BlackBerry’s CEO dismissed concerns about the future of the hardware division earlier today, after the cross-platform Experience Suite announcement fueled speculation of the end of BlackBerry handsets.
“I intend to continue to build a hardware business,” said CEO John Chen. “But there will be a lot of focus on the software business too.”
The new Experience Suite will bring many of BlackBerry 10’s key features, such as the Hub unified inbox, the keyboard, and universal search to iOS, Android, and Windows. This has made many in the BlackBerry community wonder how BlackBerry 10 will continue to compete, but Chen looks at things differently.
“This is just a very natural evolution of taking our OS, the surfaces and security layers around it and putting it on others’ devices, so that our serviceable market is not only ‘BlackBerry’ devices, but all devices,” said Chen. The Experience Suite is currently set to be available near the end of this year.
BlackBerry is expected to discuss their hardware roadmap at Mobile World Congress on Tuesday, which could paint a more precise picture of where Chen intends to continue taking the company’s handset division.
Source: Reuters