Troubled smartphone maker BlackBerry announced its anticipated Z30 device, adding a larger (5-inch) screen and “the largest battery yet on a BlackBerry smartphone”.

The anticipated smartphone is powered by the updated BlackBerry 10.2 operating system, which the company said “gives you a best-in-class productivity experience on the go”. This is also expected to be made available for the vendor’s Z10, Q10 and Q5 devices “beginning mid-October”.

The company has not published a full spec sheet yet, but said Z30 includes “a 1.7GHz processor with quadcore graphics”, stereo speakers, and new antenna technology which “dynamically tunes reception to give you better connectivity in low signal areas”.

The combination of 2880mAh battery and improvements in BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2 is also said to deliver “up to 25 hours of mixed use”.

The new smartphone will roll out from “select carriers and retailers around the world beginning next week in the UK and Middle East, and all other regions going into the holiday season”.

BlackBerry is set to release its quarterly results on 27 September, which will provide an update on how the company’s new devices are performing – so far, the numbers reported by the company have been uninspiring, with reports of muted demand from consumers.

The company is in the midst of a strategic review, with recent reports indicating that potential buyers are interested in various parts of the business – but its handset unit is drawing little interest.

Bert Nordberg, former CEO of Sony Ericsson and a board member at BlackBerry, has suggested that the company may have a future as a niche smartphone maker.

But success in the smartphone business is largely dependent on scale, enabling vendors to assign development costs across a broad product base, and allowing for better bargaining power in negotiating with suppliers.