Smartphone design is relatively simple to understand. There is a preference for sleek, minimalist designs over clunkier models. The touchscreen is a defining part of that design and it has been since early 2010. The use of touchscreens has become so commonplace that the idea of a physical keyboard is a strange one — but it's one that deserves a comeback.
The concept of bringing the keyboard back to modern smartphones isn’t new. Blackberry tried to make the idea work for most of its designs and even succeeded for a time pre-iPhone. Unfortunately, several decisions over the Blackberry’s lifespan made the phones less appealing. This led to the end of support for those devices in 2022.
