BlackBerry is one of the most iconic mobile phone brands in the world, but since making the switch to Android, the Canadian company has hardly commanded a strong following on the basis of timely software updates. Rather, it is the security-centric nature of its software that people buy, but this doesn’t mean you won’t get software updates from time to time.
It’s only in Q3 2018 that the BlackBerry KEYone started receiving Android Oreo. In fact, this is the first and only BlackBerry device so far that has received the Oreo update, but there’s hope the BlackBerry Emotion could also come aboard the Oreo ship. But hey, Oreo is the past and we are now on Android 9 Pie, the latest dessert from Google.
So, will your smartphone receive the BlackBerry Android 9 Pie update? Let’s find out.
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Device list
BlackBerry, unlike other Android OEMs, doesn’t release so many phones annually. For instance, this year the company has only released the BlackBerry KEY2, BlackBerry Evolve and Evolve X and last year, we got the KEYone, Aurora and Emotion.
While all three from 2018 are high on the list of BlackBerry’s plans as regard Android Pie rollout, the same cannot be said of the 2017 models, still, there’s some hope that the popular KEYone could join the Pie party at some point.
| Device | Android Pie eligibility | Expected release date |
| BlackBerry KEY2 | Eligible | Q1 2019 |
| BlackBerry Evolve | Eligible | Q3 2019 |
| BlackBerry Evolve X | Eligible | Q2 2019 |
| BlackBerry KeyOne | Unknown | — |
| BlackBerry Motion | Not eligible | — |
| BlackBerry Aurora | Not eligible | — |
| BlackBerry DTEK50 | Not eligible | — |
| BlackBerry DTEK60 | Not eligible | — |
Expected release date
BlackBerry hasn’t said a thing regarding the prospects of Android 9 Pie update, but looking at the company’s recent track record in terms of software updates, it seems fans are in for a long wait.
As noted, it’s only in Q3 2018 that the KEYone started receiving the update to Oreo, yet the phone had been around since April 2017 and the OS was released in Q3 2017.
If we go by this, we are looking at another Q3 2019 release date for Pie to arrive on the KEY2, but let’s hope Project Treble will take effect and see BlackBerry Android 9 Pie update arrive earlier, somewhere in Q1 or Q2 2019.
Whether things will be a little different in the cases of the BlackBerry Evolve and Evolve X remains to be seen, but it’s likely that the latter will get the nod to receive Android 9 Pie ahead of the former, probably in Q2 2019.
Related:
- Huawei and Honor Android 9 Pie device list
- Samsung Android 9 Pie device list
- Sony Android 9 Pie device list
What to expect
As pointed out earlier, people don’t buy BlackBerry phones for timely software updates like in the case of Google or value for money like in the case of Xiaomi, but they because of the focus BB puts in privacy and security. On top of stock Android, the BlackBerry Android 9 Pie update will also include in-house customizations to integrate things like DTEK, BlackBerry Hub, and so on.
Despite the tweaks, you’ll still enjoy core Android 9 Pie features such as app actions, app slices, gestures for navigation, digital wellbeing, smart replies, better notification management, and so on.
You can check out all the new Android Pie features here. If interested, you can also take a quick peek at what the future holds in Android Q.
Unofficial Android 9 Pie update
BlackBerry is a niche smartphone brand and this means that devices from the maker aren’t so popular, both for regular users and in the development community. In order to receive unofficial Android 9 Pie updates, the dev community needs to be active, something BlackBerry phones suffer from. Still, this doesn’t mean they don’t stand a chance whatsoever, but we’ll have to keep an eye on this one.
Project Treble has meant that devs have an easier time building custom ROMs for their devices, which is why only several weeks since the availability of Pie’s source code on AOSP and we already have plenty of working Android 9 Pie ports, but unfortunately, there’s still no room for any BlackBerry device. Hopefully, this will change for the better.
Do you own a BlackBerry device? Will it be upgraded to Android Pie? Let us know in your comments below.
