The BlackBerry Priv, previously known as the BlackBerry Venice, has had its share of the limelight for a few weeks now. However, aside from the company posting a couple of images of the Priv, nothing about the phone has been confirmed.
With the public eagerly waiting, several individuals have leaked certain details regarding the BlackBerry Priv. The most recent is from a redditor, iamsorandom, that posted alleged snapped images of the Priv.
In his post on /r/Android, iamsorandom detailed that he was able to get a hold of a BlackBerry Priv through a BlackBerry executive who let him play with the device for a bit. The poster explained that he met the executive during the CISO Conference on Oct. 9, which was held in Toronto. The redditor took pictures of the BlackBerry Priv using his own phone and uploaded them on Reddit.
"I must admit, it's a VERY nice device. It was actually thinner than my Note 5," exclaimed imsorandom.
The Note 5 is only less than a third of an inch thick (0.30 inch). If the Priv is indeed thinner, then it will be comparable to the Samsung Galaxy A8, which is around a quarter of an inch (0.23 inch) thick.
He also commented that the device felt snappy and smooth. The keyboard/keypad was also praised for being "very nice." He adds that the phone had full access to the Google Play store and that the executive had some apps installed.
"Seemed snappy and smooth to me," imsorandom responded to queries regarding the OS performance. "Comparing it to my Nexus 5 with Marshmallow, it was just as smooth in the few minutes I had it in my hands."
The Priv will be shipped with an Android OS and not BlackBerry's proprietary mobile operating system. The rich display, high ppi and the curved edges were also complimented.
"I have to say that I'm definitely interested in BlackBerry again," imsorandom admitted.
Following the recent speculations regarding the Priv's technical specifications, it will have a Snapdragon 808 SoC along with the Adreno 418 as its GPU, which makes for a rich display on a 5.5-inch screen.
The redditor was probed further by the anxious online community regarding the other aspects of the Priv, such as the weight, keyboard, fingerprint scanner, build quality and the camera.
The BlackBerry Priv, according iamsorandom, is not heavy but it felt heavier than the Note 5. The phone does what it's supposed to: display the onscreen keyboard when the physical one is tucked away and remove the virtual one once the physical keyboard is out in the open. He detailed that the slider felt solid with "just enough resistance."
It was also pointed out by the redditor that there was no fingerprint scanner on the device he had his hands on. It should be noted that BlackBerry will most likely be release the Priv as a premium flagship. This is also consistent with the build, which iamsorandom pointed out to be of premium quality.
When asked to comment on the camera, iamsorandom pointed out that it was slow to shoot and hunt for focus.
"The focus seemed a lot slower than my Note 5 which is near instant," elaborated the redditor. "In its defense, it was low light. If you look closely, the lens surround says 'fast focus.'"
Based on one of the snapped photos, the Priv is now confirmed to have an 18MP main camera and OIS support.
If the BlackBerry Priv, which is speculated for a November 2015 unveiling and a Q1 2016 release, does not sell well, BlackBerry has already expressed its intent to "rethink" its future smartphone offerings.
