BlackBerry DTEK60

It’s no secret that BlackBerry has struggled to stay competitive since smartphones changed the mobile phone landscape. With their latest attempt, they’re taking their approach to software and applying it a phone designed by another company. Could this be the phone that brings BlackBerry back from the brink?

Let’s see what reviewers are saying!

With its glass back and metal chassis, the DTEK60 offers a premium feel and clean appearance. Reviewers’ impressions were generally positive. However, they were also quick to note that it is essentially a slightly modified Alcatel Idol 4S (or a Vodafone Platinum Smart 7 for UK readers). Reviewers loved the rear placement of the fingerprint scanner and the “convenience button” on the side.

However, Pocket Lint highlighted a common concern, saying, “While it may be pretty, it’s also slippery and attracts fingerprints without any effort. Put it down on the arm of your sofa, and it’ll likely find its own way to the floor.”

Heading around front, you’re greeted with a 5.5-inch AMOLED display running at 1440-by-2560 pixels. Screen reviews were positive. Trusted Reviews said, “the screen is more than good enough for most regular users.” If you use your phone outdoors, some reviews noted that low screen brightness might prove troublesome.

Powering the phone, you’ll find a 2.15GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor–a standard for 2016 flagships–paired with 4GB of RAM. Performance reviews were great. Android Central noted, “From a performance standpoint, the DTEK60 will do everything you want it to do with nary a whine or whimper.” Trusted Reviews was the only one to mention heat or stuttering, saying, “The only time I noticed any performance issues was when running intensive 3D games.”

The phone includes 32GB of internal storage and the microSD card supports cards up to a massive 2TB. You shouldn’t worry about fitting everything you need on your phone.

BlackBerry chose to use Android Marshmallow 6.0 for their latest release. There is no confirmation of a Nougat 7.0 release at the time of writing. However, BlackBerry is known for it’s fast patches and security updates. Reviews on the software for the phone are outstanding. Most noted that this is the best blend of Android and BlackBerry’s older interface yet.

While the phone’s 3,000mAh battery looks average on paper, reviewers raved about battery life. CNet called it, “The DTEK60’s best feature.” Trusted Reviews used the phone for a week and noted, “With regular use I easily managed to get at least a day’s use out of the DTEK60.” Should you find yourself low on power, QuickCharge 3.0 support promises a up to 80% battery life in only 30 minutes of charge time.

One area where the reviews weren’t as great was the phone’s camera. Although the 21MP rear camera and 8MP front-facing lens represent the most powerful BlackBerry cameras to date, all reviews mentioned lackluster performance. “In good light, the focus speed is decent and images have nice detail,” CNet said, “In low light, it struggles to focus and images are quite noisy.”

Overall, unless you’re looking for an amazing camera, reviews for the DTEK60 are solid. Recombu called it “better equipped than any of the company’s previous attempts at serving as the perfect work/play smartphone.” Android Central showered the phone with praise, declaring, “I think BlackBerry’s attention to user security and privacy is something that adds plenty of value and makes the DTEK60 stand out from other good phones at the price point. Especially when it comes without any drawbacks to using it.”