The BlackBerry Priv is now available in 34 markets around the world, and in some of them, the company has permanently reduced the price of its Android handset.
BlackBerry originally opened pre-orders for the Priv in several key markets last October, but just over five months later, it"s now cutting its unlocked, off-contract pricing for the device in certain countries:
- United States | originally $699 USD | now $649
- United Kingdom | originally £559 GBP | now £529
- Europe | originally €779 EUR | now €729
The European price cut applies to sales in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. Notably, BlackBerry hasn"t reduce the price of the Priv in its home market of Canada, where the handset is still priced at $899 CAD.
While BlackBerry"s official reductions have already come into effect, you may be able to get the Priv for even less money if you shop around. In the UK, for example, Carphone Warehouse is selling the device for £499 SIM-free; that"s £30 cheaper than BlackBerry"s newly-reduced price.
The Priv is still shipping with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop on board, six months after Android 6.0 Marshmallow first started rolling out. BlackBerry is preparing to launch a Marshmallow beta program, but it"s expected to continue until June, suggesting that owners of the device will be waiting a while longer for the update to arrive.
Source: BlackBerry