14 DAY TRIAL // BlackBerry announced not long ago that it would launch one or two Android smartphones this year, but didn't confirm any BlackBerry 10 handsets for 2016.
The company's CEO John Chen said that his company was trying to make money and would go where that leads. Since BlackBerry PRIV seems to be very popular with Android fans, it appears that the Canadian company is determined to go that road.
Even though the media thought that this meant BlackBerry 10's demise, it looks like the Canadian corporation has other plans.
John Chen has just confirmed on BlackBerry's official blog that his company will continue to support BlackBerry 10, even though its focus is now on Android.
“But as we shift our energies toward all these exciting opportunities, does that mean the BlackBerry 10 operating system is dead? Far from it.”
“While we continue to invest in BlackBerry 10 in 2016, we will also develop another Android-based phone. We’ll share more details about our roadmap when we’re ready,” says Chen.
According to Chen, BlackBerry 10 smartphones will continue to receive many security and privacy enhancements throughout the year.
BlackBerry 10.3.4 OS coming later this year
The upcoming BlackBerry OS 10.3.3 update will receive its certification for NIAP compliance, which means it will have passed the strictest government-grade security tests, enabling BlackBerry to further support governments and regulated customers who use BlackBerry 10 devices.
Last but not least, John Chen has also stated that BlackBerry 10.3.4 OS will be available for download later this year with even more security improvements.
Despite the fact that the Canadian company will continue to support BlackBerry 10, no smartphones powered by its homebrew mobile platform will be launched in 2016.
For the time being, Android seems to be BlackBerry's only chance to reinvigorate its mobile division, but that doesn't mean that we will never see BlackBerry OS-powered smartphones launched on the market in the coming years.