We’re on the cusp of a BlackBerry renaissance, but be wary of dupes

A Chinese company called Zinwa Technologies is gearing up to launch an all-new smartphone it calls the Zinwa Q25, but the product’s DNA isn’t wholly original. Rather than being a from-the-ground-up handset, the Q25 is actually a rejuvenated BlackBerry Classic (also known as the Q20) from 2014.

While retaining many of the external chassis components and design elements of BlackBerry’s keyboard-toting 2014 flagship, Zinwa is gutting the internals in favor of more modern tech. Specifically, the updated Q25 is set to ship with a MediaTek Helio G99 chipset, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage, a 3,000mAh battery, a 50-megapixel rear-facing camera, and an 8-megapixel selfie shooter.

Other modernized components within the Q25 include USB-C connectivity, 4G LTE radio bands, NFC for mobile payments, and Android 13 out of the box. The phone will retain the original BlackBerry Classic’s capacitive 720 x 720 display panel, which supports multitouch. According to a recent interview with Returning Retro on YouTube, an updated trackpad unit will be built into the Q25, which is designed to work much like it did in the days of the original Q20.

Zinwa says its Q25 is expected to ship in early August, with the product currently available for purchase on its official storefront. The device is listed at $420, with a separate $320 Q25 Pro set also available for those interested in manually converting a BlackBerry Classic into a Zinwa Q25 at home. The company has also confirmed plans to retrofit modern phone components into BlackBerry Passport and BlackBerry KeyOne models in the future, though no dates or prices have been confirmed as yet.

Proceed with caution

Certain BlackBerry revival initiatives are actually just scams

While Zinwa Technologies’ BlackBerry Classic revival is a legitimate endeavor, the same can’t be said for some of the other neo-BlackBerry schemes making the rounds online. Capitalizing on the deep-seated sense of nostalgia for physical phone keyboards emblematic of late Millennials and early Zoomers, some bad actors have begun setting up scam QWERTY revival movements.

As pointed out by Kevin Michaluk — founder of CrackBerry.com, co-founder of Clicks, and frontliner of the ongoing Bring Back BlackBerry movement — on X, phishers masquerading as BlackBerry revivalists are circulating the internet, and they have their eyes set on your sixteen-digit credit card number.

It goes without saying that it’s important to verify the legitimacy of online storefronts and product offerings before entering payment details online. The advent of AI-generated content, the broad reach of the internet, and the very real desire to see the once-titanic BlackBerry return to relevancy are a collective breeding ground for potential scam artists to revel in.

Michaluk argues that the official Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry Limited ought to license the brand name to him in order to push back against such scam product offerings. The Bring Back Blackberry movement appears to be gaining steam, and I certainly want to believe that a full-blown BlackBerry brand renaissance is about to take hold. If nothing else, I’d personally love to see a Clicks and BlackBerry collaboration take place in the near future, as I think there’s a very real appeal to retro-futuristic consumer tech products in today’s market.