With BlackBerry PRIV Release Date, Price Set for T-Mobile, When Will the Android 6.0 Marshmallow Update be Available?
The first BlackBerry running the Android operating system will hit the "Uncarrier" next Tuesday, Jan. 26. This week, T-Mobile announced the launch of the back-from-the-dead BlackBerry Priv, along with pricing details.
Meanwhile, details emerged that the physical qwerty keyboard sporting BlackBerry Priv will be upgradeable to Android M, or Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, in early 2016.
BlackBerry Priv Release Date & Price on T-Mobile
The BlackBerry Priv will be available at T-Mobile stores online and across the U.S. on its release date, Tuesday Jan. 26.
You'll be able to pick up the device -- which costs $720 full price -- for $0 down, as T-Mobile is pushing its "Jump! On Demand" program with the privacy-centric BlackBerry device.
After taking your BlackBerry Priv home for no money down, the device will cost $30 or $34 per month (depending on the plan) through T-Mobile until the smartphone is paid off, or until you decide to upgrade to a newer device, an option available up to three times every 12 months. The $30 per month plan is for a 24-month period while $34 per month is a 18-month lease, after which you have the option to pay the rest of the BlackBerry Priv off and keep it.
The BlackBerry Priv originally launched on AT&T in late 2015.
Hardware Specs & Privacy Features
As the name of BlackBerry's latest smartphone hints, the BlackBerry Priv puts a premium on "privacy" and "privilege."
To enhance the "privacy" side, the company includes proprietary security-enhanced software with the Android 5.1.1 Lollipop OS running out of the box, including something BlackBerry calls the "DTEK" warning system app, which monitors the security of the device and its communications and alerts you if something's up, along with a combination of security authentication and locking features.
But the BlackBerry Priv doesn't slouch on hardware specs, either. It sports a 5.4-inch Quad HD (1440 x 2560p) AMOLED screen that packs 540 pixels per inch, all protected by Gorilla Glass 4. Under the hood is a hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808, with the dual-core running at 1.8GHz and the quad-core clocked to 1.44 GHz, along with Adreno 418 graphics and 3GB of RAM.
The BlackBerry Priv comes with an 18-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization, phase detection autofocus, and dual-LED flash. The front-facer isn't anything to write home about, though, as it's 2-megapixels, capable of 720p video.
What is turning heads, though, is the BlackBerry Priv's huge 3410 mAh battery, which can hold up under up to 22 hours of mixed use. The Priv comes with the standard 32GB internal memory, but that's expandable up to 200GB with the microSD card slot.
Oh, and it comes with a physical QWERTY keyboard that slides out, since of course, this is a BlackBerry phone. You can also use the Priv's virtual on-screen keyboard if you're more comfortable with that.
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow Update Release Date
As for the "privilege" side of the Priv name, BlackBerry is promising first-in-line security patch updates and, according to Android Authority, quicker Android OS firmware updates as well.
BlackBerry has been coy about an exact Android M release date, but the BlackBerry Priv should be getting the update to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow sometime before March 2016.
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