The BlackBerry Priv isn’t scheduled to hit the shelves until November 6. However, that hasn’t stopped the company from publishing several stock apps of the device on the Google Play Store. Pre-orders for the phone started this week in the UK, Germany, US and Canada.
BlackBerry is leaving no stones unturned to ensure the Priv’s success. By listing its stock apps on the Play Store, the company probably intends to deliver the app updates separately from the device firmware updates. The stock Blackberry Priv apps currently listed on Play Store are:
The apps cannot be downloaded onto other devices though. Many manufacturers follow a similar approach, keeping the stock app development and the device firmware development independent. There is also a chance of BlackBerry making some of these apps available to other users in the future.
The Priv has managed to generate a lot of buzz over the past few months. It will be the first BlackBerry device to run Android, instead of BlackBerry OS. CEO John Chen confirmed the device last month during the company’s Q2 earnings report. The company is betting big on the fusion of BlackBerry’s security and Android’s ease of use. The BlackBerry Priv has a 5.4-inch curved AMOLED screen with a WQHD resolution. It also features a slide out physical keyboard. The device is powered by a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 SoC and 3GB of RAM. It comes with 32GB of internal storage, which can be further expanded up to 2TB via microSD cards. The Priv also has an 18-megapixel primary camera, a 2-megapixel front camera and a 3,410mAh battery. According to rumours, the device will run Android v6.0 Marshmallow.
The Priv is BlackBerry’s make-or-break device, with the future of the Canadian company’s handset business riding on it. The company is counting on the Priv to give hope to the BlackBerry faithfuls and charm back those, who abandoned it for Google and Apple. BlackBerry has priced the device at $699 (Rs. 45,500 approx.), pitting it against the iPhone and Galaxy S6 Edge+. The phone recently showed up on Zauba’s import listing, pegging the price at Rs. 50,635, and is likely to be launched in India soon.