BlackBerry recently dumped its in-house operating system—Blackberry 10—and became one of the newest Android OEMs. It launched the BlackBerry Priv with Android 5.1 in November last year, and today we're getting an idea of what the company's major update process looks like. The Priv is being updated to Android 6.0.
The initial launch of the Blackberry Priv gave us good reason to worry about BlackBerry's software acumen. It launched with Android 5.1 a month after Android 6.0 came out. What, we asked, would happen when it came time to update the Priv? If BlackBerry can't even launch with an up-to-date version of Android, how long would a big update take? The answer seems to be "six months." Marshmallow for the unlocked BlackBerry Priv is rolling out six months after the OS' release and five months after the release of the Priv.Android 6.0 Marshmallow brings support for user-controllable app permissions—an ironic omission from the Priv given that the name stands for "Privacy." Adoptable storage will be great for the Priv's MicroSD—if BlackBerry doesn't disable it. This feature turns removable storage and internal storage into a single unified pool, allowing you to install apps, media, or whatever else you want on the SD card. Standby battery life should improve with the new "Doze" feature, too.
Six months is not very fast compared to flagships from other Android OEMs, especially when you consider this is BlackBerry's only Android phone. The HTC One M9 got Marshmallow in January, Samsung released Marshmallow for the Galaxy S6 in February, and the LG G4's Marshmallow update ranged anywhere from October to February, depending on the country.
Major updates aren't the only side of the story, though—BlackBerry has been excelling in Google's new monthly security update program. At the beginning of every month, Google releases an Android update for Nexus devices and discloses a new round of security vulnerabilities. Despite being on an old Android version, BlackBerry has been in lockstep in Google, releasing monthly security updates for the Priv on the same day as Google. We hope the speedy monthly updates continue, but six months for major updates on an unlocked device is pretty slow.
Remember, these timeframes are for unlocked devices. If you buy your device from a carrier, it will probably stand in the way of your updates. Carrier versions of the Priv won't get Marshmallow until May. T-Mobile has been letting BlackBerry's monthly updates go through, but AT&T has been blocking them for up to a month. If you can afford it, buy an unlocked device.
Update: BlackBerry sent over a statement saying that it did not "dump" BlackBerry 10. "BlackBerry is committed to its BB10 operating system and focused on software updates for BB10, with version 10.3.3 launching soon followed by version 10.4.4."
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