Remember that super secure smartphone that was announced at last year’s MWC? Yes, Blackphone was its name, and now Silent Circle and Geeksphone are back with two new devices – the Blackphone 2 and the Blackphone+ tablet.
Blackphone 2: Standard Specs
In terms of specs, the Blackphone 2 is your relatively standard Android phone. It comes with a 5” display, a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm processor, and 3GB of RAM. The handset is powered by a 3,600mAh, which you can charge quickly thanks to Quick Charge 2.0, and there is also a microSD card slot that allows you to expand your storage.
Software Additions: Spaces, Silent Suite, and Silent Store
Just like its predecessor, the Blackphone 2 runs Silent Circle’s PrivatOS 1.1 (based on Android), which gives Blackphone users Spaces, a UI that divides your “mobile phone life” into different areas. For example, you can create your Enterprise Space (for work), your Personal Space (for private mails), and your Silent Space (won’t record anything you do in it).
Spaces also includes Silent Suite, which consists of Silent Contacts, Silent Text, and Silent Phone. These apps, as you can imagine, let you have isolated and encrypted conversations with your friends and family. Silent Circle also decided to introduce the world’s first privacy-focused app store called Silent Store. Each of your Spaces will have a Silent Store where you will be able to acquire apps.
Completely oriented towards its new Enterprise platform, Silent Circle also talked about Silent Meeting, which will allow you to talk to up to 50 people without the need to log in, allowing for a secure conference.
“While the rest of the market is going one way, with selfie sticks and curved screens, we’re going down another, to the heart of problems, sticking with privacy and security,” said Mike Janke, Silent Circle’s chairman.
The company’s first tablet – the Blackphone+ – was announced, but no details were revealed about it, except that it will arrive later this year. The Blackphone 2 will be launched in the second half of 2015.