Blackberry has officially confirmed the existence of an Android OS running Blackberry smartphone and the device will go official as the Blackberry Priv. The previously tipped Blackberry Venice, now Priv is the most anticipated Blackberry smartphone in recent times.
According to the company’s fiscal 2016 second quarter results which shows the Canadian based company’s device roadmap, it read;
“… will launch a flagship slider device, Priv, which will run on the Android operating system, bringing together the best of BlackBerry security and productivity with the expansive mobile application ecosystem available on the Android platform. In combination with BlackBerry’s efforts to support Android for Work on the BES12 platform, the new device will offer best in class security for enterprise customers.
BlackBerry expects the device to be available late in the calendar year in major markets in-store and online, and will release further details in the coming weeks. While the new device will provide a choice in OS to new and existing customers, the company remains committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which enables industry leading security and productivity benefits.”
The Blackberry Priv is expected to sport a 5.4-inch (2560 x 1440 pixels) QHD display, powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor clocked at 1.8GHz with Adreno 418 GPU, 3GB of RAM, 18MP rear facing camera with OIS, a microSD card slot, QWERTY sliding keyboard and stock looking Android Lollipop OS.
The device also uses the tracking sensor on the Blackberry Passport which lets users swipe on the keyboard to scroll through pages or move around the device. The Blackberry Priv is expected later this year and further announcements should arrive in coming weeks.
Source: Blackberry Press
