There is bad news for Blackberry Priv owners. The TLC-manufactured smartphone, which is synonymous with providing users with fast updates, will not be getting upgraded to the newly-launched Android 8.0 Oreo. The disappointing news was revealed by Alex Thurber, who is the general manager at BlackBerry Mobility Solutions. During an interview with the UTB Blogs, Thurber revealed that the Priv will not be updated to either Android 7.0 Nougat or Android Oreo.
Priv not included in Oreo update list
BlackBerry Priv was launched in 2015 and came pre-installed with Android Lollipop.
However, later the company rolled out Marshmallow for the smartphone. It now appears that the smartphone will be stuck on Marshmallow as it will not be receiving either Nougat or Oreo.
Thurber was unclear whether the DTEK-branded smartphone from TLC i.e. the DTEK59 and DTEK60 will receive software updates in the future. ExtremeTech pointed out that while upgrading the BlackBerry Priv from Lollipop to Marshmallow, TLC had to take responsibility for getting device partners on the team. This will also have to be done if the company wants to further upgrade the handset. The task of getting the device partners agreeing once again is an impossible feat, which TLC is unwilling to take on.
DTEKs will not receive firmware updates?
While getting the device partners to agree to push a huge update may have been the reason behind the BlackBerry Priv not receiving any further system updates, the motive for not pushing out firmware updates for the DTEK59 and DTEK60 is quite different. According to Neowin, DTEK-branded smartphones were an experiment to test how the partnership between TCL and BlackBerry would unfold.
Considering the BlackBerry KEYone is performing quite well in the market, it is safe to assume that the collaboration is successful. The company therefore no longer needs to support the DTEKs any further and is re-branding the handset as a commercial concept device. Nevertheless, Thurber assured that TCL will continue to roll out security updates for the DTEK smartphones.
BlackBerry handsets receiving firmware update
While Priv and the DTEK-branded smartphones have been eliminated from the list of devices receiving future OS updates like Android Nougat and Oreo, there are some BlackBerry smartphones which have made the cut. Thurber also said that the KEYone will get the Android 8.0 Oreo firmware update sometime after the OS is released to the market.
