We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
That's according to a new report coming from Roger Cheng over at CNET who spoke with a high-level executive who asked not to be named.
"The BlackBerry Priv is really struggling," the high-level executive, who asked not to be named, said last week. "We've seen more returns than we would like."
So what's the noted cause for the returns? Well, many factors are behind it, at least one of which BlackBerry CEO John Chen has already stated might have been an issue for sales of Priv. Pricing and a saturated market for high-end devices.
AT&T offered a more detailed account of why the Priv has disappointed. BlackBerry and the carrier expected to see demand for an Android phone with a physical keyboard. Instead, most of the buyers were BlackBerry loyalists, the executive said. Those faithful, however, struggled with the transition from the BlackBerry operating system to the Android operating system, leading to a higher-than-expected rate of return.
BlackBerry's decision to market the phone as a high-end device also hurt its prospects, the executive said. The Priv initially sold unlocked for $699, above the starting price of the iPhone 6S, which sells for $650. Few premium phones have fared well beyond devices from Apple and Samsung.
"There isn't much volume growth in the premium segment, where Apple and Samsung dominate," the executive said.
Personally, I take a little bit of an issue with the definitive sounding reason as to why the Priv would see a high-than-expected rate of return. If I were looking to buy a Priv, AT&T (and Verizon) would be the last places I would purchase one simply because their update procedures have proven to be terrible.
While ShopBlackBerry and Amazon purchased Priv's have received their Marshmallow updates and all current security patches, AT&T (and other U.S. carrier) versions have had no such luxury. I'd return a device too if I found I could get better support just by purchasing it elsewhere. Still, the comment may have some validity based on user reviews and opinions we've seen come up in the CrackBerry Forums, where folks have tried Priv and ultimately returned to BlackBerry 10 devices.
At this point, it's hard to say how on accurate the anonymous executives comments are but BlackBerry does have their Q1 Fiscal 2017 earnings call and report coming up on June 23, 2016. At that point, we should gain more insight into how well BlackBerry hardware is doing. The exec will want to ensure he stays anonymous, though, last time things didn't fare so well for the people leaking sales details.
Discuss more in the CrackBerry Forums
Read more
Verizon now rolling out software update for the BlackBerry Priv
Have a BlackBerry Priv on Verizon? Surprise! You'll want to go ahead and check for updates as many folks have now started receiving a software update.
BlackBerry Priv will no longer receive monthly updates going forward
A new post on the Inside BlackBerry Blog from Alex Thurber has laid out the status of monthly updates for the Priv as the device has now moved well beyond the two years of monthly software updates BlackBerry originally committed to.
BlackBerry begins rollout of September Android security update
Although it hasn't been noted by @BBSIRT yet, BlackBerry has now begun the rollout of the September Android security update according to a new post on the BlackBerry Knowledge Base.
Verizon BlackBerry Priv owners can now download software AAN368
Verizon has now begun sending out software AAN368 which is noted to have been tested to optimize device performance, resolve known issues and apply the latest security patches.