Confirmed: BlackBerry PRIV Will Not Receive Android Nougat Update

If there is one reassuring thing that iPhone users can expect from Apple, it is in the form of software updates for major releases. Take for example the upcoming iOS 11 which will actually support devices as old the iPhone 5s which was released four years ago in 2013. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Android, and the BlackBerry PRIV is the perfect example.

The BlackBerry PRIV was launched 2 years ago, but it seems that in a recent podcast on UTB Blogs (via CrackBerry), it has been confirmed that the handset will not be receiving the update to Android 7.0 Nougat. This was confirmed by the GM of BlackBerry Mobility, Alex Thurber. According to Thurber, he claims that the amount of work required to get all of the partners together to bring Nougat to the PRIV was “next to impossible”.

What this means is that as far as official updates are concerned, the PRIV will remain on Android 6.0 Marshmallow until its EOL status. However if there is one major advantage Android has over iOS, it is that it is open source, which means that there are plenty of custom ROMs out there for Android users that are based on major Android builds.

This means that PRIV owners should be able to find an Android custom ROM based on Nougat to update their phones to, or they could even find one that is based on the Android 8.0 Oreo update, although we suppose having an official release would make things a lot easier for the less tech savvy users.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Android, android updates.android 7.0 nougat, BlackBerry, blackberry priv