New leaks about the Android-based slider smartphone from BlackBerry have appeared online.
Dubbed as the BlackBerry Venice, its images revealed that it will have a physical keyboard below its touch screen display.
The images of the upcoming device were posted by popular leaker Evan Blass, also known by his Twitter followers as evleaks.
Based on the images, the device will sport a QWERTY-style keyboard that slides out from the bottom portion of the handset.
As noted by NDTV, although the device will come with a touch-based screen, BlackBerry will also add a physical keyboard to offer users an alternative way to interact with the smartphone.
The onscreen keyboard can still be used to type text messages and take down notes. The physical keyboard, on the other hand, is meant for heavy usage such as constructing long emails.
As for the other features of the device, it has been rumored that it will come with a 5.4-inch Quad HD display with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels. Also, as shown in the leaked images, its screen will have a dual-edge design, similar to the one on Samsung's Galaxy S6 Edge device.
The BlackBerry Venice is expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 808 processor from Qualcomm and will pack 3GB of RAM. It might also come with an 18-megapixel main camera paired with a 5-megapixel front snapper.
Running on the Android operating system, the upcoming device from BlackBerry will also feature Google's services, which means future users can expect to get basic apps and access to the Play Store through the device, according to Android Police.
However, it is not yet clear which version of the Android the device's operating system will be based on. It could either run on the Lollipop or the Android M, which recently has been revealed as the Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
But according to a spokesperson from BlackBerry, the company is still focused on its own BlackBerry 10 operating system. However, the representative did not confirm if this will be the firmware platform of the upcoming BlackBerry Venice.
"We don't comment on rumors and speculation, but we remain committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which provides security and productivity benefits that are unmatched," the spokesperson told CNET.
As for its launch, it has been rumored that BlackBerry will unveilthe Venice sometime in October. It will hit the U.S. market through the major network carriers AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile.
