This BlackBerry smartphone won’t get Android Nougat update

NEW DELHI: BlackBerry's Priv smartphone, which was launched couple of years ago, won't be getting the Android 7.0 Nougat OS update. The news comes directly from Alex Thurber, general manager of BlackBerry Mobility Solutions in a podcast conversation with UTB Blogs website.

Thurber, confirming the BlackBerry Priv won't get Android Nougat OS, said that, "We do not have any plans today to bring [the BlackBerry Priv] to Nougat." He further said that, "It's a phone that we originally brought out almost two years ago, and in the world of mobile telephones, trying to get all of the different partners who have to be involved [...] to agree to transition that to [Nougat] just would not be possible."

BlackBerry to launch full touchscreen smartphone in October: Report

Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry recently launched its flagship smartphone KEYOne in India at Rs 39,990. Now, it seems that it is working on another Android smartphone with full touchscreen.

Although Thurber went on to say that the Priv users will get Android security updates for some more time, it definitely comes as a disappointment for several users. The smartphone was launched with Android 5.1 Lollipop out of the box.

As for the recently launched BlackBerry KEYone, Thurber added that it will be receiving Android 8.0 Oreo.

Canadian smartphone maker Blackberry launched its much awaited Android smartphone BlackBerry Priv in India in January last year. The smartphone comes with 5.4-inch QHD (1440x2560 pixels) display with Corning Gorillas Glass 4 protection. Powering the handset is a 1.8GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor coupled with 3GB RAM. It's on board storage stands at 32GB which can be expanded up to 200GB using a microSD card.

It has an 18MP rear camera with LED flash and 2MP front camera for selfies. The connectivity attributes of the smartphone include 4G, LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC and houses a 3410 mAH battery.

According to latest reports, BlackBerry is planning to launch its full touch screen Android smartphone by next month. The news was confirmed by TCL's Francois Mahieu to Engadget. For those unaware, TCL Communications got exclusive licence to manufacture and sell BlackBerry branded smartphones last year.