T-Mobile BlackBerry Priv gets Android Marshmallow

The BlackBerry Priv has an unfamiliar name for most BlackBerry fans, but the phone itself has a slide out QWERTY keyboard that makes the phone nostalgic for those who remember when “BlackBerry ruled the world” in mobile. Those days have come and gone, but the company has had to change its OS (from BBOS to Android) in the hopes of winning over a great portion of the market. Android is the world’s most dominant platform, so BlackBerry’s decision to launch the Priv on Google’s platform seemed to be the most logical and sure way to churn a profit.

Well, the company has made some money, but we wouldn’t call it great profit. In fact, an AT&T representative said recently that the BlackBerry Priv has disappointed in the sales department. Despite what has been a financial disappointment for BlackBerry, though, the company has two new Android handsets in the works and has opened up its Marshmallow Beta program to those who want to know what updates will bring before the mass consumer public views them. So, the Priv hasn’t been a success, perhaps, but that hasn’t stopped carriers from doing their part to see to it that the BlackBerry Priv gets the high-end treatment many believe it deserves. T-Mobile is the latest carrier responsible for updating the BlackBerry Priv to Android Marshmallow, Android’s latest update from Google:

Beginning June 13, the BlackBerry PRIV receives a software update to Android version 6.0.1/build AAF153.

Android Marshmallow brings some neat additions to the BlackBerry Priv, such as Doze Mode, a new feature that lets your battery drain slightly when apps are at rest and your phone is idle; there’s also customized app permissions that let you decide what information or data you want to provide and what data you don’t. There’s also Google Now On Tap, a way to tap the screen to search for the things you want (which we believe to be much better than Google’s old voice command implementation). The BlackBerry Priv Android Marshmallow update weighs a hefty 1.3GB, but you’ll need at least 1.GB of storage available before proceeding with the update. Also, be sure to have at least 50% battery life available.

There’s more that you should dive into on the BlackBerry Priv, but the update is coming at a rather late time in Android. Even Samsung has already updated its Galaxy Note 5, with US carrier Verizon having already updated its Galaxy Note 5 in March (3 months ago). The upcoming Android N update is only 3 months away from being announced by search engine giant Google, and the update will be six months old if not older for Samsung’s devices. BlackBerry will need to increase its update speed in the future if it wants to attract former BlackBerry fans.

T-Mobile customers, head on over to your phone settings, and under software update, hit that button.

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