Sunday, 9 February 2014

Blackberry 10.2.1 Goes Live Now, Brings a Full Android Runtime for Installing APKs

We typically try to avoid Blackberry talk as much as we can on DL, but this latest update to Blackberry 10 brings in all sorts of Android fun. We grabbed the update’s changelog for Blackberry Z10, there is a reference to it including a full Android Runtime that includes support for running native versions of Android apps that are APKs.

In the past, there was some half-baked trickery involved that needed to be performed in order for Android apps to run on a Blackberry device, but now with Blackberry 10.2.1, there is full support for Android apps. APK files can even be directly installed through a browser, with an inbuilt installer wizard walking you through the setup.

ANDROID RUNTIME

New Android Native Support adds support for running native versions of Android JellyBean applications in APK format without the need to convert
Applications using Android Bluetooth® SPI’s are now supported
Android application can integrate with BlackBerry Share Targets

APK INSTALLATION

Install APK files directly from the browser, email or File Manager
Tap APK file to install, and the wizard will walk you through installation

I’m not sure this should make you want a Blackberry 10 device any more than you did yesterday, but hey, Android! The update should be available to all Blackberry 10 devices

There is more to 10.2.1 than updating the runtime from Gingerbread 2.3 to Jelly Bean 4.2.2 -- this is also the update that allows BlackBerry app developers to build headless apps -- a much sought after feature by native BlackBerry app developers and BlackBerry 10 owners alike.

That said, the deeper integration between BlackBerry 10 and Android in 10.2.1 is garnering a massive amount of attention from users, as with this update BlackBerry 10 owners can now install Android .apk files (actual Android apps) directly onto their phone.

With a high percentage of Android apps compatible and working flawlessly on BlackBerry 10.2.1, this update basically means the perceived "app gap" in the BlackBerry ecosystem has been closed, with only a little crack remaining. Looking at the top 50 Android apps in the Google Play store, nearly all of them will work perfectly on BB10, as will tens and literally hundreds of thousands more.

Keep in mind that this is only for OS 10.2.1.1055, so if you're not running the leaked OS (or a higher version we'd imagine) then this won't work at all.

How to Install

All you need to do is download the APK to your device memory or media card, then tap it to install.

If downloading a file from your device, when it's complete just tap the file in the downloads view and then tap install to begin. If you're transferring the APK files to your device, use the File Manager to locate the APK then tap it to open and tap Install to begin.