BlackBerry Set to Launch 2 Mid-Range Android Smart Phones in 2016

Blackberry Priv by: Zuofu. CC BY-SA 4.0

After the slow sales of its high-end Android smartphone Priv , Canadian Phone maker BlackBerry is set to launch another Android smartphone in 2016, as confirmed by the Company CEO John Chen.

This news has come after Chen hinted in the previous months that BlackBerry is considering to launch Android Smartphones in the coming months. Speaking to a Canadian Website on Friday, Chen laid out the specifics of the smartphones which he believe will cost the consumers in the region of $200-$300.

While one of the mid-range Android Smartphone will be touchscreen, the other will comprise of a Qwerty Keypad. Apart from that, Chen failed to mention anything about the headsets.

It is to be noted that BlackBerry has already suffered a jolt this year in the shape of its Smartphone Priv. While they originally believed that Priv will take the company in the right direction, the high-end smartphone was thoroughly rejected by the customer base of BlackBerry.

As a result of its unpredicted plunge into oblivion, BlackBerry has already slashed the price of Priv, just months after it was unleashed on the consumer market. While BlackBerry hoped that Priv would fight with Samsung smartphones, the persistent weak hardware sales forced the company to reconsider its decision. As a result, while Android Priv was originally introduced at $700 a contract, its price now lingers close to the $450 mark.

Thus, while Chen was talking to the press about the new mid-range phones, he was forced by the Canadian National Media to give his views on the performance of Priv. Chen was bold in his criticism of Priv as he claimed that it was “too high-end a product” for the initiative customers.

Thus, at a time when BlackBerry is fighting to save its skin in the International market, it has pinned its hopes of survival on the upcoming Android Smartphones.