BlackBerry introduced the Priv – its flagship Android smartphone — last year with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop on board. The Canadian vendor keeps making frequent updates to the device, but most of them are related to security, which is its biggest selling point. However, a new video on YouTube indicates that the company might soon update the Priv to Marshmallow.
Is BlackBerry testing the latest Android version?
Many OEMs around the world have been updating their respective flagship smartphones and tablets to the latest flavor of Android. BlackBerry stayed away, but not for long it appears. A YouTube video that shows the Priv running the Marshmallow version of Android was uploaded on March 30 by XL Gadget.
Currently, it is not possible to judge the veracity of the video. Also there are no reports that BlackBerry is rolling out any beta versions of the new software to select groups of users. This means that even if the video is legit, there is no way it can be determined how the user got the software on the phone to begin with.
So in any case, there is no way to tell when the Canadian firm plans to actually roll out the final, stable version of its Marshmallow-based ROM to users worldwide.
Suspense on new phones in pipeline
There appear to be a few other things on the company’s agenda at the moment apart from rolling out Marshmallow to the Priv. There are rumors that the Canadian smartphone maker plans to launch a new Android-powered smartphone this year. BlackBerry has already begun working on the device, apparently. Very limited information about the new device is available for now, but some reports claim that it will be code-named Vienna, like the company allotted the code-name Venice to the Priv.
BlackBerry has not given any official confirmation on that front, but CEO John Chen previously said that if the Priv becomes a success, then the company will continue its handset-making business and could probably come up with a mid-range Android handset.
Also a recent rumor suggests that BlackBerry will come up with two other Android phones this year code-named Hamburg and Rome. Meanwhile, the company is set to release its quarterly results on April 1, and expectations are that it will post an adjusted loss of 9 cents per share.
