BlackBerry
A Blackberry smartphone is displayed in this illustrative picture taken in Bordeaux, Southwestern France, August 22, 2016. Reuters/Regis Duvignau

If latest reports are to be believed, BlackBerry Mercury will sport the same camera as Google Pixel and Pixel XL. The handset will be unveiled fully at the Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. TCL, the BlackBerry-branded devices maker, showcased the handset at the CES 2017 but since then has remained tight-lipped about its specs and features. The keyboard-clad flagship’s name may be changed upon final release though the company may also keep the name Mercury.

According to Tech Times, earlier reports have suggested that the BlackBerry Mercury will sport a 4.5-inch display with a screen resolution of 1,620 x 1,080 pixels. The screen may seem small compared to the large displays in today’s smartphones but this is primarily because of the QWERTY keyboard that will be attached to the handset. It will reportedly run on the Android 7.0 Nougat operating system and have 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. BlackBerry is solely focusing on software whereas TCL the manufacturing process.

TCL has released three phones under the BlackBerry branding, namely, the Priv, DTEK50, and DTEK60. None of the specs mentioned above have been confirmed by BlackBerry and should be taken with a pinch of salt. The one showcased at the CES 2017 was a preproduction unit. Thus, the final product may be completely different in terms of aesthetics as well as specs configuration. Much is being said about the BlackBerry Mercury sporting Google Pixel and Pixel XL’s camera.

Google Pixel phones currently sport Sony IMX378 sensors and according to experts, it’s the best camera on a smartphone. Rumours suggest that BlackBerry Mercury’s X-factor would be this same sensor fitted into the device’s primary camera. In that case, the primary camera could be of 12MP and would be capable of 4K recording. Of course, simply the sensor cannot deliver Pixel-like images and much will depend on the camera software that BlackBerry chooses to bring to the Mercury.

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