BlackBerry OS 10.3.1 to be released for BlackBerry 10 devices in February

BlackBerry's next operating system 10.3.1 will reportedly be released for devices powered with Blackberry 10 sometime in February next year.

John Chen, BlackBerry's chief executive officer, recently launched the new BlackBerry Classic smartphone with a larger screen, longer battery life and extended app library with access to Android App Store from Amazon, at an event in New York. A noteworthy feature of the smartphone is BlackBerry OS 10.3.1.

While the BlackBerry OS 10.3.1 is available for BlackBerry Classic, BlackBerry Passport and BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9983, the older BlackBerry devices such as BlackBerry Z30, Z10 and Q10 will taste the new OS in another two months.

BlackBerry's president of devices and emerging solutions, Ron Louks, has reportedly confirmed that the company is planning to complete its 10.3.1 update and start rolling out to carriers and unlocked devices in February. The update will have to go through carriers' approval before the public release, reports MobileSyrup (via).

Although users will have to wait a while to get the stock firmware update, BlackBerry 10 devices have already experienced the new OS through various leaks. Following is the list of new features expected to accompany the OS 10.3.1.

• Notifications Profiles (Similar to BeBuzz and Hub++ apps)
• Internal and External Out of Office replies
• Ability to specify which contacts folders within Exchange to sync
• More robust Calendar reminder dialogues
• Task Recurrence
• Workspace camera
• Ability to mark a Picture or Video as Hidden
• Map View of Pictures (requires Geo-tagging of photos)
• Customisable Hotkeys from Home Screen (requires physical keyboard)
• Battery Saving Mode
• Ability to grant/deny permission for applications to continue running while minimised