The iPhone’s BlackBerry Moment

https://spyglass.org/iphone-ultra-blackberry-typing/

Publish Date: 2026-05-05 05:21:00

I’m sort of a sucker for looking at pictures of mock versions of the iPhone Ultra/ Fold, and certainly watching videos. I think it’s a good thing as it means I’m clearly excited about the device, perhaps in a way I haven’t been about an iPhone in quite some time. I also think it’s fairly ridiculous as these are obviously just dummy units made based off of rumored/leaked specs. They could be bullshit – they’re likely not, but they could be!1 – and yet here I am watching each and every one of these. Today brings another.

9to5Mac calls this video by Unbox Therapy “the clearest look yet” of the device. Yes, there’s a 10-minute unboxing video of a dummy unit – sent from China is the most un-Apple-like packaging possible2 – and yes, we’re considering this the closest look yet that anyone has gotten to the device. Which again, is both amazing and ridiculous. Such is the state of our world and gadgets in 2026.

Anyway, hell yeah I’m going to watch this. Because again, it gives a sense of what’s possible with the device. And as I debate if I’m going to swap my old trusty Pro Max variants of the iPhone for this new one (narrator: there really is no debate), I really want to think through this. If nothing else, it’s going to be an insanely expensive proposition.

So seeing this “device” in-hand, something strikes me: this might be the ultimate touch-typing machine. Yes, the heir-apparent to the BlackBerry of yore.

While noting (as many others have with their hands on such dummy units) that it’s both incredibly short and almost “passport-like”, the video focuses more on the unfolded-state of the device. Which, yes, is more like an iPad – they call it an ‘iPad nano’ at one point, which I think I like.3 But about 8-minutes in, they make the jump to where my mind immediately went: the BlackBerry.

Here’s what I’m thinking…

Those devices were obviously insanely popular when the first iPhone came out 20 years ago. And that was in no small part because they were…

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