The company intends to continue releasing Android based smartphones over 2016 but isn’t dropping its OS.
Even though BlackBerry has been discussing its intentions to continue to release smartphones based on Android throughout 2016 and potentially onward, the company has confirmed that it doesn’t intend to give up on its own operating system, BB10.
The Canadian smartphone manufacturer has said that it remains committed to supporting its own OS.
When BlackBerry’s CEO, John Chen wrote a recent blog post on behalf of the company, he expressed that “At CES 2016, BlackBerry has been busy discussing self-driving cars, global carrier support for Priv and consumer healthcare apps. But as we shift our energies toward all these exciting opportunities, does that mean the BlackBerry 10 operating system is dead? Far from it.”
Still, BlackBerry does intend to continue the successes it has seen by moving toward Android based devices.
Therefore, the company plans to keep releasing smartphones based on Google’s mobile operating system, but at the same time it will keep up its commitment to supporting the devices it has already released based on its BB10 OS, such as the Classic and Passport. Chen’s blog post said that the upcoming version of BB10, which will be 10.3.3 will have NIAP compliance certification. This means that the OS will have undergone “the strictest government-grade security tests.”
According to the CEO, the added testing will make it possible for the company to offer an increasingly secure ecosystem for its government customers and others that require the highest possible security levels for their smartphone device users.
Equally, Chen also pointed out that BlackBerry plans to keep up the work it has started on steadily improving its BB10 operating system throughout 2016. This will occur at the same time as it continues the development of smartphones that will be based on Android, following the positive reception that the Priv received upon its release at the end of last year. Within the blog post, Chen expressed that “We’ll share more details about our roadmap when we’re ready.” The company has been taking on some dramatic strategies as it works to claw its way back into solid relevance.
The success of the upcoming Android based smartphone will decide whether or not devices are in its future.
According to a statement from CEO John Chen, if the BlackBerry Priv does not manage the become profitable within the span of a year, it will likely mean that the company will step away from the hardware market of smartphones and will turn its attention toward selling secure software on various large mobile platforms.
This statement was made in California at Code Mode while showcasing the next BlackBerry smartphone.
Chen explained that the company is currently in a make or break phase when it comes to its hardware segment. The BlackBerry Priv simply needs to turn a profit next year, “Otherwise, I have to think twice about what I do there.” It looks as though the company is seriously considering a withdrawal from the smartphone hardware market if it doesn’t manage to be successful with its new upcoming Android based device.
That said, Chen has said that he is confident that the BlackBerry Priv has the potential it needs to succeed.
He explained that “Android in the enterprise is a very underserved space. With our connections, our accounts, our security know-how, this has expanded our market. The market wants privacy and security and they also want apps.” Because of this, Chen feels that he has found a place for the company’s hardware that could be a very profitable and a very defining one.
BlackBerry has always been a pioneer within the mobile device space, particularly when it comes to smartphones. In 1999, it was the first to launch a two-way pager, and its cell phone and smartphone handset had long been the dominant player in the marketplace, even among competition from extremely powerful players including Apple, Samsung, and others.
However, the company’s user base bottomed out and the company is still losing money on hardware even though it has strategically outsourced some of its manufacturing to Foxconn in Taiwan.
The hope the company has is that the Android operating system in the BlackBerry Priv will allow it to see successes that simply were not great enough in the recent handsets the company has released, including the Classic and the Passport. Chen’s goal is for a minimum of five million handset shipments per year.
Therefore, the company plans to keep releasing smartphones based on Google’s mobile operating system, but at the same time it will keep up its commitment to supporting the devices it has already released based on its BB10 OS, such as the Classic and Passport. Chen’s blog post said that the upcoming version of BB10, which will be 10.3.3 will have NIAP compliance certification. This means that the OS will have undergone “the strictest government-grade security tests.”