BlackBerry, Google Plan on Launching New Smartphones

BlackBerry plans to release three more smartphones—and it could be the last three the company ever makes. Last year BlackBerry launched the Priv, its first Android-powered smartphone, but it was not enough to turn a profit for the company’s embattled hardware division.

CEO John Chen says hardware must become a profitable business for BlackBerry soon or it will be forced to abandon the smartphone market. All three new phones will be Android devices, according to Chen, and will be designed for different markets, including mid-range and enterprise demographics.

One forthcoming smartphone is the Neon, which will go without BlackBerry’s iconic physical keyboard. We can expect the Neon in August.

In October is the Argon, which will have a 5.5-inch display, 4GB of RAM, a 3,000mAh battery, and a 21-megapixel camera.

And the Mercury, which we can expect in early 2017, will retain the keyboard and rock a similar outer shell to the Passport.

Meanwhile, software giant Google looks to enter the market BlackBerry is considering leaving: hardware. Google, which owns Android, is rumored to be launching its own smartphone by the end of the year. However, there are limited details surrounding its specs.