This post was published 9 years, 4 months ago. Due to the rapidly evolving world of technology, some material it contains may no longer be applicable.
So a short while ago we brought you a rumour that BlackBerry might be working on Android phone and this latest leak seems to confirm that. We have to say, things are looking much better than we expected!
The render you see above was shared by famous leaker @evleaks and allegedly shows an upcoming handset from BlackBerry which is likely intended to superseded the BlackBerry 10 Slider that the company revealed at Mobile World Congress 2015.
It certainly looks the part and what’s even more (pleasantly) surprising is that it appears to be running stock Android with Google services and without any meddling from BlackBerry, save from a few (possibly) pre-loaded BlackBerry apps. Colour us impressed.
The Venice Slider not just a looker but it will apparently come packing some punch too. The leaks suggest it will have similar guts to the new LG G4, including a 5.4″ QHD display and a Snapdragon 808 SoC. Below are the leaked device specifications:
- 5.4-inch 1440 x 2560 screen with curved edges
- 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 SoC
- 1.8GHz hexa-core Krait CPU
- Adreno 418 GPU
- 3GB RAM
- 18MP rear-facing camera
- 5PM front-facing camera
It is said that BlackBerry will offer two variants of this phone, one running BlackBerry 10 and another Android 5.1. Below we have some more renders of the device which show it off a from a few different angles including with the keyboard opened out. This time the phone is pictured running BB10.
The main worry we’d have about this device at the moment (judging by the photos) is that appears to be very tall. That could make the phone a little unwieldy in the hand, especially when the keyboard has been opened out. Personally, I would have preferred to see full horizontal slider and then just use a software keyboard when in portrait, especially on a device of this size.
Despite that possible issue, we could see this having an appeal to some BlackBerry fans and even just some Android users who generally prefer the use of a hardware keyboard. There are not many options in that category these days – let alone with top-end specs or stock Android.
If BlackBerry price and market this right then they may just be able to carve themselves out a little niche that could regain them some much-needed footing in a competitive mobile market. We would not hold our breath for a full come-back just yet though.
However, if that device alone won’t do it for them then they may have another trick up their sleeves. You see, as incredible as it might seem, the “Venice” Slider actually isn’t the only leaked BlackBerry device to be shown running Android. It appears that BlackBerry have a new BB Passport in the works too which will also come with an Android offering.
Evleaks did share a render of this device as well, although curiously it seems to be pictured displaying a rather redundant on-screen software keyboard in addition to the physical one on the bottom of the device. That does not make a whole lot of sense and we can’t believe any released product from BlackBerry would actually behave this way by default unless they are smoking some really strong stuff over at .
We have not yet heard as much about the internals of this model but it possible this one could be sporting an Exynos chip as BlackBerry recently announced a partnership with Samsung which we have yet to see bear any fruits.
We also have not heard any specs or release info at all for the new BlackBerry Passport at this time but the BlackBerry “Venice” Slider is slated to release by November 2015. In the US it should be headed to AT&T, however we do not know anything about other US carriers or international availability.
Rumour Reliability
We’d rate this rumour about an 7 or 8 out of 10. Evleaks has a mostly excellent track record with these things and we’ve seen many supporting leaks and rumours from other sources suggesting the potential release of an Android-powered BlackBerry this year (and also about the Venice Slider) which add extra credibility to his claims.
Of course, as ever, it is important to remember that plans changed and information can be faked. So while we are fairly confident we’ll see at least one Android BlackBerry device this year, we would not be too surprised if it doesn’t match these leaked details 100%.
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