BlackBerry Passport’s Legacy Lives On as Retro Revival Plans Stir Nostalgia

If there’s one thing about smartphone enthusiasts, it’s their unshakeable bond with iconic devices of the past. One handset that keeps resurfacing in tech circles is the BlackBerry Passport — a device that turned heads back in 2014 with its bold, unconventional design. Known for its square 4.5-inch 1440 x 1440 resolution display and hybrid physical-virtual keyboard, the Passport was marketed under the slogan “Work Wide,” a nod to its wide screen that promised enhanced productivity.

BlackBerry’s ads from that era highlighted the benefits of a broader display, like one commercial where a doctor viewed a patient’s entire X-ray at once, outperforming a colleague on a narrower-screened rival device. It was a smart pitch, though not enough to reverse BlackBerry’s commercial decline. The Passport ran on a Snapdragon 801 chip with BlackBerry 10 OS, despite industry buzz about a potential Android version — which never came to be.

While praised for its impressive battery life and quick performance, earning a 7.5/10 in reviews, the Passport couldn’t secure the mainstream traction BlackBerry desperately needed. However, its unique form factor inspired others. In 2019, Unihertz launched the Titan, a rugged Android-powered Passport clone, featuring a similar square display, hybrid keyboard, and a hefty 6000mAh battery, running initially on Android 9 with an update to Android 10.

Now, fresh hope for fans of the classic BlackBerry aesthetic is coming from Chinese brand Zinwa Technologies. The company plans to revive several beloved BlackBerry models — starting with the BlackBerry Q20 (aka the Classic) — but with modern internals while preserving the signature design. Dubbed the Zinwa Q25, it’ll keep the original 720 x 720 display and physical keyboard, while swapping out aging components like the Snapdragon S4 for a MediaTek Helio99 processor, boosting RAM to 12GB and storage to 256GB, and adding a 50MP main camera. The device will support all global 4G LTE bands and run on Android, keeping the soul of the old with the heart of the new.