Confirmed: BlackBerry Priv won't get Android Nougat update

There have been several disappointments this year on the subject of Android updates. The Android Nougat rollout has been far from speedy: Android Oreo is upon us despite that Nougat has only graced 13.5% of Android handsets. Meanwhile, we’ve learned that the OnePlus 2 won’t be upgraded to Nougat, nor does it look like the LG G4 will in the US.

Today, we’ve got even more bad news as another device joins the no Nougat club — the BlackBerry Priv.

Alex Thurber, the General Manager of BlackBerry Mobility Solutions, revealed that the Priv wouldn’t get Android Nougat during a recent podcast. Speaking to the folks at BlackBerry fan site UTB Blogs, Thurber said: “We do not have any plans today to bring [the BlackBerry Priv] to Nougat,” adding, “It’s a phone that we originally brought out almost two years ago, and in the world of mobile telephones, trying to get all of the different partners who have to be involved […] to agree to transition that to [Nougat] just would not be possible.”

This is particularly unfortunate as the Priv launched with Android Lollipop — just like the OnePlus 2 and LG G4. Though BlackBerry never made any guarantees about the Priv getting Nougat, as a general rule, it’s expected that smartphones will receive two major Android software upgrades in their lifetime.

While Thurber did note that the Priv would continue to get Android security updates for a while, it’s still a major disappointment that another flagship phone is missing out on Nougat, and it’s an increasingly worrying trend. Is it only a matter of time before one major upgrade for a flagship phone is the norm?

On a slightly lighter note, Thurber did reiterate that the BlackBerry KEYone would get Android Oreo. At least that’s something.