BlackBerry Priv review

On November 13, BlackBerry held a new product launch conference in Hong Kong, officially releasing its first Android-based smartphone, the BlackBerry Priv, priced at HK$6,488, or about RMB 5,335. This price has already exceeded the price of the Hong Kong version of the iPhone 6s.

hardware

In terms of body texture, the Priv screen is surrounded by an aluminum alloy frame, which seems to be relatively solid. However, as for the keyboard, camera and other body components, they seem a bit fragile, with a strong plastic texture, and coupled with the body weight of 192g, there is always a sense of unease. The back of the body feels good, with a linen texture, and it doesn't feel too slippery when held in the hand. Overall, it is satisfactory.

The power button of the BlackBerry Priv is on the left side of the body, and there are three buttons on the right side, namely the volume up, mute and volume down buttons. BlackBerry has even set up a separate mute button for the Priv, which is a relatively unique design. However, whether this case design is unnecessary is still a matter of opinion. However, in actual experience, when the phone screen is turned off, pressing the mute button will neither mute the phone nor enter the vibrate mode. At the same time, even if you press the mute button after the screen is lit, there will be no corresponding mute effect prompt, only the Android native volume control interface will be displayed. As for the function of quick mute, Android itself already supports it, such as pressing the volume down button when a call comes in, and holding down the volume down button when playing music.

The Priv is ergonomically designed, and the 5.4-inch screen makes it possible to operate it with one hand, and the keyboard can also be slid out with one hand. The addition of the sliding keyboard enriches the operating experience of the phone, giving people the illusion of using two phones at the same time. However, the keys are a bit too small, which is indeed difficult to use and requires some time to adapt. It is worth noting that the Priv's keyboard has a backlight, which is quite considerate.

In terms of the keyboard slide-out experience, it can be easily opened with one hand, and the keyboard can also wake up the phone when it slides out. However, the problem lies in the folding of the keyboard, because if you want to operate it with one hand, you must press the screen with your thumb, and the screen is in an active state at this time, which is easy to cause misoperation, so you can only operate it with two hands. However, when the keyboard is folded, it does not lock the screen, which is a bit strange. It would be better if BlackBerry could add an option to make it different for different people.

Display

The Priv is equipped with a QHD Super AMOLED dual-curved screen with a pixel density of 540ppi, similar to the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and S6 Edge+. Although it is not as bright as the Note 5 and S6 Edge+, it is superior in color reproduction and transparency, and the viewing angle is also excellent. In short, it is a good screen.

BlackBerry has put some thought into the use of the curved screen, and has provided more functions than Samsung's customized ones, such as the ability to quickly create new notes. For specific details, please refer to previous reports. BlackBerry has detailed instructions in the user manual.

The "chin" of the Priv is relatively short, and the speaker is hidden very well. Although the Priv is not as good as the HTC BoomSound, in the test, I can still feel a little bit of stereo sound effect, which is generally satisfactory.

system

The most popular BlackBerry Hub feature in the BlackBerry 10 system has been retained on the Priv. The Hub application is equivalent to a message box, which will collect many notification messages, including emails, text messages, and social network notifications, etc. However, except for BBM and text message notifications, other application notification messages will no longer appear in it, which needs to be improved in the future. In addition, except for BBM and text messages that can be viewed directly in the Hub application, other information needs to open the corresponding application to view. Another noteworthy feature of the Hub application is that it can customize notification reminder rules, such as the number of vibrations, the color of the LED notification light, etc.

Priv uses BlackBerry's customized Android 5.1.1 Lollipop operating system, but the changes are already very big. In order to ensure that the system is secure enough, BlackBerry has also added keys at the hardware level to monitor user activities through the Linux kernel and Dtek security applications. In addition, BlackBerry has officially stated that it will upgrade Priv to Android 6.0 within the next six months.

The rest of the most significant changes are basically from the interface design rather than the function, including the icons and colors are trying to restore the BlackBerry 10 system. The default home screen is no longer the control center, but many quick launch buttons are added to the side of the screen.

Obviously, BlackBerry gave up its original unique navigation function after using Android system, but at least I personally think that this makes the interface simpler and more elegant. After all, BlackBerry did not continue the traditional home screen widget function of Android system, but it is easier to restore the original BlackBerry system user experience.

Priv also has some new elements in system settings. For example, the double-click wake-up function, whether to enter the lock screen interface or the home screen interface after waking up the screen, setting the curved screen to display battery information, etc. Of course, since it is an Android 5.1 system, long pressing the Home button can also achieve quick operations. It is worth mentioning here that Priv's security settings options. Due to BlackBerry's corporate image, you must be looking forward to what new features Priv will have in terms of security functions, but in fact it is not much different from the security settings of native Android, it is almost exactly the same. The biggest difference is the newly added picture unlocking function. When using this function, the user must first select a number on the picture grid, and then slide the selected number to another position you selected in the picture. Although this improves security, it is also more difficult for you to remember.

Camera

Thanks to the Schneider-certified 18-megapixel lens, the BlackBerry Priv is capable of taking photos in some harsh lighting conditions. Previously, BlackBerry has not been able to compete with iOS and Android in terms of photography, and now the Priv may be a starting point. The overall effect of the Priv is still quite good, but there are still areas that need to be improved.

First of all, the shutter sound cannot be turned off and can only be solved by muting it. Secondly, although the Priv performs well in night scene shooting, sometimes the effect is a bit exaggerated and not very realistic during post-processing. In addition, the BlackBerry built-in camera provides fewer controllable options, including exposure, flash, HDR mode and timed shooting. In addition, there are only two ratios of 4:3 and 1:1 for photo size, and there is no widescreen 16:9 option. There are high quality and standard compression options for photo quality, and the default is high quality.

Samples

In terms of video recording, BlackBerry Priv supports 4K/30FPS video recording, of course, 1080P/60FPS and 720P/60FPS video recording. It is worth noting that Priv does not support slow motion video recording and ultra-high frame rate recording mode. The enhanced video stabilization function is only available for 720P and 1080P video recording.

Performance and battery life

Performance is not really worth mentioning. The Priv's performance is actually similar to most phones equipped with Snapdragon 808 processors. It is generally smooth, but sometimes it will be stuck. This may improve after the Android 6.0 upgrade, because the HTC One A9 with Snapdragon 617 performs very well and is very smooth.

In terms of battery life, the Priv has a built-in 3410mAh battery, which performs very well in actual experience. In the test, the screen can last for 4 hours with Wi-Fi and LTE turned on at the same time, which exceeds the average level of high-end mobile phones. In addition, the Priv is also surprising in terms of standby, consuming only a small amount of power. Of course, there are many reasons for this, and the core one is that the heat control of the Snapdragon 808 itself is better.

Priv supports Quick Charge 2.0, but the charging rate is not the fastest device. In the test, it was found that the charging rate was about 11-12W, not the full speed of 14-15W. At the same time, Priv does not come with a fast charging adapter when it leaves the factory, which is really a pity. It is worth noting that the charging rate of Priv is not stable, sometimes between 11-12W, sometimes 10W, and sometimes even as low as 7-8W. This may have something to do with the temperature of the battery.

Summarize

CEO Chen Shouzong has previously stated that if BlackBerry does not make a profit in 2016, it will completely shut down its smartphone hardware business unit. However, judging from the current market situation, the profitability of Android smartphones around the world is not optimistic. If BlackBerry had been able to use the Android system four years ago, the situation would have been completely different.

Although the BlackBerry Priv is very attractive in terms of workmanship, design and sentiment, the price of $699 will still scare away many users. In addition, the adjustment of the Android system is also wise, especially the retention of BlackBerry Hub. Of course, although BlackBerry's physical keyboard is mainly sentimental, it is too crowded, and the feel and input experience are not as good as previous products. Obviously, especially for those who have not used the QWERTY keyboard for a long time, it takes a long time to adapt.

As for the future of BlackBerry, many people have suggested that BlackBerry create an Android phone to revive its business. Now Priv is finally here. But no one can say whether Priv can help BlackBerry retain its hardware department in the future. However, from a product perspective, it is still a very distinctive Android product.

advantage

BlackBerry and Android mashup style;

Good hand feeling and beautiful appearance;

The camera works well;

insufficient

The keyboard feels average;

The price is high;

Android Lollipop is not new enough

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.