Ever since (and even before) BlackBerry released their debut Android smartphone, the BlackBerry PRIV, the company has been surrounded with speculation. As it is commonly believed that the PRIV has not been the runaway success that many had expected, much of the attention swiftly moved on to the successor to the PRIV. In fact, the successor(s) as it has been largely understood that Blackberry is gearing up to release two new Android smartphones in 2016. Now it seems as though there will be three new smartphones coming from BlackBerry and all in quick succession. According to a report today out of VentureBeat and based on “a person briefed on the company’s plans”, BlackBerry will release three Android smartphones which are (at the moment) codenamed Argon, Neon and Mercury. What is interesting about this particular report is that BlackBerry are said to be releasing the three smartphones over the next three quarters with as you might expect, one per quarter.
In terms of the specs and in alphabetical order, Argon is expected to be the most flagship-like of the three devices as Argon is said to come equipped with a 5.5-inch QHD display, 4GB RAM, 32GB internal storage and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. As well as a 21-megapixel rear camera which is coupled with an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. Additional features are said to include USB Type-C connectivity and a 3,000 mAh battery. According to the details coming through, Argon will be the second (of these three) smartphone to be released with an expected landing date of October.
Moving on and next we have the BlackBerry Mercury. This one is said to be much smaller than Argon and comes equipped with a 4.5-inch full HD display. Inside, Mercury is said to come loaded with 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage and powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor. In terms of cameras, Mercury is said to come sporting an 18-megapixel rear camera, along with an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. No additional features such as Type-C or a fingerprint scanner have been noted, although it will come powered by a 3,400 mAh battery. This is the latest of the rumored devices in terms of its arrival date as it is not expected to be available until the first quarter of 2017.
Last but not least is the BlackBerry Neon. This is one of the BlackBerry handsets which has already been highly rumored as ‘Hamburg’ and even saw an alleged image making its way online earlier today. In terms of the specs for Neon, this one sits right in the middle in terms of size boasting a 5.2-inch Full HD display. Inside, Neon is said to come loaded with 3GB RAM, 16GB internal storage and powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor. A 13-megapixel camera is said to be in place on the back while an 8-megapixel camera is expected on the front. Again, very few additional features have been noted with Neon and this is one which is said to come sporting the smallest battery of the three, with a 2610 mAh capacity on offer. According to the details, this will be the first of the three to arrive with an expected launch time of July or August of this year.
It is also worth pointing out that of the three, Mercury (the Q1 2017 release) is the one which is said to come equipped with a physical keyboard, while both Argon and Neon will sport full touchscreen forms. Unfortunately, pricing details have yet to be disclosed for any of the three devices, although based on the specs and information coming through it does stand to reason that Neon will be the most affordable of the three, followed by Mercury and Argon at the top of the BlackBerry pricing structure.