BlackBerry launched into the Android world in 2015 with the Priv, a phone to satisfy those who need to be super-secure. At that time, the company promised that it would update the phone for two years, though it was pretty confident in its ability to lock down insecure parts of the operating system. That 24-month period has come and gone, and sure enough, BlackBerry is officially cutting off support for the phone.

To null the sting a bit, BlackBerry has made the following four promises going forward:

  1. All warranty obligations for the Priv will be fulfilled.
  2. The phone is still secure, even without monthly updates.
  3. Should a critical vulnerability appear, BlackBerry will work with its partners to address it.
  4. A new trade-in program for Priv and BB 10/BBOS owners is coming to help them upgrade to a KEYone or Motion.

It should be noted that the formerly-known Research In Motion did not even update the Priv to Nougat, as we saw confirmed back in September. That is, honestly, pretty pathetic and not something I can condone. I think the trade-in program is neat and all, but it's the least BlackBerry could offer at this point (which is admittedly more than some OEMs do at a device's end-of-life).

If you're still rocking your Priv, BlackBerry will announce details about the trade-in program "SoonTM." I have to wonder if TCL taking the helm on BB devices will help things be different in the future, but I'm not holding my breath.

Source: BlackBerry