There is a Blackberry device out there, fully functional and running the BlackBerry OS, among us today, no doubt. Chinese company Zinwa Technologies, however, is reviving a famed, old BlackBerry device and equipping it with Android OS. The chosen device is the BlackBerry Classic Q20. This new BlackBerry Classic Android is being marketed as the Zinwa Q25 Pro.
BlackBerry phones were everywhere in their time. In movies, adverts, construction sites, and on the hands of the who’s who in society. But then they phased out. Zinwa Technologies is heeding the call of the many who still want an actual keyboard smartphone.
The BlackBerry Classic Q20 as the Zinwa Q25 Pro
Zinwa Technologies plans to equip the BlackBerry Classic Q20 with a new main board, as reported by Android Authority and name it the Zinwa Q25 Pro. Images from the company, see below, show the device will come with a MediaTek Helio G99 chipset that will support all bands 4G LTE, VoLTE. It will pack 12GB of RAM for a full Android experience, and a maximum storage of 256 GB.
On top of that, the device will come with a 50 MP camera on the back and an 8MP selfie camera. But one thing from the BlackBerry Classic Q20 that may remain is the display resolution. The company has said nothing about that, but it does look like it will be retaining the old 720 by 720 resolutions. We know nothing about the sensor capabilities for both cameras too, but they should be decent for a $450 smartphone.
Here is that image from the company showing the BlackBerry Classic Android Q25 Pro as the name for the device. Of course, the BlackBerry-esque features are written all over it.
How will these new revamped BlackBerry fare with battery life?
BlackBerry smartphones of old were notorious for their poor batteries. Zinwa says the new model will feature an almost 15% increase in size, packing a 3,000 mAh battery, with USB Type C, charging at an unspecified wattage.
A hands-on video below from the company that we cued from Android Authority tells us more. It shows a functional BlackBerry Classic Android Q20 running Android 13, according to them. Not the newest, no doubt, but see the light here? Android 13 may be old but there are a couple of Android phones out there running an even older Android software. When the device ships however, it is likely to come pre-installed with Android 15.
This might also not be a one-off project. According to Zinwa, interest in the device will determine how much support they can pull for it. It will also determine if they will take on other BlackBerry devices like the BlackBerry Passport and KeyOne. The Q25 will come in 2 editions, the Q25 Basic and the Q25 Pro, priced at $450, which you can order from the company.
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