BlackBerry isn’t finished making smartphones, but it will be making a few changes before its next one.
BlackBerry CEO John Chen told Saudi Arabia newspaper The National that two new BlackBerry phones are coming by the end of 2016, but neither will be like the Priv.
Instead the company will now focus on mid-range Android phones. By the end of the year there will be one with a physical keyboard and another with a full touchscreen. BlackBerry has since confirmed to techradar that it will be going ahead with these plans.
Dropping to the mid
Chen also admitted that the Priv was a mistake. He told The National, “The fact that we came out with a high end phone [as our first Android device] was probably not as wise as it should have been.”
He cited the biggest mistake for BlackBerry as the price of the Priv. Chen said, “a lot of enterprise customers have said to us: ‘I want to buy your phone, but $700 is a little too steep for me. I’m more interested in a $400 device.'”
The future of BlackBerry is still very uncertain, Chen previously stated that BlackBerry will have to leave the smartphone market if it doesn’t become profitable during 2016, so this may be the last attempt for the company.
Two new mid-range handsets could be the return to form we hope for though and seeing the company fully embrace Android may be a step in the right direction.
Rumors point toward the phones being codenamed the Rome and Hamburg, while it’s expected the company will try to keep the devices below $500 (about £350, AU$659) out of contract.
Check out our BlackBerry Priv unboxing:
Source: techradar.com
