Next BlackBerry smartphone could be a re-branded Alcatel Idol 4

BlackBerry CEO John Chen hinted at two more mid-range smartphones some time ago codenamed "Rome" and "Hamburg" for a launch before the end of 2016. New rumors suggest that these devices may not be in-house developments as sources claim that BlackBerry will rebrand the Alcatel Idol 4 into BlackBerry phones.

Leaker Roland Quandt came to this conclusion by inspecting the model numbers of two new TCL smartphones discovered in the WiFi Alliance database. Interestingly, the nomenclature corresponds very well to the nomenclature used for BlackBerry smartphones. Additionally, leaks on GFXBench for the supposed Alcatel Idol 4 show nearly the same specifications as the WiFi Alliance datasheet save for a small processor change. The findings also correlate well with a rumor back in May claiming that BlackBerry may be cooperating with TCL. Chen has made it clear that BlackBerry would continue to design hardware in-house, but may not produce them directly.

If the rumors are proven to be true, then we can expect the BlackBerry "Hamburg" to carry the following specifications with an official announcement coming this July:

• 5.2-inch FHD display
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC
• 3 GB RAM
• 16 GB eMMC w/ MicroSD reader
• 13 MP rear + 8 MP front cameras
• 2610 mAh battery

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