BlackBerry has confirmed that it’s releasing an Android phone this year

BlackBerry has finally confirmed what everyone already knew: it’s working on an Android smartphone known as the BlackBerry Priv and it’s launching later this year. This was confirmed by CEO John Chen earlier today, who said that the device is geared towards former BlackBerry fans who miss the physical keyboard but still want the massive amount of apps that Android offers. Chen also explained that, while the Priv is expected to help BlackBerry grow, the company is definitely not abandoning its own BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system. 

BlackBerry has been teasing us with its plans for an Android-powered slider smartphone for months, promising in March that the device would be available sometime this year. Now, as part of the company’s second quarter financial results, CEO John Chen confirmed the name of the handset — the BlackBerry Priv — and reiterated a planned release date later this year. “Today, I am confirming our plans to launch Priv, an Android device named after BlackBerry’s heritage and core mission of protecting our customers’ privacy,” wrote Chen. “Priv combines the best of BlackBerry security and productivity with the expansive mobile application ecosystem available on the Android platform.” Chen said that the Priv was one of the BlackBerry devices that would provide the company with “modest sequential revenue growth” in the remaining quarters of the fiscal year. BlackBerry is describing the phone as its “flagship slider device,” but stressed that it’s not abandoning the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which will be updated to version 10.3.3 in March next year. More details about the Priv will be available in “the coming weeks,” with the device expected to be available in stores “late in the calendar year.”