There is little denying the fact that BlackBerry devices lost their appeal among consumers over the last few years. Now, after struggling for a few years and being reduced to a minor OEM in the smartphone market, BlackBerry is now planning on shipping its upcoming devices with Android.

The report from Reuters, citing four different sources who are familiar with the matter, states that using Android as the OS of choice in its phones is a part of the company’s strategy to focus more on software and device management. By launching an Android powered BlackBerry handset, the company will be able to show that its BES12 system is capable of managing and securing devices that don’t run its in-house OS as well.

The first Android powered device from BlackBerry is expected to be a slider (Touch screen + physical keyboard) that will be released in autumn this year. The device might also come with some of the patented features in BlackBerry 10 OS to attract existing BlackBerry customers.

It is unclear at the moment if BlackBerry will kill its existing BlackBerry 10 powered devices and the OS itself after the launch of its first Android device or not.

Shipping Android OS in itself is not going to be enough for BlackBerry to make a comeback in the smartphone market though. The company needs to make sure that the handset is equipped with top notch hardware, features compelling new software features and has access to the Google Play Store. Otherwise, the company’s Android powered smartphone might end up having the the same fate as the Amazon Fire Phone.