We are always looking for software updates, especially when they upgrade our device from Android Lollipop to Android Marshmallow. Earlier this week, BlackBerry announced that the Marshmallow 6.0.1 update was available for all BlackBerry PRIVs purchased from their ShopBlackBerry site in the UK, US, France, and Canada. For those that purchased their BlackBerry PRIV from Telus – their latest software schedule shows they will roll out the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow update as well as a security update on Tuesday, May 3. As with all upgrade plans, they are subject to change. The updates are rollouts and can hit at different times of the day, so you can always manually check for an update to ‘force’ it a little early.
All Android phones strive to be secure, but BlackBerry devices are all about security and were used in many corporations years ago – and still are. When BlackBerry made the move to run the Android OS on BlackBerry hardware, they worked hard on making Android on BlackBerry as secure as possible. Android’s Marshmallow allows the PRIV to improve on its security features. John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO, BlackBerry said, “PRIV by BlackBerry is the most secure Android device in the market, and we continue to find ways to further enhance users’ security and privacy by adding new features with the Marshmallow operating system update.” BlackBerry lists some of the improvements with this latest Android Marshmallow update and how it will affect your PRIV. You will be able to customize your personal data permissions – rather than allowing the app to dictate what personal data it will access, the user can now control this on an app-by-app basis. You will also see improved notification settings where you will only see notifications that affect that particular app. The new S/MIME support will allow users to sign digitally and encrypt their emails.
BlackBerry also improved the keyboard by providing more Emojis – we can never have too many Emojis. A new swipe capability allows the user to slide their finger across the physical or virtual keyboard to enter words. The word prediction is improved to anticipate better the next word based on where you place your fingers on the next word. Cursor control was improved on the physical keyboard to allow for more accurate cursor placement. The Doze feature in Marshmallow will give the PRIV better battery life by turning off background functions when not in use. BlackBerry PRIV users can engage their creative side with better camera/video features – record professional videos at 24fps in 4K, 1080p or 720p or even slow motion. There are many reasons to look forward to your Marshmallow update.