A vision of what a modern BlackBerry might look like in 2017–2018 — a device that stays true to the brand’s character while embracing contemporary expectations
A concept smartphone exploring what BlackBerry could have become
spirit
BlackBerry Spirit is a study in brand character refined for a new era:
not a keyboard, but a design language.
Not an imitation, but a continuation
not a keyboard, but a design language.
Not an imitation, but a continuation
The device is built around a 5.5-inch display that appears truly borderless — not by hiding the necessary top and bottom areas, but by embracing them.
Manufacturing realities prevent displays from touching the very edge of the body: flex connectors, sensors, speakers and cameras inevitably create thicker top and bottom regions. Instead of disguising this, the design highlights these areas with precision-milled aluminum panels.
By framing the display as its own object — a plane floating between two machined surfaces — the concept achieves a stronger frameless perception than many bezeless phones of its time.
Manufacturing realities prevent displays from touching the very edge of the body: flex connectors, sensors, speakers and cameras inevitably create thicker top and bottom regions. Instead of disguising this, the design highlights these areas with precision-milled aluminum panels.
By framing the display as its own object — a plane floating between two machined surfaces — the concept achieves a stronger frameless perception than many bezeless phones of its time.
The aluminum elements wrap to the back, dividing a matte para-aramid surface and anchoring the camera, sensors and the BlackBerry emblem.
A knurled metal power button adds a subtle moment of tactility — a small detail that carries disproportionate character.
The resulting composition is calm, balanced and unmistakably BlackBerry:
a harmony of straight lines and soft surfaces, black materials paired with disciplined metal accents, proportions that feel intentional rather than decorative. A device with presence — not loud, not nostalgic — but mature, grounded and quietly confident.
A knurled metal power button adds a subtle moment of tactility — a small detail that carries disproportionate character.
The resulting composition is calm, balanced and unmistakably BlackBerry:
a harmony of straight lines and soft surfaces, black materials paired with disciplined metal accents, proportions that feel intentional rather than decorative. A device with presence — not loud, not nostalgic — but mature, grounded and quietly confident.
BlackBerry always existed
slightly outside that race
slightly outside that race
Respected for its character, its discipline, its tools for thinking rather than scrolling. Yet by that time the physical keyboard — once a symbol of the brand — no longer aligned with what a contemporary smartphone needed to be. And BlackBerry’s full-touch models, while competent, lacked the unmistakable spirit the brand was known for.
For years the smartphone market
drifted toward sameness
drifted toward sameness
Ultra-thin bodies, glass or metal sandwiches, escalating numbers of cameras, pixels and cores. A race that produced devices remarkably similar to one another — smooth black rectangles without identity or texture.
This concept reinterprets that spirit without leaning on nostalgia —
preserving the brand’s geometry, tactility and metal accents, while shaping a cleaner, more architectural silhouette
preserving the brand’s geometry, tactility and metal accents, while shaping a cleaner, more architectural silhouette
Blackberry Spirit · 2017
A smartphone exploring what BlackBerry could have become
A smartphone exploring what BlackBerry could have become
Concept designer: Albert Degin
3D visualization designer: Albert Degin
3D visualization designer: Albert Degin