Ultimate BlackBerry 'Venice' Slider Round-up

*Disclaimer: Much of this article is based on rumors and speculation. Please do not share it as facts.*

*We will update this page as more information comes to light. Check back often. *

To this point BlackBerry has been vague and secretive regarding any information about their new ‘Slider’ device. The only official information about the device came in the form of a 5 second flash of a prototype device at Mobile World Congress 2015 and then a tweet by @BlackBerry shortly after the flash.

Since the flash of the Slider device with the internal code name “Venice” at Mobile World Conference 2015 the BlackBerry fan base has been keeping a very close eye on BlackBerry. Then rumors and “leaked” images have shown the device running Android, causing added interest outside the normal BlackBerry loyalists. Though for some of the BlackBerry purists this may be unwanted.

We at BlackBerryOS.com have noticed a significant amount of increased interest in this device. With all of the images, speculation, and rumors floating around, we thought it would beneficial to collect all of this information and share it with you in the timeline below.

March 3, 2015

- BlackBerry flashes the new slider device at Mobile World Congress 2015.


- BlackBerry posts the following tweet directly after the device was flashed.




- Mobile World Live was at the BlackBerry Slider preview and was able to capture a video of the device in action. Skip to 3:06 for the Slider portion of the video:


- What I don’t understand is how a better picture of the device from MWC wasn’t released? I mean look at the camera this lady is using.


Click here to read more about this

April 27, 2015

John Chen has an interview with CNBC. He discusses the issues with application that BlackBerry has had and the there is something brewing to fix this issue.



April 27, 2015

John Chen was a guest speaker at Milken Institute's Global Conference, during the event he took a break to interview with Bloomberg in which he confirmed that the “Slider” device will be shipping before the 2015 year end.

Skip to 4:00 for the discussion on handsets.

Click here to watch the video

June 11, 2015

Reuters is the first to report that BlackBerry is considering the use of Android for an upcoming device.


June 17, 2015

Supposed specs and the targeted release month leak.

BlackBerry “Venice” Slider specs:

• 5.4-inch Quad-HD display
• 18 MP rear-camera
• 5 MP front-camera
• 1.8 GHz Hexa-core (Snapdragon 808 chipset) 64-bit
• 3 GB RAM

Release is expected by November 2015.

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June 23, 2015

John Chen has an interview with CNBC. He is asked about whether he would build a pure Android phone and Chen states 'We only build secure phones and BlackBerry is the most secure phone so, if I can find a way to secure the Android phone, I will also build that.'


July 2, 2015

A notable and reliable device leaker, Evan Blass notes on Twitter that ‘The Android-powered BlackBerry Venice slider is AT&T-bound.’


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July 3, 2015

Evan Blass posts supposed internal render.


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July 7, 2015

Slider begins to show up in India import logs, as noted by CrackBerry.


And they continue to show up.


August 8, 2015

CrackBerry received these supposed internal renders.


The first image appears to show a version of Hub running on the ‘Slider’ presumably inside an Android operating system.


The second image shows a breakdown of a 18 MP camera with OIS on the ‘Slider’ along with a glass weave back similar to the Z30.


The last image appears to show multimedia on BlackBerry using possibly Chromecast to display the image off the ‘Slider’ on multiple other devices.



August 9, 2015

A blurry image of the ‘Slider’ was leaked. This image appears to show a metal band across the top and bottom of the screen. I assume that this extend around the edges of the screen too.


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August 15, 2015

Another image of the device appears, this time showing a virtual keyboard and an Android-like back button.



August 19, 2015

Evan Blass tweets that the BlackBerry Venice is confirmed for November release on all four national US carriers.



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August 19, 2015

A supposed internal render is leaked by Evan Blass. This time showing Android running on the device with the physical keyboard extended.


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August 19, 2015

A supposed internal rendered demo video leaks by Evan Blass.


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August 21, 2015

Evan Blass takes a supposed screenshot of BlackBerry specific Android apk files from the ‘Slider’ device.


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August 22, 2015

Evan Blass tweets a supposed video showing the BlackBerry Productivity Suite on an Android rendered version of the ‘Slider’ device.


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August 29, 2015
The most comprehensive image set to date of the ‘Slider’ leak. The images show the ‘Slider’ running Android and the device in many ways. I don’t believe this is final revision of the device as it is missing the steel band around the screen.



And this image from CrackBerry


September 3, 2015

A ‘Slider’ is posted in the for sale section of CrackBerry forums. The device is claimed to be locked to Telus and includes one picture of the device with the Android home screen up. To me it does appear to be a later revision including the steel band around the screen.


Source: CrackBerry Forums (Post Deleted)

September 12, 2015

A BerryFlow staff member was able to capture a picture of a ‘Slider’ being used at the Toronto International Film Festival. This is the first public sighting of the device. It appears to show Android Messenger running and a steel band across the top of the screen.


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September 14, 2015

Supposedly a member from the Crackberry forums spotted this in a family photo he had taken.


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*Update 1*

September 15, 2015

BlackBerry ‘Venice’ Slider screen digitizer pictures emerge. Tweeted by J_Caloy.



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*Update 2*

September 16, 2015

More leaked images of the BlackBerry 'Venice' Slider emerge.



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*Update 3*

September 18, 2015

Hands-on video of Slider leaks!



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*Update 4*

September 18, 2015

More images of the BlackBerry 'Venice' Slider emerge






*Update 5*

September 23, 2015

Popular tech leaker, Evan Blass, divulged the proposed name of the Venice via Twitter. And n4BB confirmed it. The name is likely "Priv".



Did we miss anything? Are you excited for this device? Are you hoping for a BB10 variant?

Let us know in the comments section below!