Hands-on: The BlackBerry DTEK60 reviewed

Can the new BlackBerry DTEK60 make up for the disappointment of the DTEK50?

When BlackBerry launched the DTEK50 in July it marked a decisive shift from the iconic smartphone maker away from designing its own devices from top-to-bottom, as well as the adoption, lock, stock and barrel, of Google's Android operating system.

When we reviewed the device, though, we were disappointed: a rebadged and tarted-up Alcatel Idol4, with added security sauce, but almost £100 more expensive.

This month, though, BlackBerry followed-up (as promised) with the bigger, beefier DTEK60.

According to BlackBerry, the DTEK60 is the "world's most secure" Android smartphone - although that's what they said about the DTEK50 just three months ago.

While the previous model suffered due to the fact that it was, basically, based on a low-end device with the specs to match, the BlackBerry DTEK60 at least looks to right those shortcomings.

Ahead of our review proper, here's our first impressions of BlackBerry's latest Android-shaped assault.

Design
It's a badly-kept secret that the BlackBerry DTEK60 is based on the Alcatel-built TCL 950, with BlackBerry announcing earlier last month that it's no longer building its own hardware and instead letting someone else do the hard work.

Both of the DTEK models released this year at least maintain some form of uniformity, and it's certainly not a bad design either.

The BlackBerry DTEK60 sports a premium glass and aluminium frame (where the previous model perhaps relied on plastic just a bit too much), in a mash of black, silver and grey. The darker aluminium bezels contrast nicely with the glass rear where a single, lone reminder of the BlackBerry brand lives.

After carting around Google's supersized Pixel XL for the past few weeks, the mere 3g weight difference isn't at all noticeable. The BlackBerry DTEK60 rocks a similarly-sized 5.5in display that would cause us to label it as lumbering and imposing if it wasn't for its thinness.

At just 6.9mm thick, it surpasses the DTEK50 as BlackBerry's "thinnest smartphone ever", yet in hand it still feels a little ungainly. This is especially true when reaching for the minuscule fingerprint reader found on the rear. It really is quite dinky, and looks all the more silly when there's a honking great camera protrusion above. That thing sticks out a ton, but that's the price we're paying for this new 21MP sensor.

The power button has been relegated to the left of the device, while the programmable 'Convenience Button' is still a thing, and lives below the volume controls on the right.

Thankfully, the dual front and rear speakers make a welcome return, and we're pleased that BlackBerry is obviously paying attention to this often overlooked aspect. Audio output is again controlled by JBL's Waves MaxxAudio - we'd recommend turning off the 'Auto select' mode, and tweaking the settings in order to get the best results.

Next page: Hardware, display and cameras

Hands-on: The BlackBerry DTEK60 reviewed

Can the new BlackBerry DTEK60 make up for the disappointment of the DTEK50?

Hardware
Gone is the spluttering, underpowered microprocessor of the DTEK50, and in comes Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820. This is a quad-core model with cores running at 2.15GHz and 1.6GHz. It's backed with 4GB of RAM.

Display The reference TCL model that the DTEK60 was built on scrimped on the display front with an unspectacular FHD resolution, but BlackBerry wisely upgraded to an 2560x1440 QHD panel.

The 5.5in AMOLED display is pleasantly bright, and plenty sharp at 534ppi, which BlackBerry felt compelled to boast is four times the number of pixels per inch seen on a standard HDTV. We must also heap praise on the curved glass layer that covers the display, with this slight tapering helping to set it apart from the hordes of plain Androids otherwise clamouring for our attention.

It's supposed to be "scratch and smudge resistant" too, but even with limited use our fingerprints were beginning to leave their mark.

Cameras
The rear-mounted 21MP camera is built around a Sony IMX230 sensor, the f/2.0 aperture is perfunctory, but Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) and dual-tone LED flash are both nice additions. It impresses in its speed too - the time it took to switch into shooting mode and fire that shutter was almost instant.

There's more than enough features to satisfy the casual photographer, including built-in filters, and a useful HDR mode. In addition, a manual mode offers white balance, shutter speed, ISO sensitivity, and exposure compensation for greater control.

Next page: Software, battery and price

Hands-on: The BlackBerry DTEK60 reviewed

Can the new BlackBerry DTEK60 make up for the disappointment of the DTEK50?

Software
That the BlackBerry DTEK60 opts for Android 6.0 Marshmallow and didn't wait for Nougat smells of a missed opportunity. Still, at this stage of the game, Marshmallow is at least a known quantity, and delivers a solid software experience.

Again, we're perplexed why BlackBerry chose not to include its quite brilliant Hub on the home screen(s) by default. It does a good job of combining email accounts, text messages, phone calls, calendars, BBM messages and social media accounts.

The Productivity Tab makes a welcome return, and easily accessed with a single swipe from the Home screen. As does the BlackBerry Intelligent Keyboard, which may just be our favourite input method outside of Swiftkey.

We're maintaining our stance on the DTEK app itself - do we really need a visual reminder that our phone is safe and secure?

Elsewhere select apps offer pop-up widgets that afford you a cheeky peek within - without ever having to launch the app proper. See, this is the kind of innovation we welcome, BlackBerry. It could genuinely save us time, and is useful to boot.

Alongside BlackBerry's other currently supported handsets, the DTEK60 will also benefit from a regular update cycle. If you've ever used a Google Nexus device (or got your hands on the new Pixel) you'll already be familiar with this practice.

Storage
Of the base 32GB storage, 9.23GB of that is taken up by BlackBerry's own software. But there's support for as much as 2TB in storage via microSD, which should be enough for anyone for the lifetime of the device.

Battery
We're told the 3,000mAh battery will keep the device going for a full 24 hours (proper all-day use then). With the Galaxy S7 matching the DTEK60's capacity we'll be keen to compare. Qualcomm's Quick Charging 3.0 technology will help matters too.

Price
The BlackBerry DTEK60 is available direct from BlackBerry, priced at £475 SIM-free.

First impressions If you liked the idea of the DTEK50 but pined for better hardware, then BlackBerry appears to have answered your prayers. BlackBerry's hard line on security is still there, but the DTEK60 (unlike the DTEK50) can be recommended on its raw specs alone.

Computing will be subjecting the DTEK60 to a full review shortly - subscribe to our daily newsletter to be kept fully informed.