BlackBerry’s first Android phone: More leaked pictures emerge

BlackBerry teased an upcoming slide-out handheld back in March at MWC, though they never said it would run Android, here are some unofficial renders making the rounds. Upon release, the Venice, apparently will be the first BlackBerry device to use Google’s open source OS. With the recent images leaked online, photos show what a BlackBerry Hub would look like when running on Android.

The second image shows what seems to be the YouTube app. Emphasis, however, is on the Google Cast functionality and how it can throw your video to different devices. This image reportedly confirms the BlackBerry Venice will sport an 18 megapixel rear-facing camera. The snapper is also expected to take advantage of OIS (optical image stabilization), just like the Passport does.

BlackBerry 10 used to don’t have Chromecast access, but it is now upgraded in the latest device. The Venice is supposed to be heading for the AT&T and T-Mobile markets, so it makes sense to put some Lollipop in there for the device to at least compete.

The handset is rumored to come with 5.4-inch display, complete with curved glass on both side. Similarly to its predecessor, the Passport Silver Edition operates on a 2.2 gigahertz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor integrated with a 3GB memory; it offers display resolution of 1440×1440 on a 4.5-inch screen.

The BlackBerry Venice has been doing the rounds in the rumor-mill for several months now ever since it was teased at MWC. Meanwhile, the internal renders can be checked out on CrackBerry.

BlackBerry showcased the new flagship device codenamed Venice at the Mobile World Congress 2015.

Canadian smartphone manufacturer BlackBerry has been losing market share to Android and Windows smartphones.