Android 6.0 Marshmallow Update For BlackBerry Priv Will Be Announced In Q1 2016

As it turns out, BlackBerry Priv owners eagerly awaiting the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update may have to wait a little longer. A new report points to the approximate timeframe of the firmware roll out announcement.

In one of the CES 2016 demonstrations, BlackBerry executive Ron Louks reportedly revealed that the “announcement” of the Android 6.0 roll out for BlackBerry Priv will be made in the first quarter of 2016. This means, the handset will not receive the latest firmware anytime soon. The Priv runs on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop OS, straight out of the box. Not to forget, this is BlackBerry’s first Android-powered device.

The Canadian tech giant will also be announcing several third-party accessories specific to the Priv in the coming weeks. Crack Berry said that Mobile World Congress scheduled in Barcelona could be used for the new announcements. The MWC 2016 event has been scheduled in February.

Moving on, BlackBerry CEO John Chen recently acknowledged that the Priv has been well-received and hence, a couple of new Android-based handsets will be released in 2016. The BlackBerry 10 OS, known for its security and privacy, did not enjoy the much-required attention from customers and developers alike.

According to Fortune citing ComScore, BlackBerry’s proprietary OS had only 1 percent market share as of October 2015. In the same time period, Android had amassed a total of 52.9 percent market share. Needless to say, Chen bit the bullet and switched to Android.

Featuring a physical QWERTY keyboard in the form of a slider, the Priv will be offered by T-Mobile starting Jan. 26. This will be followed by Verizon Wireless sometime towards the end of March. So far, there is no official confirmation available on the release date pertaining to Sprint.

The Priv is already available via BlackBerry’s official Website, AT&T, Rogers, Bell, TELUS and Vodafone U.K. The company will be releasing the handset in about 31 countries in 2016.