Blackberry Evolve Phones Focus On Just One Thing – Security!

BlackBerry Evolve and Evolve X first impressions: Heavy on security, but not too heavy on anything else.

Once a headline maker in the Indian smartphone market, BlackBerry (BB) is now a mere shadow of what it was a couple of years ago. To revive its long lost glory the Canadian smartphone maker in collaboration with an Indian telecommunications company called Optiemus has launched two new Android smartphones in India dubbed Evolve and Evolve X.

Both the Evolve and Evolve X have been “priced very aggressively” as the company says at Rs 24,990 and Rs 34,990.

We got the phones for a few minutes (that’s all the time they were available for) and here are our first impressions of the newly launched BlackBerry duo.

BlackBerry Evolve X Specifications

• Display: 5.99-inch FHD+
• Gorilla glass 5
• Processor: Snapdragon 660 octa-core
• RAM: 6GB
• Storage: 64GB (expandable)
• Rear camera: 12MP+13MP (f/1.8+f/2.6)
• Front camera: 16MP
• Battery: 4,000mAh (Quick Charge), wireless charging
• Price: Rs 34,990

BlackBerry Evolve Specifications

• Display: 5.99-inch FHD+
• Gorilla glass 5
• Processor: Snapdragon 450 octa-core
• RAM: 4GB
• Storage: 64GB (expandable)
• Rear camera: 13MP+13MP (f/1.8+f/2.6)
• Front camera: 16MP
• Battery: 4,000mAh
• Price: Rs 24,990
  

Design & Display

So the full-screen display makes a comeback to a BB smartphone and I surely am very excited! Can’t say the same about the BB fanboys as they are always a bit emotional about the physical QWERTY keypad. Thanks to the oleophobic screen, the touch is indeed a bit smoother.

Though BB is really thumping its chest about the design, I think it’s more on the average side. The rubber texture on both the phones doesn’t feel premium this time around although it does help with the grip.

Both phones come with a 5.99-inch full HD+ LTPS display. I did get a chance to use them under direct sunlight and had no complaints whatsoever. I personally am happy that the phone doesn’t come with a notch (phew!).

Performance & Hardware

Let’s first address the BlackBerry in the room. Both Evolve and Evolve X come with very average processors like the Snapdragon 450 (Evolve) and the Snapdragon 660 (Evolve X). This kind of hardware might perform well, but still doesn’t look good on paper and will always work against the customer who can get a phone with a much more powerful processor at half the price.

BB has drawn a lot for flack for the mediocre specs, but I do not want to comment any further as I didn’t get a change to experience the device extensively. Clearly these phones are not equipped to play PUBG on.

Some positive aspects that are worth mentioning are that both phones offer a near stock Android experience and also are fortresses in terms of security. The phones comes bundled with security features like Password Keeper, Privacy Shade and Hide & Rename Apps which we have already seen in the previous iterations from the company.

Oh, and both come with a face-unlock feature too!

Camera & Battery

The BB Evolve comes with a 13+13-megapixel shooter on the front with a 16-megapixel selfie camera with wide angle mode.

The Evolve X comes with a 12+13-megapixel rear camera setup and the same 16-megapixel snapper on the front.

I cannot comment on the camera performance or the interface as there wasn’t a camera app available on the demo units given to me. Somebody in Blackberry forgot to install it, I suppose. Or perhaps they were so focused on security, that they deleted the camera app. #thesethingshappen

BB has been very generous when it comes to battery life as both these phones come with 4,000mAh batteries that support fast charging. The bonus here is that the Evolve X offers wireless charging, which is a big incentive.

Initial Verdict

These two smartphones may be good upgrades over the BlackBerry Priv or even the DTEK 60 in terms of full-screen BB phones, but I feel there’s still a lot of ‘evolving’ that BB phones have to go through if they have to compete with bigger players.

At Rs 34,990, the Evolve X is in OnePlus 6 territory and there are many other brands vying for a top spot in that segment. OnePlus is the current leader. Even the Evolve at Rs 24,990 has a target painted on it, with Oppo and Vivo rolling out the ammunition.

I feel that BB is going to have a tough time selling these two phones for two reasons. One, their average processors. And two, getting into a highly competitive price segment where there are many more choices.