Would anyone else use an Android ROM that permanently shrinks the screen and adds a BlackBerry-style keyboard area?
I’ve been thinking about building a custom Android ROM that turns any Android phone into something that feels more like a modern BlackBerry.
The idea is simple:
- The top ~60% of the display is the only area Android ever uses—not just apps, but also the home screen, lock screen, settings, notifications, videos, games… everything. As far as Android is concerned, the display simply ends there.
- The bottom ~40% is permanently reserved for the OS as an always-visible keyboard area.
- No gesture navigation. It will have dedicated Home/Back/Recents buttons, with the long-term goal of adding BlackBerry-style shortcuts, a command palette, browser/app hotkeys, etc.
The goal isn’t productivity as much as intentional phone use: a permanently smaller display, an always-present keyboard, and fewer distractions.
This wouldn’t be an app, launcher, or custom keyboard—it would be a fork of LineageOS that implements the split at the Android framework level.
I’ve already validated in an emulator that permanently confining the entire Android UI (apps, home screen, lock screen, fullscreen apps, etc.) to a smaller viewport at the framework level—actually works. So the core concept is proven; what’s left is mostly implementation: building the permanent keyboard surface, input handling, and testing on real hardware.
I’m curious—would anyone here actually use something like this? What features would make it compelling enough for you to daily drive?