CEO John Chen has confirmed that two new BlackBerry Android phones are set to arrive in 2016 to supplement the company’s premium Priv handset.
We’ve already had our hands on the BlackBerry Priv this year, and while we liked the device, we offered some scepticism as to how the company will make a resurgence on the strength of one very expensive device alone. Now, CEO John Chen has confirmed we’ll see not one, but two new BlackBerry Android phones before the end of 2016.
Chen has confirmed that one of the two new BlackBerry Android phones will carry a physical keyboard, while the other will instead use a full-touch screen and software keyboard, similar to the likes of the leaked Vienna smartphone that made news late last year.
Read: BlackBerry Priv Review: Crossing the Rubicon
Chen further admitted the company’s mistake around its hopeful, the Priv, was positioning the device at such a premium price bracket, stating that “the fact that we came out with a high-end phone was probably not as wise as it should have been… A lot of enterprise customers have said to us, ‘I want to buy your phone, but $700 (USD) is a little too steep for me. I’m more interested in a $400 device.'”
The move likely comes as a result of BlackBerry’s panic surrounding the plethora of services that have announced plans to leave the company’s homegrown operating system, BlackBerry 10, behind.
Read: WhatsApp to cease support for multiple platforms
Last month, both WhatsApp and Facebook announced that both apps would cease support for BlackBerry 10 by year end. In response, BlackBerry has stated that it is ‘actively seeking alternatives to WhatsApp’, while seemingly forgetting to mention the availability of its own messaging platform, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM).
Presently, there’s little indication as to what specifications and price tag either of the two new smartphones could arrive with. As we’ve said so many times in the past, this could be BlackBerry’s last ditch move, as CEO John Chen has remained vocal that should the company fail to accumulate a profit, it will quit the hardware business.
Read: BlackBerry‘s “œVienna“ smartphone leaks
What are your thoughts? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
