BlackBerry partner TCL's "Mercury" handset to have 4.6-inch 3:2 display, hardware keyboard

Some more detailed information has leaked on the first phone TCL is producing for BlackBerry with their signature keyboard. Images leaked by Roland Quandt of WinFuture seem to reveal that the new device, code-named "Mercury", will have a 4.6-inch, 1620 x 1080 resolution, 3:2 aspect ratio display, and run Android 7.0. He also claimed to "confirm" that the phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 625.

The 3:2 aspect ratio was likely chosen as it more closely resembles a sheet of paper in portrait mode, which business users will appreciate. With a hardware keyboard taking up the bottom of the device, it's certainly more suited to portrait than landscape-mode use. BlackBerry's likely target market will be businesses, hoping to leverage their software security suite—still one of the company's defining features.

The first real pictures of the Blackberry Mercury were leaked on Weibo in early December and later confirmed legitimate by TCL CEO John Chen. The leaked pictures closely resemble the (allegedly) more up-to-date render below, though the positions of the ambient light sensor and front camera have changed.

It's expected that more details, including possible additional models, will be released next week at CES 2017.