Silent Circle, a company that is known for creating the Android-powered Blackphone, unveiled the BlackPhone 2.
The BlackPhone placed a huge focus on the security and privacy of its users, and Silent Circle will continue that focus upon the launch of the device's successor.
The smartphone will be packing an octa-core 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor powered by 3GB of RAM and featuring 32GB worth of internal storage capacity that is expandable with support for microSD cards. The device will have a 5.5-inch, 1080p display, a 13MP rear-facing camera, a 5MP front-facing camera, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, and 802.11a/b/g/n/ac with dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz network support.
The new device is an upgrade to the first BlackPhone, which only had a 4.7 inch screen, a quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and less powerful cameras. However, the BlackPhone 2's specifications do not put it in competition with the top-of-the-line flagship Android smartphones of other companies, such as the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the LG G4.
The main selling point of the BlackPhone 2 is its Silent OS, along with a suite of highly secure applications, which will provide users with encryption for all their video calls, voice calls, file transfers and text messages.
Silent Circle did not reveal any details about the upcoming device's price. However, it did say that the BlackPhone 2 will be released to the market in September.
Along with the announcement of the BlackPhone 2, Silent Circle also revealed that the upcoming smartphone will be its inaugural product under the Android for Work program of Google, with Silent Circle looking to deliver much-needed privacy for enterprises.
Android for Work is a program announced by Google earlier in the year that looks to offer businesses with simple management and improved security solutions for the devices of its employees. The flexibility of the Android for Work program in being able to offer solutions that are customizable to enterprises fits well with the "privacy without compromise" approach of Silent Circle.
The BlackPhone 2 will support both Google Mobile Services and Google Play within its Silent OS. Along with support for Android for Work, businesses are given control over balancing connectivity and data management with productivity tools that can be used through the enterprise.
