BlackBerry officially announces Priv, an Android-powered flagship

BlackBerry has officially announced its plans to launch Priv – the company’s first Android-powered flagship smartphone.

In its latest earnings report, BlackBerry has confirmed its plans to launch a flagship smartphone that will run on Android but hardened with BlackBerry security and productivity. The company calls it the Priv, “an Android device named after BlackBerry’s heritage and core mission of protecting our customers’ privacy,” and it is scheduled to launch at the end of 2015.

The company didn’t mention specs but it is known to feature a touchscreen display with slide-out keyboard from the bottom. CrackBerry reports that it will havea 5.4-inch to 5.6-inch screen with QHD resolution and curved glass, Snapdragon 808 CPU, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, 18MP camera, and runs Android 5.1.1.

Although an Android flagship is just around the corner, BlackBerry emphasizes that they will still continue to develop and enhance BlackBerry 10 OS, with version 10.3.3 scheduled for March 2016 release.

source: BlackBerry