BlackBerry’s CEO has officially announced the BlackBerry Priv today, which is essentially the BlackBerry Slider or codenamed `Venice` that we all know it as. Powered with the higher-end Qualcomm Snapdragon processor (than the BlackBerry Passport), and dropping the BlackBerry 10 operating system in favor of Android in this iteration of the device, it keeps a massive touchscreen with the keyboard. In addition, BNN has had an exclusive interview/hands on with the device captured on video with BlackBerry CEO John Chen.

First, the company will launch a flagship slider device, Priv, which will run on the Android operating system, bringing together the best of BlackBerry security and productivity with the expansive mobile application ecosystem available on the Android platform. In combination with BlackBerry’s efforts to support Android for Work on the BES12 platform, the new device will offer best in class security for enterprise customers. BlackBerry expects the device to be available late in the calendar year in major markets in-store and online, and will release further details in the coming weeks. While the new device will provide a choice in OS to new and existing customers, the company remains committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which enables industry-leading security and productivity benefits

Via BNN