Android Marshmallow will roll out on BlackBerry Priv during this spring, BlackBerry's CEO, John Chen said during the fourth quarter earnings call.
The first Google-powered smartphone from the BlackBerry family will receive the much awaited update towards the end of April, or in early May at the latest. Other manufacturers already pushed the Android 6.0 to their flagship devices, but the Canadian OEM takes its time.
BlackBerry CEO says Android M update coming to Priv in late April/early May. $BBRY
— Roger Cheng (@RogerWCheng) April 1, 2016
Insiders from the mobile industry point out that although Marshmallow was long expected, the proprietary custom software of the BlackBerry manages to offer a pretty decent experience. A number of experts agree that the user interface that sits under the hood of the BlackBerry Priv actually improves the Android operating system.
For example, the Hub manages your schedule and notifications and the quick actions enabled by swiping the right edge of the screen reminds of the Galaxy Edge's appraised features. It should be mentioned that the software keyboard is commendable, as well.
Marshmallow will bring a myriad of pluses to the BlackBerry but it remains to be seen whether or not the company will take advantage of all of them. For example, Android 6.0 allows OEMs to use the MicroSD card storage as internal memory, but LG and Samsung refused to use the capability.
Only a few days ago, a video showcasing a BlackBerry Priv handset that ran Android 6.0 Marshmallow was spotted.
A number of improvements and features are expected to boost the BlackBerry Priv after it receives the update to Marshmallow. The most notable novelties are Doze, Enhanced App Permissions and App Standby. With Doze, the phone can save significant battery life when left idle. App Standby determines when users are active on certain apps, thus, adjusting the necessary network access. App Permission filters which features from apps are available to the user, somewhat similar to how GPS and Maps work together.
In January, we paid attention at the CES event and reported on the release of Android 6.0 Marshmallow to the new BlackBerry Priv. The information came straight from Ron Louks, Blackberry's executive who took the stage and told the media about the upcoming update.
We will keep you posted on how the sweet Marshmallow behaves on the Canadian smartphones.
