An intriguing partnership between Samsung and BlackBerry could materialize soon, resulting in an Android smartphone with Lollipop and BlackBerry services.
Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry has long been struggling to survive and stay relevant in an increasingly competitive smartphone market. Though it has lost significant ground to rivals such as iOS and Android, BlackBerry has been making concerted efforts at a comeback.
Its latest BlackBerry 10 OS devices aimed to revive the company's success and better compete against rivals — but they didn't deliver the success BlackBerry was hoping for.
New whispers suggest that BlackBerry may be looking into a deeper collaboration with Samsung. The two companies already worked together to load BlackBerry Messenger onto Galaxy devices and to add end-to-end security software from BlackBerry on Android devices.
BlackBerry Enterprise services such as WorkLife and SecuSUITE are also compatible with Samsung's new-generation Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. And now, the partnership looks to take things to the next level.
Just a few days ago, an exclusive report claimed that an upcoming smartphone from BlackBerry would be the company's first device to run Google's Android mobile operating system.
Popular analyst and blogger Eldar Murtazin has added more fuel to the fire, speculating that a new smartphone from Samsung and BlackBerry could combine Android Lollipop with BlackBerry services. This handset could make its official debut later this year.
Although this isn't the first time we've heard about a potential BlackBerry smartphone running Android, it's worth pointing out that Murtazin doesn't exactly have the best accuracy for leaks. The blogger has gotten it right on some occasions, but plenty of his leaks have missed the mark.
Neither Samsung nor BlackBerry have made any comments regarding plans to collaborate on a smartphone running Android, which means that at this point, all remains in the state of rumor. That said, it would make sense for BlackBerry to join the rivals it can't beat.
If this rumor turns out to be accurate and BlackBerry does indeed team up with Samsung for an Android smartphone, it will be interesting to see how everything pans out. For the time being, however, take this news with a grain of salt.
