Review: BlackBerry Motion

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

I like that the BlackBerry Motion is built for real world situations. It doesn't need to be babied, you can get by without case. This is such a refreshing departure from the current slew of ultra-expensive, super delicate glass flagship smartphones which cost over a thousand dollars to buy and hundreds of dollars to ensure and repair.

TCL has followed up on the impressive BlackBerry KEYOne QWERTY-keyboard enabled Android smartphone with a larger-equally impressive touchscreen device called the BlackBerry Motion.

Originally codenamed 'Krypton,' because it brings scratchproof glass, is also the first BlackBerry to offer IP67 water resistance and offers unparalleled privacy and security out of the box, BlackBerry Motion is an impressive piece of work. 

I think of it as the natural sucessor to devices like the Z10 or the Z30 but running modern hardware and with access to all the benefits of the Android ecosystem but laced with BlackBerry's secure features.

What surprises me most about the BlackBerry Motion is how it brings back a lot of the elements that made classic BlackBerry devices so sought after. Granted, there's no QUwERTY keyboard here, It does feature an intuitive and predictive keyboard that makes typing even  faster and with fewer errors.

A larger 5.5-inch 1080p HD display, dual microphones, SnapDragon 625 processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of onboard storage and a whopping 4,000 mAh battery that's rated for 32 hours of use between charges. BlackBerry Motion also features USB Type-C and QuickCharge 3.0 capability which ensures hours of battery in minutes. They thought of everything.

The camera department is similarly stacked. It features the same amazing 12 megapixel front camera as the BlackBerry KEYOne (which is the same as the Google Pixel). An 8 megapixel front-facing camer ensures sweet selfies.

 Credit has to be given to BlackBerry Mobile and to TCL for making it possible to recreate the quality BlackBerry design and construction of devices like the KEYOne and the Motion. 

Design is premium, with a brushed metal frame, a delightfull glass weave material mimics carbon fibre but without the schintzy shiny finish. Everything about the BlackBerry Motion is built around productivity. It has a home button with an inlaid BlackBerry logo. This also serves as a fingerprint sensor. 

The Convenience Key, a corrugated programmable button, makes it possible to add your most used app within quick reach. I linked it to Google Assistant, just for kicks.

A Showcase of BlackBerry hardware and software would not be complete without the requisite apps like DTEK security, the BlackBerry Hub as well as a new as a new Privacy Shade which limits the amount of information shown on the screen (you can ge a window blind or a small loupe to drag around on your display).

You can also take private photos with your fingerprint and store them in the BlackBerry Motion's Locker which can be used to securely store photos, videos and any file on the device and which can only be accessed via fingerprint.

Using the BlackBerry Motion proved it was comparable in peformance to more expensive Android flagships, and yet it felt both more premium in build and tougher than any existing device sold in Canada. 

I've seen other reviewers take a knife to the BlackBerry Motion's DragonTrail glass without leaving a mark, I've seen them dump the smartphone in water, one guy even chucked it into a toilet (eww, gross!) and flushed and the BlackBerry Motion continued to work, no problem.

I like that the BlackBerry Motion is built for real world situations. It doesn't need to be babied, you can get by without case. This is such a refreshing departure from the current slew of ultra-expensive, super delicate glass flagship smartphones which cost over a thousand dollars to buy and hundreds of dollars to ensure and repair.

Design and build is purposeful and well thought-out and serves as a great vessel for the Android experience bolstered by BlackBerry's proud heritage of privacy and security. My only quibble with the BlackBerry Motion's design is that all the buttons are on the right hand side and sort of closely layed out so its easy to press the wrong button or trigger the convenience key if you're not careful.

I've not tested the camera as extensively as I would have liked to. It seems to be just as good as the KEYOne in most conditions and seems a bit quicker from shot to shot. I would say photo quality is average and comparable to most mid-tier Android smartphones. 

Battery life as well as the QuickCharge 3.0 functionality make the BlackBerry Motion a workhorse smartphone that can weather the longest wordays and nights. This smartphone has so many unique features that we can only hope can become standard, not just on furture BlackBerry Mobile devices but on all smartphones as well.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5