The smartphone industry is dominated by trillion (or near trillion) dollar corporations like Apple, Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi. And so when you’re a much smaller company trying to make mobile devices, you should probably try to stand out from the crowd. That’s exactly what Shenzhen-based company Unihertz has been doing for the last several years.
They’re best known for so-called “rugged high-endurance phones,” which come in a black and metal body shaped like a brick, and keyboard phones, which up until recently also carried the same design language.
While that pointy-cornered, faux-leather and metal look worked for rugged phones, I’ve always thought it looked odd on a keyboard phone, which is meant more for business meetings and airport lounges than camping trips, and so I’m happy to see Unihertz has given its latest keyboard phone, named the Titan 2 Elite, a flashy makeover, with rounded corners, a more minimal design, and even the bright orange color that the iPhone 17 Pro phones have made popular.
The Titan 2 Elite, as can be seen in the photo above, is noticeably smaller than a conventional smartphone. It features a 4-inch OLED display in square shape, with a resolution of 1080 x 1200. The screen is bright, vibrant, and displays deep blacks. Refresh rate also gets up to 120Hz, which gives animations a fluid look.
The star of the show is obviously the QWERTY keyboard, and it performs very well. I was initially concerned at the keyboard being too cramped due to the small size, but the device’s 2.9-inches (75mm) width is wide enough for individual keys to not feel tiny. I can type with two hands on the keyboard and get accurate results.
I must mention that because I have been using touchscreen phones for so long, there was a learning period for me using a physical keyboard again, but after a day or two, I was pecking away at a fast speed, and the tactile feedback allows me to even type without looking and get mostly accurate results.
The phone’s aluminum body is well-constructed, consisting of a single piece. The power button doubles as a fingerprint scanner on the right side and is easy to reach. There is an extra red colored button that doubles as a shortcut button.
The phone is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7400 with 12GB of RAM, which provides respectable performance. For a keyboard phone that is meant more for getting words on screen, I had no issue. I can also run social media apps on it fine. Gaming, technically, is fine, but the screen is a bit cramped.
Because the screen is square-shaped, some apps that must run in portrait orientation may not scale correctly, so Unihertz’ software designed the option to narrow the screen with pillarboxing, so you can see the screen in typical smartphone rectangular format. The software – Android 15 – is fine. It’s a vanilla version of Android without any bloat or any new Google features.
Battery life is excellent on this device, likely because I didn’t use it much to watch videos. It has lasted me 2-3 days on a single charge. That 4,050 mAh battery is enough juice for a small device.
Ultimately, the Titan 2 Elite is a great option for those who miss having a physical keyboard on their devices. If you use your phone more for media consumption and gaming, then this may not be for you.
