BlackBerry looks set for a rather impressive farewell to the world of smartphones.
The iconic Canadian phone maker is gearing up to release its last-ever mobile device after announcing earlier this year that its next smartphone would be its last.
And leaked photos released today show that it looks like the final BlackBerry device could be one of its most impressive yet, with a bold new design.
The pictures, which come from Chinese social media site Weibo, show off the device thought to be the BlackBerry Mercury smartphone.
This mid-range device packs both a 4.5 inch touchscreen alongside a physical QWERTY keyboard, conforming to reports earlier this year by BlackBerry CEO John Chen.
The photos, which show two shots of the front of the device, also show off a bold new design which relocates the front speaker to the top, rather than the bottom of the device, alongside a front-facing camera and what appears to be a proximity sensor.
Other rumours concerning the new device have said that the BlackBerry Mercury will feature an octa-core Qualcomm processor, 3GB of RAM, a 4.5-inch Full HD display, 3,200mAh battery, and an 18-megapixel main camera.
It is also thought to be the first BlackBerry to run Android Nougat, which these latest photos appear to confirm, showing off the rounded app icons included in the latest release.
This would put the new device firmly in the mid-range Android smartphone category, as BlackBerry looks to strengthen its position in developing Eastern markets.
Rumours of one final BlackBerry device packing a keyboard first emerged last month, despite the company revealing in September that it would be quitting the smartphone market.
BlackBerry CEO John Chen confirmed that the company was planning on releasing a "last dance" device, although he would not reveal any details on features or launch date.
The company has been increasingly focusing on shifting towards software and security practices in recent years as its share of the smartphone market has shrunk across the world, although it still enjoys a strong customer base in countries such as India and Indonesia.
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