BlackBerry Priv, the Coolest Failure - Retrospective Review 

If this video does decently well, I think I'll go ahead and pickup a Blackberry Keyone to review as well. This is without a doubt one of my favorite Android phones I've reviewed... it's so cool and I spent a ton of time on this video, so I hope you enjoy! Follow me @91_Tech to keep up when I get that Keyone! Or don't. But please do Insta: instagram.com/91_tech/ Twitter: twitter.com/91_Tech

Priv has a weird cult following in China, there are people offering services for around $40 to increase ram from 3gb to 4gb

Blackberry didnt die because of the keyboard. The priv was the perfect combination of both worlds. It had both inputs, physical and on screen keyboard, and it was a great partial answer to the market demand. The thing that killed blackberry is that they werent as assiduous in responding to other market demands. They started as a corporate tool and they ran a train on that market all by themselves. And apple was the toy phone for the kids that wanted to play. What they didnt understand is that building toy is harder than building tools. Not that building tools is easy. But toys arent a concrete need, they have a need aspect, but they are deffinitely ruled by consumer WANTS. Corpoate tools are needs if you can meet and even slightly exceed the user demands and deliver at a less painful price than others you will win. And blackberry did. For a while. But what they didnt expect was that apple and android would bother trying to compete in that space, and then be able to do it so well, mainly because it really wasnt that hard to do and they over estimated the draw of the physical keyboard. They didnt really have any focus on developing their relevance in the game and recreation space, and once the competition met them in utility, the consumers asked why would they have a work device and a play device when they can have both in one.

I love mine, used it for over 3 months this year before switching to the KEYone. It gets a lot of looks in public, had someone say to me it looked cool and they hadn't seen a blackberry in years. The Priv is so much better than the KEYone but the slow software struggles with everything including basic things like emails. I only do basic things on my phone like calls, text and email. My Note7 on android 6.0.1 feels just as slow, comparing it to the note FE on android 8 it's significantly faster so some of its issues might be a result of android 6. From what i have seen this phone was prototyped running BlackBerry 10. Would love to put BB10 or a light custom rom onto it. The boot-loader is locked and i don't know it that makes it impossible but i hope not. Would love to use it again. Not sure why you didn't like the keyboard. However that might be a good thing or every other phone without one feels bad. You did forget to mention all the custom keyboard shortcuts you can assign as well as the copy, cut, paste shortcuts. Best software feature of the phone. Also i am a fan of the back, its grippy so you don't need a case. But its true they can get the squeaks. The back is actually kinda transparent: instagram.com/p/CEtkw_yHz-8/ Enjoyed the video Josh, was well produced and put together.

Man this phone with updated specs would be amazing!

Plot Twist: The voice actor of SpongeBob and the voice actor of Karen, Plankton’s computer wife, have been married since 1995.

When I saw your post on twitter spoiling this video I immediatly knew that this video was going to be amazing! And I totally wasn't wrong! Great video from what I've seen so far Josh! :)

HTC One m8 in 2020 :) It's promotion and promises were very big back in 2014

I enjoy this old phones reviews. Keep them coming and thank you for the content

This phone is so dope, what a shame all of its potential was wasted

I love the little previews of the adverts at the start of the video. It adds so much character.

I still carry a BlackBerry Key2. The dedicated mute key is one of the most underrated and useful features on a phone. Super convenient when on a call, and it's something I miss whenever I use a different device.

Amazing video! Please review such old devices,the videos are simply brilliant cause of the amazing music!

I was legit looking into getting this as a second phone. You are a blessing for this video.

This is a really great video as always!

Man I REALLY wanted this when it came out. I think in an alternate universe if there was a 2020 version of this, it could be successful.

The back is an anti-slip grip. Lay it flat in your open palm. Turn your palm and it'll stay on your hands, nearly vertically, without dropping.

My friend uses one till today, it works fine just heats up from time to time.

Such a missed opportunity. Good review, as always. 👍👍👍👏👏👏

"I really do love sliding it in and out.... it's pretty cool!" -91Tech

I really miss my Priv. I user replaced the battery once, but a second time was too much. I loved the grippy back so I didn't drop it. The physical keyboard was awesome. The "hub" that aggregates all my e-mail accounts, facebook, whatsapp, twitter, etc is so good that I pay for the software on my current Android phone.

to be honest, if blackberry was still relevant i would probably buy one of their smartphones. Especially if they remade a phone like this one, but with updated cameras, internals and cameras.

I had a Blackberry Curve, the keyboard was so amazing.

Blackberry only doing 1 late OS upgrade for it was a slap in the face. I loved my Priv, but the lack of support from BB was insulting. The Priv was my last phone from them.

I expected this video 😂 Thums up for that👍 BB prive My favourite

91 tech probably got the best intro of all tech channels in my opinion.

Amazing video quality as always

I've spent 2.5+ years, and tried 14+ devices, and have yet to find a phone I enjoy more than the Priv (only Note10 came close, but I've tried many: from Motorola, Nokia, LG, Samsung, to Razer phone and other BlackBerry handsets). Highlights just off the top of my head - love sliding it open to answer calls (turns heads all the time), the most comfy phone for calls overall (so soft and grippy to hold, perf size when slid open, loudest + clearest ear speaker), great for landscape video (front speaker means holding it amplifies the sound, and doesn't muffle the audio like w/ bottom firing speakers, good sound quality too), tbh the physical keyboard is my fav of all the bb's (perf combo of soft but clicky, and smaller keys give it a wider, more luxurious layout), the virtual keyboard is also my fav (so much so that I've installed the BlackBerry vkb on every device I've had, from my moto g5+ that I got after the Priv, to the Note10 that I just sold to a friend a week ago), love the software between marshmallow and KEYᵒⁿᵉ w/ nougat-oreo (menu layout, and more basic features, Android 9 and onwards created a ton of annoying/convoluted submenus), and lastly while it def has tons of drawbacks and is obviously dated it's great to have a 2015 device that was so far ahead of the curve w/ some features: QHD amoled screen + wireless charge + 4k video etc.

I'm still nursing my 7-year old PRIV and would love to have one with current processing power and OS. I"m glad that it's still working with some infrequent issues of randomly rebooting and slow with apps that need updating. Hell, I'd love the interface and the wonky interface gestures of BB10 on Android with upgraded PRIV hardware. If they could add water resistance, it would be near perfect, for me at least.

Hers what i think as a late 90s baby that never had a BB but got a KeyOne, I brushed a physical keyboard off as a stupid gimmick when i had first seen pictures of it, but when i saw a review for it out of curiosity, the moment i found out you could program 60 shortcuts (2 for every key) I fell in love, the fact i could program ANYTHING to any key made me buy it right then and i purchased one for 480, it took a while to adjust to it, but once i got used to it, it really changed how i used my phone. All my frequent contacts? Assigned to keyboard shortcuts. Frequently used apps? assigned to keyboard shortcuts. it made daily activates much easier as i could just open the phone, push F for facebook and go straight to it. Missed a call from my dad? i could just press and hold D and I'd be calling him right then and there. It really made communicating and staying in touch with people A LOT easier to do, and once i got good at the keyboard i didnt even have to look at it anymore, something I've never been able to do with any of the normal phones I've had. I switched to am xperia 10 ii and since then, I've come to really miss the keyboard on the KeyOne, I hate that i cant have all my shortcuts, returning calls is now a lot harder, and in general, i feel like I'm so much more sluggish without the keyboard. Might switch back to it, but, i just wanted to share my perspective since i also brushed it off as a gimmick with no place on smartphones, but after i used it, I now understand why older people love physical keyboards now.

I had a Q10, then a Passport, then the KeyOne, and was very proud to be #teamBlackberry in a market saturated with iPhones and Androids! I finally converted to the iOS side in 2018 and have been LOVING it ever since, but I do sometimes miss the tactile response of the physical keyboards, especially from my Passport, and the Blackberry Hub was awesome. It’s a shame they didn’t respond fast enough to the direction the market was going in, they definitely had the fan base to keep them afloat by the time the iPhone came out.

I still have a key 2 as my backup - it has been my go-to-phone since 2019 but the space key kept freezing and I had to switch to something else. But I have ordered another key 2 and I can't wait to see it. All of blackberry's designs amazed me. It's like my first love lol. I might buy a priv as well in the near future.

I used a Pearl and a Torch way back. I liked the OS, still the best integration of email across apps. Keyboards worked fine, cameras were utter trash. Very good phones for business users syncing to their work computer. I'd moved on by the time of the Priv, but still miss some things about Blackberry

I still have a priv and I refuse to throw it away. Sadly the battery dies so fast, it's not working as a daily.. I love it. I love the look people give you when you slide it open. I wish there would be a newer version today

I've owned one for 4 years, I mainly use it now for RU-vid, podcasts, music, Gmail, some surfing, and eBay haha.. a great phone overall, but it heats up and lags every so often, I use an app once a week to improve touchscreen sensitivity and it works great.. Another positive is a relatively easy battery change if needed I'll keep using it until it dies on me, it's still fast and great for watching videos, it still looks awesome as well, love the design

The battery indicator is so cool. I'm glad I bought one. The sliding keyboard was a damn good feature too. I love showing it off

I used the Priv from 2015 to 2017. The battery would heat up like a marshmallow and suck the hell out of it but yes potential is what I agree is best description. The keyboard was too cramp but future keyboards were much much better so a second Priv with a better keyboard and battery would have been a godsend. A reworking of the Priv seems to be the common thought of what BlackBerry enthusiasts want out of the 2021 phone that is to be released. I do have a particularly fond memory of my Priv which will always make me appreciative of it. In 2017, I'm in the pantry and after I sent a text and slid the phone closed, the hot girl from accounting came up to me and said woah what type of phone is that. Told her it was BlackBerry Priv that runs full Android. She said wow that's super dope (her exact words). She's got an iPhone and an iPad so I would classify her as an Apple based solely on outward appearances. That tells me not all of them are jerks. Most probably, but not all.

Would have loved to see this design evolve over time and turn into an awesome, bezeless, high resolution, high refresh rate, amoled display phone with better cameras and specs... But oh well... RIP blackberry, and RIP physical keyboards (for now at least hopefully)

I might have to pick this up. My first phone was a Blackberry clone and I have never really gotten used to digital keyboards.

a priv 2 with polished software and an amazing camera would go soooo hard

When you said you get the best of both world when explaining the BlackBerry duality keyboard with touch sensitivity screen, I instantly got the Hannah Montana theme song “You got the Best of Both Worlds”

That sound near the end of the outro song has me jumpy, thinking my device is broken.

blackberry hub was so great on BB10. I used it for 2 years 2014-2016

I really liked my Priv. It even held up really well. My only real problem with it was the chipset, ram, and storage. They were just never enough.

The last time I had a BLACKBERRY PHONE, was in 2013, brings back memories, for real, my Brothers and Sisters.

Damn I thought that thing were from 2017. Still looking good as new and the UI looking fresh as well

Part of me really misses using my Priv... I loved the hide away physical keyboard! But I got that phone new & I always found the battery life to be terrible! Also the 808 often would overheat in it and throttle as well. But yeah Android 6 isn't useful now at all... But.... If my wives phone broke... I'd humor the noble gesture of giving her my Galaxy S10 & going back to the Priv. Also liked how unique it was. BlackBerry has sold the licensing of producing a Blackberry to Onward Mobility... There behind on even showing their phone.. But I am sure it will come sometime... No idea if it will be like the Blackberry Key Series TCL made. Or like the Priv.... Or somehow go with a more old school Blackberry design (Doubtful) But I am keen to see what they produce because I might wanna buy it! 100% sold if they produce a modern day BlackBerry Priv!

I put my Priv down in the summer of 2018 and i miss it real bad. Currently using a Blackberry Keyone Black Edition and its fine but i miss that slider so much. Im very much still attached to my Blackberry and its buttons.

Just when I start looking at BlackBerry again.

Hey Bro, I'm still using this phone since last 4 yrs :)

I knew someone with a blackberry priv. It looked so awesome at the time

I used the BlackBerry Q10 for 3 1/2 years and bought the Playbook for compensating the tiny but sharp display. In my opinion the gestures of Blackberry OS10 (and Playbook OS) are comparable to the iphone OS nowadays. I would be so happy to see the two devices presented on your YT-Chanel :)

I'm still using a Priv daily and I still enjoy the crazy looks I get when I slide the keyboard. I have always carried a ipod for apps. I have a new key 1 new unused but continued to use the Priv. FYI my phone isn't 6th finger.

Compliment Man!! Nice and good Video. I really like this 2015 phone, it's very cool!! Well I preferred if it had a normally phone Key pad with T9 (that's is the way I'm using to write it now with one and). It's cool to can write along You see all text in a full screen. Anyway track again for this video and sorry for my bad English. I'm writing you from Bergamo in Italy.

Key takeaway for me was at 12:33 So glad I watched this. Dude's right on this one. What do you rEally have to hide out there in a world like this? Today? People need to understand that there are some stuff indeed that is private and not meant to be shown to the world, but in today's age? You're not gonna be anybody if you don't put yourself out there. Just some thoughts from me dude. You rock!

That BlackBerry looks awesome! Looks like the keyboard really tiny though. Seeing that camera move during the camera text made me nauseas though.

Immediately I saw the title and thumbnail, I thought of tech parody RU-vidr SAMTIME! He is a Blackberry devotee. I have no doubt this will be a great video as well.

You're absolutely right. Made for business people. And what do business people do a LOT of? Conference calls - so there you have your answer to why it's mute between the volume rockers. I have been MISSING this feature from all my phones that came after my blackberry passport SE - which I'm still using btw and you probably should take a look at that design and keyboard of that. TBH if I need to do a lot of email from a phone I still reach for the passport. The other great thing is (was) it's operating system - it is QNX based and crazy fast. Take a look - really. Sadly apart from crisp clear phoen calls in any environment and email there's not much use to it anymore. No apps etcetcetc...

The Middle Button Between The Volume Is An Convince Key You Can Launch Any App Or Every Action On The Setting Menu I Think

How do you get your hands on one today specially for less than 50 bucks, cuz I still use the BlackBerry touch keyboard even now

Actually the mute button was a legacy function, just like the iPhone totally not needing the hardware switch but still keeping it there. That button was there since the old BlackBerry days, and it is somewhat helpful once you develop the muscle memory to reach for it when you need it. It's that one button you wish you had when you have that awkward phone or alarm ringing in the middle of a meeting or a presentation. Instead of searching for a dismiss button or tapping on the volume down button rapidly in embarrassment, just one click of a button and the phone would get the message and shut up. At least that one's much more useful than those Google Assistant or Bixby buttons phone makers slap onto the phone from time to time.

It’s interesting how when this phone is brought up almost the entire conversation is on the fact that it has a slide out keyboard in the android era seemingly forgetting that the first truly popular android phone and actual iPhone competitor (the Motorola droid) had a slide out keyboard.

Answer 100 emails a day your job depends on and the value of the physical keyboard becomes apparent.

Wow I want one...I've used many android devices and never ever imagined the blackberry priv- now I've seen it, I want that sliding keyboard and curved screen.

I wish BlackBerry came out with a Priv 2.0! I went through 2, using the Priv since it came out. I've obsessed with it being best of both worlds; can't type with touch screen, but I now have to move on... (Gonna get a detachable keyboard for what I end up getting) Also, my Priv doesn't creek like yours does and I've dropped it many times.

I miss being able to scroll past ads without triggering them to load or auto play

You pushed me to buy this bro!

Blackberry needs to re do this phone with design and upadated specs. This has all the potential to be the future of smartphones. Dual function is so cool.

I think this is an incredible design and hope it makes a comeback. Marketing was the clear failure of this one, as I had never even HEARD of the PRIV until now. Around 2015 is when I was switching from Android to iPhone (never to look back) so I wasn't exactly shopping androids at the time, but still. Being a techy and not hearing about this, means they left a lot on the table in regards to marketing. If iPhones didn't exist and I was forced to use an android, this is exactly what I would want.

Blackberry should try to be a new competitor

Okay. I’m definitely interested in a PS5 review after seeing it flashed to show the BB’s camera quality

If this phone came out with modern specs I’d buy it in a heartbeat

Blackberry died because it acted like any other Canadian company, was incompetent from the start but saw random success, eventually it got arrogant over its size and killed itself. This is why Canada isn't dominant in the tech field, failure to innovate.

How about the HTC U play? My father uses it as a secondary phone and he kinda likes it, but with some problems and breaks the battery kinda sucks. Overall its a good phone though, good video btw!

Luv the Canucks hat!!!

Blackberry has always have a soft spot in my heart. I remeber when it was blackberry vs iphone era. BB priv should be the design of modern flgship smart phones. U just cant go wrong with an optional physical keyboard. And u just cant ignore how classy their phone designs are.

7:48 Actually the rubbery material is there on purpose. Like on older BB phones (Q10, Passport etc) it is there to make phone less slippery e.g. when holding phone in one hand and typing with thumb. Had my PRIV for two years (until it was run over by Volvo loader :D ) and this prooved to me very useful.

I was dragged kicking and screaming away from physical keyboards, I just liked them better (like them still) but at this point I've adjusted to that not being the norm.

Don’t think I didn’t notice the ps5 humble brag 😒 ... ps good vid and awesome choice of phone 👏

That mystery key is the mute button from the original blackberry devices.

What about over-heating? I am wanting to buy one now, but that's what bugs me the most. I have read some comments that it heats a lot sometimes

For me PRIV was one of the best phone I used on Android.

I still use the BlackBerry priv as a main phone. I use it with my iPhone.

I feel like you should do like a series dedicated to unique old phones. Like the zte axon m and other stuff...

Blackberry needed the Play Store. BB10 was an excellent OS.

it would be so cool if for iphones you could have that physical keyboard except digital, because pressing to go the menu with the numbers and symbols and then clicking again is annoying sometimes so it would be so cool to combine the 2, except also in settings have a choice on witch keyboard you use. not sure if anyone else was thinking that but wouldn't that be so cool

About that fingerprint: It`s not like someone would cut of your finger and use it. It`s about digital data - all fingerprint does it that it`s converted on some sort of key. Once someone get somehow to that key, they could digitaly slip this key to any device you own. Is your notebook locked by fingerprint? Hacked. You change your phone for new one? It`s a shame you still have the same fingers. And don`t even start about payments and cloud services secured by fingerprint: Are your payments secured by fingerprint? Say goodbye to your money. Someone hacks the cloud - he could have so many keys - and unchangeable, it`s not like leaked passwords, that you can change at any time.

They had the potential to become an Apple 2.0 with privacy but they dropped the ball but not promoting and supporting the app ecosystem. My first device was a blackberry and I still remember it fondly

I was very interested in this device when it was originally announced, but you could pretty much see the writing on the wall that this thing was destined to fail. I was a huge fan of the Blackberry Z10, though! That thing did many things right, but just like the Priv, it was too little, too late.

is it just me or is the camera on the s6 almost as good as the newest flagships?

I had the Priv. The single biggest issue was its Snapdragon 808 in it. It was the iPad 3 in SoC land

I used to have a BlackBerry Priv, and I liked it.

I want to know about language . Only english can use this phn or we can use any language font ?

“I literally lost brain cells reading that thread” Oh yup, sounds like Reddit alright

Loved my PRIV and still sorry I sold it once I got KEYone. Using Key2 still :)

Id love to dayly use one of those. Im still stuck on android 6.0.1 anyway

Still going to bought it even in years 2021 and so on. My love at first sight on smartphone ,I still recall, Was the Nokia N97 and N900. I remember how head over heel I am back then to get my hand on either of those two. But the price tag was too steep for a highschool teenager. Not until about 2013 I finally got my hand on 2nd hand N900. A bit beat up, Sure. But I love every moment spent on it. Especially the keyboard., Man!! How great does it feel to slide up and down on the keyboard let alone typing on one. I didn't said that current Smartphone trend was bad or anything, But I do missed all those "Dare" many Phone developer at the early 2010s has. Until everyone decide to settle in for a rectangular piece of plastic with a touch screen like Apple does since iPhone 3G. Like C'mon, Where are the venture attitude I could be excite for? Black Berry Priv was and maybe probably the last of its kind, The smartphone with keyboard or gimmick to attract some old user like me. But nevetheless, I'm still have very high hope that we will finally breaking up from these monotonous smart phone design any time soon in the fture.

Very good video so interesting

The software keyboard from blackberry is insane too though

I've just repaired mine with a new battery and rear housing. Ive missed the Keyboard