BlackBerry DTEK60 Review

The 3-Minute Blackberry DTEK60 Review

Blackberry gets down to business

By Zach Riley | September 13, 2017

The Specifics:

Features & Design: 4/5 ● Performance: 4/5 ● Value: 4/5

The Best:

While Blackberry has always focused on business users, the Blackberry DTEK60 is a bit more consumer-oriented with solid performance, great battery life, and a camera capable of capturing 4K video.

The Bugs:

Fingerprint sensors that aren’t reliable are, at best, an annoyance and, at worst, can pose a serious security issue. The lack of waterproofing is disappointing while the otherwise great camera continues to struggle with low-light situations.

Is it for you?

The Blackberry DTEK60 puts business users first. It’s an excellent mobile phone for productivity, but it also has suitable (though not spectacular) specs for the average non-business user as well.

“While decent technical specs allow it to play double duty, it’s first and foremost a productivity tool.”

Meet the Blackberry DTEK60

Blackberry has gained a well-deserved reputation as one of the go-to phone companies for business users. With a focus on security and productivity, the DTEK60 still sports some decent tech specs that help it strike a balance between work and play.

While the phone is still best suited for business use, it has a distinct hardware advantage over previous Blackberry phones that gives it the capability to handle more demanding content like videos and games.

What we like

The design of the Blackberry DTEK60, while not groundbreaking, is beautiful and feels luxurious. It has the feel and appearance of a high-end phone, making sure that it looks good while still getting work done. With a powerful Snapdragon processor and 4GB of memory, the phone gives you respectable performance that handles most day-to-day tasks.

The DTEK60’s 21-megapixel camera that shoots 4k video is another selling point. Support for 4K is by no means a standard smartphone feature, so it’s a surprising, yet welcome, addition to Blackberry’s new phone.

As a phone designed with business in mind, it only makes sense that the battery life would be an important consideration. Rest assured that the DTEK60’s battery can comfortably survive over 14 hours of regular use.

What we don’t like

There are a few areas that are lacking with the Blackberry DTEK60. The unreliable fingerprint sensor is a major concern, which is surprising given that Blackberry advertises the DTEK60 as the most secure Android phone available. A sensor that locks you out of your own phone and that could potentially allow unauthorized access doesn’t sound very secure.

The other drawbacks are far more minor. Waterproofing hasn’t become an industry standard just yet, but more and more phones are adding it as a feature, so it’s disappointing to see it not included in the DTEK60. Many business professionals rely on their phones to work on the go. When a little water damage can ruin that, it detracts from the phone’s ability to act as a reliable work device.

Lastly, while the camera is top-notch, it struggles in low-light situations. With many high-end flagship phones now including technology focused on addressing this issue, it’s a frustrating omission that brings down an otherwise excellent camera.

Should you buy it?

Overall, we can recommend the Blackberry DTEK60 as a quality Android smartphone for business professionals. The phone is tailored towards business use rather than recreational use. While decent technical specs allow it to play double duty, it’s first and foremost a productivity tool.

About the Author / Zach Riley

Zach Riley is a tech author who's combined a love of gadgets with a love of writing.