The next BlackBerry phone may be equipped with Google's Android OS as BlackBerry acknowledges that its overhauled line of devices has failed to win mass appeal.
It looks like BlackBerry is planning to equip an upcoming slider device with Google's Android software. The device is expected to release this fall, Reuters reported on Thursday, June 11, citing sources close to the matter. The smartphone would feature couple a touchscreen with a slide-out keyboard that can be used alternatively, according to reports on Reuters.
Apparently the move is a part of a pivot to concentrate on software and device management rather than fully owing the operating system. That may well make sense for the struggling smartphone maker citing several delays to its BlackBerry 10 OS and an unimpressive launch in early 2013, BlackBerry now has less than one percent of the smartphone market.
The sliding phone that will reportedly use Google's OS was briefly shown at Mobile World Congress, implying that the storied Canadian company would at least be contributing an unconventional form factor to the Android ecosystem.
BlackBerry said in an emailed statement to Reuters, "We don't comment on rumors and speculation, but we remain committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which provides security and productivity benefits that are unmatched,"
CNet notes that the potential move would probably be a indirect acceptance of the failure of BlackBerry's own mobile operating system in a bid to win over new smartphone customers. The company saw its market share fall to just 0.4 percent in 2014, according to IDC.
The somewhat surprising move seems only fitting considering that BlackBerry has flirted with Android in the past.
BlackBerry 10, for example, depends on emulated Android apps for much of its library, the BBM Messenger app was later released on iOS and Android, and plus, BlackBerry has even integrated its security technology into the Knox software on Samsung's Android phones.
That being said, releasing a complete Android phone could give BlackBerry's enterprise credentials the much needed push by proving that its security and device management software can also work on other popular platforms such as Google's Android.
