BlackBerry's back, alright! Restomod handsets could bring BlackBerry into 2025

Welcome back to the 00s

Blackberry KEY2
(Image credit: BlackBerry)
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A company called Zinwa is bringing back old school BlackBerry's with modern day internals.

The first device to be revived is the BlackBerry Classic from 2014, which sticks with the same shell but runs on Android with MediaTek powering it.

There was a time when BlackBerry ruled the smartphone roost. Before the iPhone launched in 2007, BlackBerrys were the devices you would see in the hands of everyone from commuters to teens, all clicking away on the physical keyboards replying to emails or BBMs.

Unfortunately, the brand couldn't quite keep up though and touchscreen phones eventually took over making poor old BlackBerry redundant. There have been some attempts at resurrection over the years, the last of which came in the form of the BlackBerry Key2 LE that was released in 2018 as a successor to the BlackBerry KeyOne, both of which married the physical keyboard with Android software.

In 2020 though, BlackBerry announced it was done and by 31 August that year, sales of its Android phones were shut down. If you were one of those people disappointed by BlackBerry's fate, we might be about to make your day.

BlackBerry Classic "resto-modding" Update #2: Prototype demo, LTE bands, & project schedule. - YouTube BlackBerry Classic
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Old shell, new personality

As reported by 9to5Google, there's another revival of BlackBerry incoming. A company called Zinwa is starting with the BlackBerry Classic that launched over a decade ago in 2014 and using the shell but upgrading the internals. The screen will remain, as will the physical keyboard, but inside, there will be a MediaTek Helio G99 chip supported by 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a larger 3,000mAh battery.

The cameras are also being upgraded with a 50-megapixel rear sensor and an 8-megapixel front sensor. It will run Android 13 out of the box and it will include USB-C, an updated modem and NFC. It's been said Android updates are planned but no major ones are currently on offer.

The report also suggests that the company is also looking to do similar to the BlackBerry Passport that also launched in 2014, as well as the BlackBerry KeyOne.

It's not something we would recommend unless you really are after a taste of nostalgia but you can buy a fully revived BlackBerry Classic for $400 or a Q25 kit for $300 and both will be available from August.

Britta O'Boyle
Britta O'Boyle

Britta is a freelance technology journalist who has been writing about tech for over a decade. She's covered all consumer tech from phones, tablets and wearables to smart home and beauty tech, with everything in between. She has a fashion journalism degree from London College of Fashion and previously did a long stint as deputy editor of Pocket-lint, but you’ll now find her byline on several titles including GQ, the Express, the Mirror, TechRadar, Stuff and iMore. You'll never find her without her Apple Watch on, aiming to complete her rings so she can justify the extra bar of chocolate and she loves a good iPhone trick.

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