BlackBerry Priv Android flagship slider device to be launched in late 2015

BlackBerry's Android powered BlackBerry Priv will be launched later this year, John Chen, executive chairman and chief executive officer of the Waterloo-based tech major, has said. The Priv, the company's Android flagship, will be a slider device, confirming earlier reports.

Speaking during the company's announcement of the financial results for three months that ended on 29 August, Chen said: "Today, I am confirming our plans to launch Priv, an Android device named after BlackBerry's heritage and core mission of protecting our customers' privacy. Priv combines the best of BlackBerry security and productivity with the expansive mobile application ecosystem available on the Android platform."

The Priv featuring BlackBerry security and productivity along with apps from Android platform will be available in all key markets via retail stores as well as online. The company did not provide further information related to the hardware configuration, but promises to reveal more details in the coming weeks. It claimed that the device will deliver the best security features for enterprise consumers.

While the flagship offers BlackBerry owners a completely new OS experience, the company will continue working on the development and enhancements of its home-grown BlackBerry 10 OS. The company, which pushed out OS 10.3.2 in early September, confirmed that the BlackBerry OS 10.3.3 incorporating security and privacy improvements would be released in March 2016.