BlackBerry Ltd (BBRY) Updates BBM For iOS With New Design, Group Stickers

BlackBerry Ottawa

BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)’s much awaited BBM update for iOS has arrived even though the announcement was made a few weeks back. With the update, BBM gets a new design that appear more in-line with on iOS 7 or iOS 8 8 and with full resolution support for the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus. Across Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) supported devices, BBM now looks sharper than before along with a brighter color scheme.

More for iOS

Earlier, the timed messages sent by users lasted for a very short duration, but now the update makes them last longer. The time limit was set to 15 seconds by the company at first, which now has been extended to 60 seconds. Earlier the messages could be viewed by the recipient only once, but now the update allows them to see the messages many times over, but before the respective timers expire. Snapchat like timed message and message retraction feature has been available on BBM since last October.

The update, also, provides for fixing the bugs and performance improvements as well. The users can even send stickers in group chats with the help of the latest BBM update. “You can’t help but notice the sleek and modern design updates like a flat UI and attractive transparencies,” BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) says. The premium features such as timed messages and retractions are available for free only through the end of January, and that too without any limitations.

BlackBerry popular, but Apple leads

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is by far the most popular company globally, when it comes to tech gadgets, but it seems that Samsung and BlackBerry still have a special place among the American consumers. It was found that the ancient Pearl model released by BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) in 2010 was the second-most searched tech gadget on Yahoo.com in 2014. The third and fourth most searched device came from Samsung. While Galaxy S5 held the third spot, Galaxy Note held the fourth spot. The first spot was held by Apple’s new iPhone 6.

Samsung’s new S5 was not very impressive as it failed to earn popularity achieved by Apple’s latest devices.