BlackBerry Priv Expanding to Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint

The phone BlackBerry plans to launch this year will not run on BlackBerry 10 software but on Android, CEO John Chen told Cnet at CES.

MobileSyrup reports that when asked if his company plans to stop launching BlackBerry 10 smartphones, Chen has said that he is trying to make money and will go wherever that leads him.

We all knew this day would come but now it seems it’s finally here.

BlackBerry might be done making phones that run its own operating system. BlackBerry CEO John Chen announced here at CES 2016 that Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon are on board to start selling the Priv to their customers, although the exact date and price are not known yet. Today’s news confirms that the Priv will be expanding to all of the major mobile providers, and renewed focus on software should also help BlackBerry investors in 2016.

The combination of familiar Android and secure BlackBerry means that with the Priv, the firm has expanded its appeal beyond just the enterprise buyer, to the “professional consumer”, says Chen. While the device supports Android, what’s unclear is which version it’ll be as the company hasn’t committed to when Android 6.0 Marshmallow will be added – it might be later this year. He confirmed that it would be offered soon by other carriers such as Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile. “A rollout to 31 more countries for Priv is coming in upcoming quarters, and gives us a reasonable shot to get to the goal of moving five million units”. Will you be picking up a Blackberry Priv when it hits your carrier? BlackBerry’s sticking to the Android platform might spell bad news for people who enjoy using BlackBerry’s home-built BB 10 OS. It’s always good to see device availability extended to further carriers, so this is likely to be welcome news.

Still, even with these grand plans, Chen acknowledges that market confidence in BlackBerry is waning, and that the clock is ticking for a real turnaround.