It appears BlackBerry may be trying to recapture its glory days. Chinese manufacturer TCL, which purchased the mobile hardware company in 2016, unveiled a prototype Thursday of the next BlackBerry device during the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. According to reports, the new device has reportedly been named (for now at least) the the Mercury.
The new smart phone is an attempt to revive the once-mighty company to compete with giants like Apple's iPhones and the Samsung Galaxy, reports CNET. The unveiling comes a little over a year after BlackBerry was rumored to begin transitioning out of the hardware business. TCL’s North American president Steve Cistulli said the Mercury is one of two BlackBerry devices that is expected to drop in 2017, with more to come in 2018.
"We need to bring confidence back in the handsets themselves," Cistulli said.
So what will the Mercury offer? Well, according to Engadget, the device runs Android Nougat with additional software—such as BlackBerry messenger and BlackBerry Hub—provided by BlackBerry. It also has a physical keyboard that doubles as a touchpad and a fingerprint sensor embedded the spacebar. Its rubber and metal exterior is also easy on the eyes.
Check out images of the prototype in the video above. It’s also important to note that “Mercury” is not the device’s official name; TCL is using it as a placeholder until a final decision is made.
