Why the KEYone is my Long-Term Device

I will try to keep this as short as possible.

For those of you that were following my other thread, you will know that I very temporarily swapped my KEYone for a Pixel 2 XL, and then a Galaxy Note 8. I enjoyed both of those devices equally, but I will use a physical keyboard device until they are no longer in production.

The Pixel 2 XL and Galaxy Note 8 both had incredible performance. From my experience, the Pixel 2 XL had better battery life, almost on par with the KEYone. That is very impressive for a device running the internal hardware that it has. Furthermore, the Pixel 2 XL's camera was PHENOMENAL. I cannot stress this enough. However, is a camera that good really important to me? Not really. The KEYone produces perfectly good photos for my needs.

Secondly, the display on the Note 8 was insane. But just like my above point, does it really improve my daily life? Not really. I don't play games or watch too many videos, so why else would I need a screen like that? Obviously I would prefer a screen like that, but do I NEED it? Nope. The KEYone has a perfectly good display. Once you adjust to it, you forget what life is even like on a crazy good display like the Note 8.

Some positives about both devices; I experienced better signal strength. BlackBerry has been historically known for having good call quality and signal strength, so I'd definitely like to see this improved on a "KEYtwo" device. It has been an issue talked about in the forums. RAM management was also phenomenal on both devices. The overall performance of both of these devices were quite obviously an improvement from the KEYone, so there's really no downfall here (especially considering the battery life of the Pixel 2 XL).

So, this ultimately comes down to what I do most on my smartphone. And quite frankly, I think it's what most people do on a phone; that is communication. Specifically, email and texting. Communication was a downgrade for me on both the Pixel 2 XL and Note 8. For something that I do so often, it becomes problematic after several usages of my device throughout the day. My keyboard makes interacting with my device feel so much more natural. The shortcuts save me more time in a day than the increased performance offered by the Pixel 2 XL would. I couldn't imagine typing this thread out on a virtual keyboard. I'm still surprised at how many people prefer a vkb. Surely nobody would be willing to trade in their laptop for one with a vkb? Maybe I'm wrong.

Overall, I will be using a BlackBerry pkb device for as long as they are produced. At this point, it's not even brand loyalty. The BlackBerry KEYone is single handedly the best smartphone for me, and I think it is for a lot of other people that don't even know it.

Originally Posted by nucks26

I will try to keep this as short as possible.

For those of you that were following my other thread, you will know that I very temporarily swapped my KEYone for a Pixel 2 XL, and then a Galaxy Note 8. I enjoyed both of those devices equally, but I will use a physical keyboard device until they are no longer in production.

The Pixel 2 XL and Galaxy Note 8 both had incredible performance. From my experience, the Pixel 2 XL had better battery life, almost on par with the KEYone. That is very impressive for a device running the internal hardware that it has. Furthermore, the Pixel 2 XL's camera was PHENOMENAL. I cannot stress this enough. However, is a camera that good really important to me? Not really. The KEYone produces perfectly good photos for my needs.

Secondly, the display on the Note 8 was insane. But just like my above point, does it really improve my daily life? Not really. I don't play games or watch too many videos, so why else would I need a screen like that? Obviously I would prefer a screen like that, but do I NEED it? Nope. The KEYone has a perfectly good display. Once you adjust to it, you forget what life is even like on a crazy good display like the Note 8.

Some positives about both devices; I experienced better signal strength. BlackBerry has been historically known for having good call quality and signal strength, so I'd definitely like to see this improved on a "KEYtwo" device. It has been an issue talked about in the forums. RAM management was also phenomenal on both devices. The overall performance of both of these devices were quite obviously an improvement from the KEYone, so there's really no downfall here (especially considering the battery life of the Pixel 2 XL).

So, this ultimately comes down to what I do most on my smartphone. And quite frankly, I think it's what most people do on a phone; that is communication. Specifically, email and texting. Communication was a downgrade for me on both the Pixel 2 XL and Note 8. For something that I do so often, it becomes problematic after several usages of my device throughout the day. My keyboard makes interacting with my device feel so much more natural. The shortcuts save me more time in a day than the increased performance offered by the Pixel 2 XL would. I couldn't imagine typing this thread out on a virtual keyboard. I'm still surprised at how many people prefer a vkb. Surely nobody would be willing to trade in their laptop for one with a vkb? Maybe I'm wrong.

Overall, I will be using a BlackBerry pkb device for as long as they are produced. At this point, it's not even brand loyalty. The BlackBerry KEYone is single handedly the best smartphone for me, and I think it is for a lot of other people that don't even know it.

I had both and currently typing this on my note 8 but the keyone black is my main baby.. Despite what many think, the Blackberry name still has a bit of prestige behind it and is super efficient and just flat out gets **** done. I love my keyone! Can't see myself using another non bb device as a daily for a long time

I definitely agree with you. I recently got rid of my silver Keyone and I'm trying to decide between the Black Keyone or wait for a Keytwo

Originally Posted by Trini68

I definitely agree with you. I recently got rid of my silver Keyone and I'm trying to decide between the Black Keyone or wait for a Keytwo

I'm currently using the black KEYone. It's bittersweet because I prefer the look of the silver, but I've noticed a difference with the 4th GB of RAM.

Originally Posted by Trini68

I definitely agree with you. I recently got rid of my silver Keyone and I'm trying to decide between the Black Keyone or wait for a Keytwo

I am waiting for keytwo. I prefer a device little bit more powerful than keyone because I plan to use them at least 2 years. Hopefully, we have keytwo release 4th quarter of this year.

Originally Posted by krazyatom

I am waiting for keytwo. I prefer a device little bit more powerful than keyone because I plan to use them at least 2 years. Hopefully, we have keytwo release 4th quarter of this year.

I doubt you will see an 800-series chipset but I'd definitely be willing to see the same. However, the 625 in the KEYone has actually been a pleasant surprise since launch. It's not slow by any means.

Originally Posted by nucks26

I doubt you will see an 800-series chipset but I'd definitely be willing to see the same. However, the 625 in the KEYone has actually been a pleasant surprise since launch. It's not slow by any means.

Snapdragon 625 just can't handle the blackberry hub. It's a heavy app. If you disable hub, device will become faster. I just need something bit more powerful to handle hub. I think snapdragon 660 will be fine. Keytwo is rumored to have snapdragon 660 so we'll see.

Originally Posted by krazyatom

Snapdragon 625 just can't handle the blackberry hub. It's a heavy app. If you disable hub, device will become faster. I just need something bit more powerful to handle hub. I think snapdragon 660 will be fine. Keytwo is rumored to have snapdragon 660 so we'll see.

Yes it certainly is a heavy application. It runs satisfactorily though. It's nowhere near as bad as Facebook.

fully agree !!!
I love my K1 more and more for it's productivity. Nice pkb with nice software like hub , productivity tab shortcuts etc

Originally Posted by nucks26

Overall, I will be using a BlackBerry pkb device for as long as they are produced. At this point, it's not even brand loyalty. The BlackBerry KEYone is single handedly the best smartphone for me, and I think it is for a lot of other people that don't even know it.

Having left a Moto Z Force for my KEYᵒⁿᵉ, I couldn't agree more. Provides much more pleasure performing the functions I have a smartphone for.

Originally Posted by krazyatom

Snapdragon 625 just can't handle the blackberry hub. It's a heavy app.

I see this regularly, but totally disagree. I have 7 emails, BBM, Message+, Slack and Hangouts connected, and it's taking up 113MB of space. Maybe the phone would be slightly faster using alternate apps, but my productivity would suffer, so what would that solve. Obviously this is only my use case scenario, and results will vary, LoL.

Originally Posted by BigBadWulf

Having left a Moto Z Force for my KEYᵒⁿᵉ, I couldn't agree more. Provides much more pleasure performing the functions I have a smartphone for.



I see this regularly, but totally disagree. I have 7 emails, BBM, Message+, Slack and Hangouts connected, and it's taking up 113MB of space. Maybe the phone would be slightly faster using alternate apps, but my productivity would suffer, so what would that solve. Obviously this is only my use case scenario, and results will vary, LoL.

It works fine for me as well.. 625 is great. anything above that works well for intensive gaming.

Originally Posted by BigBadWulf

Having left a Moto Z Force for my KEYᵒⁿᵉ, I couldn't agree more. Provides much more pleasure performing the functions I have a smartphone for.



I see this regularly, but totally disagree. I have 7 emails, BBM, Message+, Slack and Hangouts connected, and it's taking up 113MB of space. Maybe the phone would be slightly faster using alternate apps, but my productivity would suffer, so what would that solve. Obviously this is only my use case scenario, and results will vary, LoL.

Nothing is wrong with Keyone (snapdragon 625). I just want to have better blackberry experience, that's all. It performs a lot better with higher end tier devices. I am satisfied with keyone's design and keyboard, but I really wish it had better internals. I sold all my keyones because I wasn't happy their performance. Maybe I am too spoiled to faster devices lol.

Originally Posted by krazyatom

Nothing is wrong with Keyone (snapdragon 625). I just want to have better blackberry experience, that's all. It performs a lot better with higher end tier devices. I am satisfied with keyone's design and keyboard, but I really wish it had better internals. I sold all my keyones because I wasn't happy their performance. Maybe I am too spoiled to faster devices lol.

I love my MoFo, and it's definitely a tad faster. But the split second delay using my KEYᵒⁿᵉ, doesn't give me cause to give up what it provides in return.

That said, I would love a KEYᵗʷᵒ with top tier specs, and a battery to support it.

Originally Posted by BigBadWulf

I love my MoFo, and it's definitely a tad faster. But the split second delay using my KEYᵒⁿᵉ, doesn't give me cause to give up what it provides in return.

That said, I would love a KEYᵗʷᵒ with top tier specs, and a battery to support it.

Want want want!!! What about my needs ?

Originally Posted by Carjackd

Want want want!!! What about my needs ?

You need to sit in a corner, and think about what you've done. :p

Originally Posted by nucks26

I will try to keep this as short as possible.

For those of you that were following my other thread, you will know that I very temporarily swapped my KEYone for a Pixel 2 XL, and then a Galaxy Note 8. I enjoyed both of those devices equally, but I will use a physical keyboard device until they are no longer in production.

The Pixel 2 XL and Galaxy Note 8 both had incredible performance. From my experience, the Pixel 2 XL had better battery life, almost on par with the KEYone. That is very impressive for a device running the internal hardware that it has. Furthermore, the Pixel 2 XL's camera was PHENOMENAL. I cannot stress this enough. However, is a camera that good really important to me? Not really. The KEYone produces perfectly good photos for my needs.

Secondly, the display on the Note 8 was insane. But just like my above point, does it really improve my daily life? Not really. I don't play games or watch too many videos, so why else would I need a screen like that? Obviously I would prefer a screen like that, but do I NEED it? Nope. The KEYone has a perfectly good display. Once you adjust to it, you forget what life is even like on a crazy good display like the Note 8.

Some positives about both devices; I experienced better signal strength. BlackBerry has been historically known for having good call quality and signal strength, so I'd definitely like to see this improved on a "KEYtwo" device. It has been an issue talked about in the forums. RAM management was also phenomenal on both devices. The overall performance of both of these devices were quite obviously an improvement from the KEYone, so there's really no downfall here (especially considering the battery life of the Pixel 2 XL).

So, this ultimately comes down to what I do most on my smartphone. And quite frankly, I think it's what most people do on a phone; that is communication. Specifically, email and texting. Communication was a downgrade for me on both the Pixel 2 XL and Note 8. For something that I do so often, it becomes problematic after several usages of my device throughout the day. My keyboard makes interacting with my device feel so much more natural. The shortcuts save me more time in a day than the increased performance offered by the Pixel 2 XL would. I couldn't imagine typing this thread out on a virtual keyboard. I'm still surprised at how many people prefer a vkb. Surely nobody would be willing to trade in their laptop for one with a vkb? Maybe I'm wrong.

Overall, I will be using a BlackBerry pkb device for as long as they are produced. At this point, it's not even brand loyalty. The BlackBerry KEYone is single handedly the best smartphone for me, and I think it is for a lot of other people that don't even know it.

Excellent article . I am presently using a Passport and Motion but shall be graduating to the KeyOne Bronze shortly. The KeyOne is a great device and you have rightly pointed out that in terms of productivity the device is par excellence .

To reiterate and agree with the OP's point, yes, communication is paramount -- INCLUDING call quality. This is why signal reception really must be improved.

Great write up OP.

Never used a Pixel or Samsung Note though. Seems like these are all rather different from one another no? Different target audiances? Apples and oranges.

That said, I do remember when I went from BB Curve to Samsung. Really hard to get used to the VKB. But now that I have a PKB, I really don't ever want to go back to anything else. Especially as I get older. My kids are wizards on those VKB though. Admittedly, it is a different kind of typing. Their fingers almost slide across the glass. The BB is a bit more enunciated if you will :D


But yeah ....love my Key1 black

Originally Posted by Carjackd

Want want want!!! What about my needs ?

You're allowed to satisfy your needs. It's a wives tale that it grows hair on the palms of your hands.