On October 26, 2015, BlackBerry Limited announced that there were no plans to release new APIs and software development kits (SDKs) or adopt Qt version 5.

Future updates, like versions 10.3.3 and 10.3.4, would focus on security and privacy enhancements only,[6][7] effectively putting the operating system in maintenance mode.

[13] On November 12, 2012, CEO Thorsten Heins announced a 30 January 2013, launch of the BlackBerry 10 operating system version 10.0 and the first smartphones running it.

On June 18, 2014, BlackBerry announced an official relationship with Amazon.com, which resulted in the 10.3 update bundling the Amazon Appstore.

For instance, a user can unlock the device or return to the home screen by swiping from the bottom to the top.

For instance, the same gesture can be used to show unread notifications when the user swipes from the bottom edge to somewhat the middle and slightly to the right and also keep the finger on the touchscreen.

Similarly, when the finger is moved from the bottom to the right in a curved motion, the user can enter BlackBerry Hub immediately.

Active Frames can have widget-like functionality and show small bits of information, similar to widgets on Android.

These include a web browser, as well applications for notes, reminders, calculator, clock, music, media, weather and file management.

The second team focused on engaging the broader development community and building the platforms application count.

David Pogue of The New York Times noted that the software was, "simple to master, elegantly designed and surprisingly complete.

"[36] Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal referred to the operating system as "logical and generally easy to use".

Mossberg praised the virtual keyboard, camera software, and messaging hub; but criticized its application ecosystem, cloud capabilities and the immaturity of some features.

[37] Gizmodo's Kyle Wagner states that BlackBerry 10's home screen "gives BB10 the single best implementation of multitasking of any mobile OS right now".

He also reports what he refers to as the "Tragic Flaw": "Unlike every other major OS right now, BlackBerry does not feel fully integrated.

"[38] In comparison to that, at launch, CrackBerry.com views the new features more positively and takes into account the fact that the OS is brand new.

[39] It goes on to mention minor discrepancies and finally pointing out that many of the problems are getting fixed in future updates (some now released, e.g. battery life improvements, call ringtone disabled in bedside mode[40]).

Regarding the apps in BlackBerry World "really impressed by the quality of apps BlackBerry World has to offer", it notes that the application ecosystem is not as large as Android and iOS because of its age (brand new) and finishes with "doubtlessly many more will come around once they see the Z10 getting traction in the wild."

This advertised feature has received a poor reception as the Android apps "performed abysmally on the phone.

In fact, because these apps are being run in a software emulation of Android — Gingerbread no less (that's version 2.3) — they bear little to no relationship to the rest of the operating system".