If you’re looking for a modern BlackBerry-style phone, this is the one to beat

BlackBerry revivalist phones have been appearing in various forms over the last few years, but the Unihertz Titan 2 Elite is the most credible option yet. The small-scale Chinese boutique-of-sorts Unihertz has spent years refining its formula to balance modern Android capabilities with legacy tactile hardware. In 2026, it’s finally landed on a device that makes the most of its own identity.

The naming convention here is admittedly a little confusing. Last year’s Titan 2 was a rugged, wide-format device clearly inspired by the BlackBerry Passport—it was, in every sense, “titanic.” But this new Elite successor isn’t a turbo-charged version of that phone; it’s a completely different animal. It ditches the ultra-wide, ruggedized footprint for a much smaller design that feels like a spiritual successor to the BlackBerry Q10.

A departure

The Elite 2’s industrial design is a departure from Unihertz’s recent “brick” aesthetic. This isn’t a rugged phone, and it feels better for it. That said, I would personally avoid the iPhone 17 Pro-inspired orange model, which seems unlikely to age too well; the black model is much more in keeping with the BlackBerry heritage. 

At 10.6 millimeters thick, the Elite 2 is substantial by modern standards, but that’s still only about as thick as a classic BlackBerry; the compact footprint (just 117.8 millimeters tall) also keeps it from feeling overbearing in a pocket. Unlike the Titan 2, there’s virtually no bezel above the display. 

The superfluous secondary screen found on the back of the original Titan 2 has also been removed, helping to achieve a cleaner, more focused look. And the front of the phone is split between the screen and the keyboard, with virtually no wasted space anywhere else. 

The display is a 4.03-inch 120-hertz OLED panel, which gives a significant step up in saturation and contrast from the LCDs that Unihertz has used in the past, though the squarish aspect ratio means video content and social media scrolling aren’t quite its strong suit. The panel also exhibits significant color shifting when viewed at an off-angle, betraying its budget nature.

The keyboard, however, is excellent. It’s smaller than the one on the Titan 2, but the tactile response feels far more consistent and satisfying. It uses a four-row layout with more even backlighting and capacitive touch support, allowing you to scroll through content simply by swiping your thumb up and down the physical keys. The software integration is quite deep; you can program a long-press on “T” to open TikTok or “X” for X, for example, and there’s a dedicated “Action Button” on the side of the phone that allows for further customization.

One of the smartest changes is the layout. Unihertz moved the standard Android navigation keys to the bottom row alongside the space bar. This setup is more like the 2013 BlackBerry Q10 than the classic earlier devices, and it feels much more intuitive for a modern Android phone that doesn’t need the dedicated physical call/hang-up buttons of the 2010s.

I’ve been using the Standard model of the Titan Elite 2, which features a MediaTek Dimensity 7400 chip; there will also be a Pro version later in the year with a Dimensity 8400 chip. Personally, I’ve found the 7400 to be more than adequate for the kind of tasks I’d want to use a phone like this for. Both models also come with 12 gigabytes of RAM, which is plenty for the typical use cases.

The 4,050-milliampere-hour (mAh) battery has reasonable endurance, but I did notice fairly aggressive standby drain when the phone wasn’t in use. There’s also no wireless charging, though you can power the phone over a cable at up to 33 watts.

The software

On the software side, the Titan Elite 2 runs a very clean version of Android 16. Unihertz claims it will provide five years of updates, which is a strong commitment for a niche brand but perhaps not something you should treat as a surefire promise.

This is still a $400 phone from a smaller manufacturer, and it has the quirks to prove it. There is a generic “NFC” logo emblazoned on the camera bump that feels entirely unnecessary, and the camera system itself won’t be winning any awards for tasteful processing or low-light performance. The software is also extremely bare-bones, which will appeal to some Android purists, but falls some way short of the sleek, native software found on most true BlackBerry handsets. 

But I do think Unihertz has finally nailed the form factor with the Titan Elite 2. It’s a fun, intentional device that doesn’t try to be everything to everyone, and I think it will be more appealing to most people who are interested in this sort of thing in the first place. It’s accessible where its predecessor was aggressive.

At this point, Unihertz has more experience building physical keyboard phones than almost anyone else left in the industry, and it shows; the Titan Elite 2 is by far its best phone to date. It comes at a time when the market is getting a little more crowded with upstart competition like the Clicks Communicator. For now, though, if you’re looking for a modern BlackBerry-style phone, this is the one to beat.

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