BlackBerry Brings BBM to Android Wear

BlackBerry (BBRY) is planning to bring its popular BBM messaging service to Android Wear devices, the company announced at CES 2015.

BlackBerry showed off the current version of its BBM software running on Android Wear during a press event at the show, with the full version expected to hit shelves in “early 2015,” noted Jeff Gadway, head of product and brand marketing for BBM.

“It’s early for smartwatches, but BlackBerry decided it’s definitely worth exploring,” said Gadway, according to Computerworld. “This is our move beyond smartphones to wearables.”

Users will be able to receive alerts, accept friend requests, and read BBM messages directly on their wearable of choice, with the ability to respond to messages using voice-to-text via Google Now or by selecting from several default responses.

“BlackBerry is committed to listening to our customers and integrating new features and partners to improve the BBM Chat experience,” said Herman Li, senior vice president of BBM Engineering and Product Management, in a statement. “The integration of BBM to support wearable technology is just one way we’re expanding the capabilities of our portfolio and delivering exciting options for customers to easily access BlackBerry’s cross-platform technologies.”

After years of keeping BBM exclusive to its own devices, BlackBerry announced its plans to release the popular messaging service for Android and iOS devices in 2013, only to pull BBM days later after the Android version leaked ahead of its scheduled launch. The service was reinstated on iOS and Android devices shortly thereafter, with the company also making BBM available for Windows Phone users last year.

The company has continued to struggle to stay relevant in the post Android and iOS era after years of being known as the de-facto enterprise mobile device provider. BlackBerry has continued to fight back against the competition by focusing efforts on services rather than its suite of devices, including the expansion of BES 10 as a hosted service for Android and iOS users.