link below so there you have it my experience using the key 2 for the past few weeks of course with this physical keyboard now would I recommend this phone for $650 no because I really feel like blackberry step they just went a little too far there when it comes to pricing really wish if this phone or I would I wish that this phone was surprised somewhere between 450 to 550 I think that would have been a pretty cool sweet spot for this particular device because at 6:50 when you look at the competition it is just it's it doesn't make any sense here than one plus six the the Google pixel 2 and a few other smartphones as well so the key to doesn't really compete with those regard with those come with those flash chips but if you take pricing out of the equation then this is a unique device in my opinion first and foremost the physical keyboard it really is an awesome feature or a unique design implementation when it comes to a Productivity if you want to get work done if you're someone who's scripting on the golf you're writing a lot of emails if you're basically spending majority of your time outdoors you know working and just getting work done I think the physical keyboard will really come in beneficial it just makes a lot more sense especially when it comes to multitasking and you know less room for typos compared to G born on my pixel to which I'm really frustrated with so yeah when it comes to productivity in general key 2 is an excellent option and there also the security features that are built into the key 2 which just takes things up a notch especially with D Tech and the way how it handles and scans all the apps in the background for whether or not if it's accessing your microphone your camera it's just really awesome and I'm gonna end on this note no one's gonna buy the key to for the best possible display you know the best cameras or the best content consumed experience that's not what the he too is really cute towards it really is a wart machine if you want to get work done this is what you should probably look into but you could still get them done on your smartphones it's just that this would help the physical keyboard will really help elevate that experience and of course you know considering the drawbacks those are some of the things that you'll have to consider when you're looking into something like the key to but I'd love to hear your thoughts on this device what do you guys think about it does it have its place or is it worthy enough to compete with the rest of you know the Android smart forms of 2018 let me know in the comments down below I'm a bar with hardware connects thank you so much for watching and we'll see you in the next one