BlackBerry CEO John Chen Hints At Another Android Smartphone Next Year
BlackBerry may launch another Android smartphone in 2016, the company's CEO John Chen hinted in a statement.
The successful launch of BlackBerry's first Android smartphone, the BlackBerry Priv, may push the Canadian smartphone maker to come up with another similar high-end product. Chen said if the first model does better, they will probably launch the second Android handset next year, according to Gadgets 360.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Chen was asked whether plans for a second Android phone are being cooked. He said they will have to observe the Priv's performance in the next few months.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"Depends on the Priv. If the Priv is well received in the market and looks like it is," Chen told Bloomberg in the interview. "There's a good chance …, we will still focus on the high-end probably closer to mid-range coming out in 2016."
The BlackBerry Priv, which was released early November, is available in four countries, but it will be launched in 31 regions in the next quarter. The company was able to sell 700,000 units during the last quarter, Ubergizmo reports.
The release of the Android-powered BlackBerry Priv is part of the Canadian firm's bid to stop the losses in its hardware business. Fortunately, the first BlackBerry Android smartphone performed considerably better than the other units launched last year, which used the BlackBerry 10 OS, the report relays.
During the last quarter, BlackBerry reported an almost 12 percent increase in its revenue amounting to $548 million. This is the first time in two years that the firm reflected revenue growth for two consecutive quarters, the report details.
Meanwhile, a benchmark listing for a new BlackBerry smartphone appeared last month. The device in question, code-named STV100-1, was spotted in the GFXBench listings. Speculations also surfaced about the company testing Samsung's Exynos processors in its future devices.
Rumor has it that BlackBerry is considering making its next Android smartphone cheaper than the Priv's $699 for next year.
