BlackBerry OS 10.3.1 global rollout for BlackBerry 10 devices to commence on 19 February

BlackBerry will release the latest iteration of the BlackBerry operating system 10.3.1 this month.

During the post launch event of BlackBerry Classic, which runs BlackBerry OS 10.3.1 out-of-box, the company confirmed that a similar update for other BlackBerry 10 devices will be available in February. However, details about the specific rollout date are available.

N4BB now exclusively reports that the global rollout of OS 10.3.1 to BlackBerry 10 devices, excluding BlackBerry Classic and Passport, will commence on 19<sup>th of this month.

The public release, which was supposedly scheduled for last week, could not happen as BlackBerry had issues with the update wiping out the entire device. If the company has resolved the problem, we might get our hands on the new OS in a matter of days.

Some changes which are likely to be a part of update 10.3.1 include:

• Notification profiles (Similar to BeBuzz and Hub++ apps)
• Internal and external Out of Office replies
• Ability to specify which contact folders to sync within Exchange
• More robust Calendar reminder dialogues
• Task recurrence
  
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• 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 being minimised

Apart from this, there might be Apple's Siri-like virtual assistant in the new software. A couple of months ago, BlackBerry was reported to be working on its virtual assistant that not only responds to voice activated information commands, but also is something like Siri.

The virtual assistant is also expected to be capable of responding to personal questions. The initial launch may not see it responding to a wide variety of queries, but future builds could add more to the basket.