Blackberry Evolve and Evolve X First Impressions: Ultimate Security and nothing more?

BlackBerry introduced two new smartphones exclusively for the Indian market, the BlackBerry Evolve an Evolve X. Unlike the rest of the BlackBerry, the newly announced smartphones focus of a broader group of people by offering full touch-screen display instead of a physical keyboard. With this, the smartphone manufacturer is trying to attract an even larger group of people.

BlackBerry Evolve

The BlackBerry Evolve is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 SoC coupled with Adreno 506. The smartphone sports 4GB RAM along with 64GB storage. It runs on Android 8.1 Oreo with all the BlackBerry security features on the top including their DTEK suite and power and ram management tools. The company promises to provide instant updates for the operating system as and when they are made available. All of this is backed up by a 4,000mAh battery which the company claims will last more than 2 days. The smartphones also come with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 technology for fast charging.

On the optics front, the Evolve bears a 13-megapixel dual-camera setup at the back with f/2.2 aperture. One of the lenses is an RGB sensor while the other one is a monochrome sensor. Up front, there is a 16-megapixel selfie shooter.

Design

The Blackberry Evolve features quite a unique design. The smartphone sports 5.99-inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio, still it has a lot of bezels on the top and the bottom. There is the BlackBerry branding at the bottom of the display, a signature look. The back sports the same rubber back which we have seen in the rest of the Blackberry smartphones in the recent times. What's interesting is that the smartphone sports wireless charging even after sporting a rubber back. The rear camera unit and the fingerprint sensor is squarish in shape which gives the smartphone a boxy look.

Overall, the design on the BlackBerry Evolve looks every industrialist and may appeal to some and may not to others. The smartphones these days are designed to look flamboyant, however, the Evolve still goes backs to the roots and looks more purposeful. Like the rubber back increases grip and doesn't need a case to protect it unlike the glass sandwiches of modern days.

Camera

The BlackBerry Evolve sports a 13-megapixel dual-camera setup at the back with f/2.2 aperture. One of the lenses is an RGB sensor while the other one is a monochrome sensor. Up front, there is a 16-megapixel selfie shooter.

The colours on the Evolve's camera are a little bright. The contrast is great and so is the white balance. The Evolve also features a bokeh mode on both the front as well as the rear camera. The bokeh mode works amazing, however, the background blurring is too much for my taste. The story is the same for the front camera, apart from the fact, that the colours are a little more accurate on the front camera.

Evolve X

The BlackBerry Evolve X is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC coupled with Adreno 512. The smartphone sports 6GB RAM along with 64GB storage. The smartphone runs on Android 8.1 Oreo with all the BlackBerry security features on the top including their DTEK suite and power and ram management tools. The company promises to provide instant updates for the operating system as and when they are made available. All of this is backed up by a 4,000mAh battery which the company claims will last more than 2 days. The smartphones also come with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 technology for fast charging.

On the optics front, the Evolve bears a 12-megapixel + 13-megapixel telephoto dual-camera setup at the back with f/1.8 and f/2.6 aperture respectively. Up front, there is a 16-megapixel selfie shooter.

Design

The Blackberry Evolve X features quite a unique design similar to its cheaper sibling, the Evolve. The smartphone sports 5.99-inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio, still it has a lot of bezels on the top and the bottom. There is the BlackBerry branding at the bottom of the display, a signature look. The back sports the same rubber back which we have seen in the rest of the Blackberry smartphones in the recent times. What's interesting is that the smartphone sports wireless charging even after sporting a rubber back. All of this is the same as the Blackberry Evolve. The differences arrive at the back with the rear camera unit and the fingerprint sensor is rounded in shape which gives the smartphone a modern sleek look.

Overall, the design on the BlackBerry Evolve X looks every industrialist combined with a classiness. The final design verdict on the Evolve X is the same as its younger sibling.

Camera

The BlackBerry Evolve X sports a 13-megapixel + 12megapixel telephoto dual-camera setup at the back with f/1.8 and f/2.6 aperture respectively. Up front, there is a 16-megapixel selfie shooter.

Sadly, the Evolve X units present at the launch event were prototypes and didn't have the camera app installed onto them. So we couldn't test out the camera.

Conclusion

The BlackBerry Evolve costs Rs. 24,990 while the Evolve X is priced at Rs 34,990 and both the devices are Amazon Exclusive. Given the specifications and the security features of the smartphones, I personally think that the smartphones are a bit expensive. However, if you are in desperate need of ultimate security on your phone, then these smartphones are for you. If you don't care for the great security features these smartphones offer, we suggest you ignore them.