BlackBerry KEY2 Lite: Blackberry’s budget QWERTY handset to debut at IFA 2018

Blackberry has been working on a budget version of its KEY2 smartphone, it has been revealed. The handset will debut under KEY2 LE branding, with the “LE” standing for “Lite Edition”.

Internally, the handset is reportedly being dubbed the BlackBerry Luna, a name which rolls of the tongue a tad more delicately than the slightly awkward “KEY2 Lite”. However, what the device is marketed as remains yet to be seen.

READ NEXT: BlackBerry KEY2 full review

Here we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about the budget instalment of the BlackBerry KEY2, including design, specs, price and release date. Read on to discover more about the upcoming BlackBerry KEY2 Lite.

BlackBerry KEY2 Lite: Release date and price

The BlackBerry KEY2 Lite is expected to debut at IFA 2018, which runs from 31 August to 5 September. That means there’s less than a month to go until the Blackberry KEY2 Lite is unveiled.

Meanwhile, those who can’t wait that long were recently spoiled by renowned leaker Evan Blass, who tweeted a purported picture of the BlackBerry KEY2 Lite. “Alleged BlackBerry Luna, a.k.a. the “KEY2 Lite” (Lite and not Mini ‘cuz they supposedly have the same form factor). Said/shown to come in red, blue, and copper),” explained Blass.

As for how much the budget smartphone will cost, there’s no concrete information. We can, however, use the price of the current BlackBerry KEY2 as a springboard for speculation.

Buy now from Amazon 

At £579 SIM-free, the BlackBerry KEY2 isn’t cheap, and this this goes some way to explaining why the firm is manufacturing a budget version. As such, we anticipate a notable price drop. Ideally, we’d like to see it retail for under the £350 mark, making it a high-performing, higher-end budget smartphone. If that’s not too much of an oxymoron.

Blackberry KEY2 Lite design: What will it look like?

Word on the street is that the BlackBerry KEY2 Lite won’t look too dissimilar from its full-spec older brother, the BlackBerry KEY2. That means a sleek, elongated frame complete with QWERTY keyboard for ultimate ease of use.

What’s more, as Evan Blass’s leak suggests, the BlackBerry KEY2 Lite may debut in the colours red, blue and copper, making a refreshing change from a lot of the rose gold fare we’ve seen in recent years.

READ NEXT: Best smartphones 2018: The best phones you can buy in the UK

So if it looks similar, how will the BlackBerry KEY2 Lite differ from the original KEY2? For one thing, it’ll sport a cheaper frame, despite reportedly having the same dimensions as the KEY2.

Blackberry KEY2 Lite specifications: What’s inside?

This is how the KEY2 gets its “Lite” moniker. Nothing concrete has been confirmed yet, but it’s highly likely that BlackBerry’s upcoming handset will have lower-end internals; we predict that the KEY2’s 6GB of RAM will be downgraded to less than 4GB.

Meanwhile, another opportunity to minimise costs comes with the chipset. Our bet? We reckon that BlackBerry will exchange the KEY2’s Snapdragon 660 CPU for the Snapdragon 440.

We will be updating this page as and when more information about the BlackBerry KEY2 Lite is unveiled, so be sure to check back in regularly.