BlackBerry looks to focus on Android handsets for 2016

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

After BlackBerry CEO John Chen confirmed that the company would only release two Android powered devices in 2016 behind the perceived success of the BlackBerry PRIV, Damian Tay, BlackBerry’s senior director of product management in Asia Pacific all but confirmed that BB10-powered BlackBerry devices are no longer a priority and are seen as transitory devices. “The future is really Android,” Tay said in an interview with Economic Time India.

“The PRIV device is essentially our transition to Android ecosystem. As we secure Android, over a period of time, we would not have two platforms, and may have only Android as a platform [for smartphones],” Damian Tay said. “But for now, we have BB10 and Android platforms for our smartphones.”

Tay did note that BB10 is still strong with several government and corporate customers that rely heavily on that system's solid security features. Going full Android for BlackBerry means not having to pour resources into cultivating its own software, OS or developer ecosystem, which means the company can focus on what it does best in the security, messaging and hardware arenas.

2016 is a crossroads for many mobile businesses, BlackBerry saw the potential of making a great handset running on Android with the PRIV, it has to come to terms with the vanishing market share of BB10. Similarly, Microsoft has all but officially given up in the mobile space. While the company launched two new handsets late last year, they are doing nothing to play up the benefits of their hardware or software and seem instead to be focusing on creating software and app solutions for Android and iOS devices.

Numerous outlets have recently proclaimed that Windows Phone is dead and if that's the case, then the same can be said for BB10 which has an even smaller market share. How these companies adjust their strategies and maximize what cache they have left in the mobile industry will determine whether or not they can even remain relevantin the future.

BlackBerry 10 is supposed to get a huge software update this year, which is great for those who rely on their classic BlackBerry handsets but with no new hardware on the horizon, it really is only a matter of time before development of BB10 ceases for good.

 Source: 9to5Google

Update on Wednesday, February 3, 2016 at 10:41AM by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Hold up. BlackBerry has reiterated their commitment to BB10 platform-  "As we’ve said before, consumer and enterprise fans of our workhorse BlackBerry 10 smartphones such as Passport, Classic and others can look forward to multiple security and privacy enhancements in 2016." Check out their statement here.