After its Android revival didn’t work out so well, many thought BlackBerry was gone for good, but a new project breathes new life into old hardware by replacing the internals and installing a new version of Android.
If you’ve ever wished you could take an old phone and bring it back to life with updated specs, that’s exactly what “Zinwa” is doing with old BlackBerry devices. The company is starting with a revival of the BlackBerry Classic from 2014, using the shell of the old device along with its screen and physical keyboard. But the device will get a new set of internals including the MediaTek Helio G99 chip, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, a bigger 3,000 mAh battery, as well as new cameras – a 50MP rear-facing sensor and an 8MP front-facing sensor. It also gets USB-C, NFC, an updated modem, and runs Android 13 out of the box. Software updates are planned, though no major Android updates are coming right now.
Buying the “Q25” kit to revive your own BlackBerry Classic costs $300, while you can get a fully ready device for $400. Both options start shipping in August.
The project was first spotlighted in an interview with YouTube channel Returning Retro, and was also highlighted by WinFuture and others.
Beyond the BlackBerry Classic, the company also has plans to revive the BlackBerry Passport (also released in 2014) and the BlackBerry KeyOne, the 2017 device that initially tried to revive the QWERTY form factor with the help of Android.
There are some obvious privacy concerns around getting a device from a relatively unknown brand that is making minimal promises about future updates, but the idea is, at bare minimum, pretty fun. For those who spent years on a BlackBerry, this is a welcome revival, especially as the real BlackBerry reboot officially threw in the towel about five years ago.
Would you buy one?
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