BKAV Corporation has delayed its plan to launch a new generation of BPhone models until mid-year when a series of versions for different market segments will be introduced.
Buu Dien newspaper quoted its sources as saying that BKAV won’t launch the next-generation BPhone in early 2018 as initially planned. It has decided to make heavier investments to develop the model, and will delay the launch time.
On March 19, Schannel published a 16-second video showing images of a smartphone believed to be the mid-end BPhone that BKAV plans to launch into the market.
The smartphone in the video had a ‘B’ letter on the back. An image of a kingfisher was the wallpaper, just like the wallpaper of the Bphone 2017 version launched in August 2017.
The phone has a home button, and a silver-grey cover made of monolithic metal. According to Schannel, if compared to Bphone 2017, the smartphone in the clip has small changes in the positions of the flash and camera. The design of the speakers is very different from Bphone 2017 version.
On March 20, an insider revealed that the smartphone version in the clip was one of the trial versions which may be marketed this year. This means there would be more than one version in 2018.
Prior to that, local newspapers reported that BPhone 2018 would be a mid-end version with a retail price lower than BPhone 2017.
Jackie Pham, a viewer of Schannel, provided information about BPhone 2018 after watching the video: “Bphone 3 Lite (Bphone 3, Bphone 2018).
“There will also be Bphone 3 or Bphone 3 Pro; 5.5 inch screen FullHD 16:9, pixel density, 403 PPI RAM 4Gb, ROM 32Gb – 64Gb Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 octa-core, 2.2GHz Camera 16 Mpx f/1.8 Front camera 8 Mpx f/1.9, BOS operating system 2.0 on Android 8.0 Oreo platform, capable of upgrade to Android P 9.0; one-touch fingerprint security Bkav Mobile Security; retail price VND8,690,000”.
The 2017 BPhone version marketed in August 2017 is equipped with Snapdragon 625 chip, RAM 3GB and inner memory 32 GB, 16 MP back camera, integrated with AI to process images and a 3000 mAh battery. Cost will be VND9.790,000.
BPhone versions all run on BOS operating system developed by BKAV.
Lam Hong Quang, a senior executive of BKAV, said that seven years ago, when BKAV began working on BS, Nguyen Tu Quang, BKAV’s CEO decided that BOS ‘must be as open as Android, and as smooth as iOS’. BPhone 2017 runs with the second version of BOS.
BPhone 2017 is still positioned as a high-end product with luxury customer care service.
Source: VietNamNet