John used the Android 16 handset for a week and said its smaller 4.03-inch AMOLED screen and physical QWERTY keyboard made it the best keyboard phone he had used in a decade.
He praised one-handed use, solid build quality and smooth everyday performance from the MediaTek Dimensity 7400, but said vertical videos were cropped and the 50MP dual-camera system struggled in low light.
The BlackBerry Passport-inspired phone is on Kickstarter for $369 with an early-bird pledge, offering a niche alternative to mainstream slab phones despite weak photo and video results.
Can a smartphone with a superior physical keyboard justify its significantly weaker camera performance in today's market?
Are 2026's QWERTY phones a true productivity evolution or just a fleeting trend fueled by pure nostalgia?