BlackBerry Priv review: Privilege granted

Display

The display is one department BlackBerry hasn't cut any corners - a 5.4 inch 1440p display is about as good as it gets. Plus, Super AMOLED technology guarantees sharp and punchy colors and deep blacks.

AMOLED is definitely a rarity in the BlackBerry realm, although a quick search in our database reveals one other handset that pioneered in - the Z30. Still, it is a slightly uncharted area for BlackBerry and the size is yet another thing - the Priv is actually the first BlackBerry to break the 5.0-inch barrier. And that's aside from the fact that it's their first Android phone.

All things considered, it is a great first effort and there is little not to like about the Priv's display. With a pixel density of 540 ppi, it is very sharp and the slightly curved edges make for an elegant and high-end feel.

We have come to associate Super AMOLED panels with absolute blacks and infinite levels of contrast and that fits with the nature of the technology itself. Still, with the Priv, we didn't actually manage to get an absolute black to display. Perhaps it is some intentional software trick or a controller bug, but the best we could do is 0.01 nits on at 50% brightness and 0.02 at full blast.

In reality, that isn't all that much to be visually noticeable, but it does mean that the contrast is not infinite, but rather works out to about 25133. Again, that is just as fine in terms of perceivable results, but there is one other far more detrimental consequence.

Not being able to achieve absolute darkness, suggests that the backlight of the display is never truly off. Being able to simply switch off the pixels that are not being used is one of AMOLED's greatest benefits over LCD and it is the thing that delivers power optimization. This could be a major reason for poor battery performance on the phone - but we have yet to test that.

The panel on the Priv is also relatively dim, producing only 377 nits at full blast. Sunlight legibility, however, definitely does not disappoint. The Priv remains easily usable even under direct sunlight. Not to mention that having a physical keyboard is a huge bonus in this respect. Provided you are fluent enough to navigate "blindfolded" for simple tasks.

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Nokia 808 PureView
  4.698
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  4.615
• Samsung Galaxy E7
  4.485
• HTC One A9
  4.274
• Samsung Galaxy A3
  4.241
• Samsung Galaxy S6
  4.124
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  4.124
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  4.09
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  4.033
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  3.997
• Apple iPhone 5
  3.997
• OnePlus X
  3.983
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  3.895
• Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
  3.879
• Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
  3.873
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  3.859
• Apple iPhone 6
  3.838
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  3.816
• Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
  3.799
• Apple iPhone 6s
  3.783
• Meizu Pro 5
  3.781
• Vivo X5Pro
  3.706
• Samsung Galaxy A7
  3.679
• Oppo R5
  3.678
• Samsung Galaxy K zoom
  3.675
• BlackBerry Priv
  3.645
• Nokia Lumia 930
  3.567
• Apple iPhone 5s
  3.565
• Samsung Galaxy S5
  3.549
• Nokia Lumia 735
  3.547
• Motorola Nexus 6
  3.543
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  3.53
• Alcatel Idol X+
  3.527
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  3.512
• Apple iPhone 5c
  3.512
• Samsung Galaxy Alpha
  3.509
• Oppo R7 Plus
  3.499
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  3.487
• vivo X5Max
  3.472
• LG G Flex2
  3.465
• YotaPhone 2
  3.453
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  3.422
• Motorola RAZR MAXX
  3.42
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III
  3.419
• Meizu MX5
  3.416
• Samsung Galaxy S5 Active
  3.406
• Nokia Lumia 925
  3.402
• Gionee Elife S5.5
  3.386
• Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4
  3.352
• Oppo R7
  3.32
• Samsung Omnia W
  3.301
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  3.235
• Motorola Moto X Play
  3.222
• Samsung Galaxy S5 mini
  3.174
• Samsung I9000 Galaxy S
  3.155
• Samsung Ativ S
  3.129
• Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini
  3.127
• Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
  3.118
• LG Nexus 5X
  3.092
• Huawei Mate S
  3.073
• Nokia N9
  3.069
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  3.065
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  3.023
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  2.97
• Samsung Galaxy Premier
  2.958
• Sony Xperia Z1
  2.95
• HTC One S
  2.901
• Lenovo S90 Sisley
  2.892
• Sony Xperia Z5
  2.876
• Samsung I8730 Galaxy Express
  2.861
• BlackBerry Q10
  2.856
• Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II
  2.832
• Sony Xperia Z3+
  2.824
• HTC Desire Eye
  2.815
• Gionee Elife S5.1
  2.812
• Samsung Galaxy S II Plus
  2.801
• BlackBerry Z30
  2.79
• Sony Xperia Z5 compact
  2.784
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  2.765
• LG V10
  2.744
• Sony Xperia M5
  2.69
• Sony Xperia ZR
  2.672
• Huawei Ascend P1
  2.655
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  2.641
• Sony Xperia Z3
  2.618
• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
  2.616
• Sony Xperia T3
  2.609
• BlackBerry Passport
  2.595
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  2.574
• Microsoft Lumia 640
  2.563
• Nokia Lumia 900
  2.562
• Motorola Moto G 4G
  2.546
• HTC One Max
  2.537
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  2.525
• Nokia Lumia 720
  2.512
• HTC One
  2.504
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  2.503
• Motorola Moto G
  2.477
• vivo Xshot
  2.465
• Sony Xperia Z
  2.462
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  2.424
• Samsung Galaxy S III mini
  2.422
• Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro
  2.416
• LG G Flex
  2.407
• Huawei Honor 7
  2.406
• ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
  2.382
• HTC Desire 820
  2.372
• HTC One (M8)
  2.371
• Meizu MX4
  2.366
• Motorola RAZR i
  2.366
• Meizu m1 note
  2.362
• Sony Xperia ZL
  2.352
• HTC One M9
  2.334
• LG G4
  2.317
• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  2.307
• HTC One E9+
  2.305
• HTC One (M8) for Windows
  2.291
• Oppo R1x
  2.281
• Oppo Find 7a
  2.279
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  2.272
• Apple iPhone 4S
  2.269
• HTC Desire 600 dual sim
  2.262
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
  2.253
• Nokia Asha 311
  2.25
• Sony Xperia C4 Dual
  2.235
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  2.234
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  2.233
• LG Nexus 5
  2.228
• Huawei P8
  2.196
• Nokia Lumia 820
  2.193
• HTC One (E8)
  2.185
• Oppo N3
  2.181
• Nokia Lumia 920
  2.17
• Huawei Honor 6
  2.169
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
  2.166
• OnePlus Two
  2.165
• HTC One X
  2.158
• Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML
  2.149
• LG Aka
  2.145
• Nokia N8
  2.144
• Nokia Lumia 620
  2.142
• Archos 50 Diamond
  2.134
• Nokia 515
  2.134
• HTC Desire 500
  2.129
• Sony Xperia C3 Dual
  2.12
• Sony Xperia acro S
  2.119
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  2.119
• Nokia Lumia 1020
  2.103
• Oppo Find 5
  2.088
• Huawei P8lite
  2.078
• Sony Xperia SL
  2.078
• Nokia Lumia 630
  2.056
• BlackBerry Z10
  2.051
• Moto G 3rd gen max manual
  2.026
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  2.024
• Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active
  2.022
• Apple iPhone 4
  2.016
• HTC One mini
  2.003
• Xiaomi Mi 3
  2.001
• Huawei Ascend P7
  1.992
• LG G2
  1.976
• Sony Xperia E4g
  1.972
• OnePlus One
  1.961
• Oppo R819
  1.957
• Sony Ericsson Xperia ray
  1.955
• Lenovo Vibe X2
  1.952
• Sony Xperia Z2
  1.944
• Sony Xperia E3
  1.943
• Nokia Lumia 1320
  1.941
• HTC One mini 2
  1.94
• Samsung Galaxy Camera
  1.938
• Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime
  1.935
• Sony Xperia J
  1.932
• Acer CloudMobile S500
  1.931
• ZTE Blade S6
  1.927
• LG Nexus 4
  1.926
• LG G Pro 2
  1.922
• Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
  1.913
• Nokia Asha 308
  1.911
• HTC Butterfly 2
  1.905
• Sony Xperia T
  1.894
• BlackBerry Leap
  1.892
• Meizu m2 note
  1.892
• Nokia Lumia 830
  1.887
• HTC Desire X
  1.878
• HTC Windows Phone 8X
  1.873
• HTC Butterfly
  1.873
• HTC Butterfly S
  1.867
• Huawei Ascend P6
  1.865
• Huawei Ascend Mate
  1.845
• LG G2 mini
  1.838
• LG G3
  1.82
• Nokia Lumia 1520
  1.813
• HTC Desire 616 dual sim
  1.797
• Sony Xperia V
  1.792
• HTC Desire 816
  1.783
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  1.772
• HTC Desire 700 dual sim
  1.769
• ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
  1.759
• Sony Xperia U
  1.758
• Meizu MX3
  1.754
• LG Optimus G
  1.753
• Sony Xperia T2 Ultra
  1.74
• Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
  1.735
• Acer Liquid Jade S
  1.734
• Sony Xperia SP
  1.733
• LG Optimus 4X HD
  1.691
• Oppo Find 7
  1.691
• HTC One V
  1.685
• BlackBerry Q5
  1.682
• LG Optimus Vu
  1.68
• Asus Zenfone Selfie
  1.68
• Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
  1.675
• Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9
  1.672
• LG Optimus GJ
  1.666
• ZTE Nubia Z9
  1.659
• LG Optimus 3D Max
  1.658
• HTC Desire V
  1.646
• Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
  1.632
• Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
  1.622
• Microsoft Lumia 532
  1.615
• Jolla Jolla
  1.605
• Microsoft Lumia 435
  1.598
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  1.578
• Sony Xperia go
  1.577
• Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 I8160
  1.566
• Samsung Galaxy Core
  1.563
• LG Optimus G Pro
  1.552
• Motorola Moto E
  1.545
• LG Optimus 3D
  1.542
• Nokia Asha 302
  1.537
• Samsung Galaxy Core Prime
  1.507
• BlackBerry Curve 9320
  1.488
• Sony Xperia M
  1.473
• Oppo N1
  1.47
• Sony Xperia E4
  1.467
• Meizu MX 4-core
  1.462
• Nokia Lumia 610
  1.432
• Samsung Galaxy S Duos
  1.4
• Microsoft Lumia 535
  1.393
• Sony Xperia M2
  1.393
• Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo
  1.393
• Samsung Galaxy Grand 2
  1.38
• Sony Xperia E1
  1.372
• Nokia Lumia 625
  1.371
• Gigabyte GSmart G1355
  1.361
• Sony Xperia L
  1.351
• Xiaomi Redmi 1S
  1.35
• Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8
  1.35
• HTC Desire 510
  1.34
• Sony Xperia M2 Aqua
  1.331
• Sony Xperia miro
  1.324
• Samsung I9082 Galaxy Grand
  1.321
• Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam
  1.315
• Xiaomi Redmi 2
  1.311
• HTC Desire C
  1.3
• Nokia X
  1.291
• Sony Xperia C
  1.283
• Nokia Asha 503
  1.281
• Nokia Asha 501
  1.27
• LG Optimus L7
  1.269
• Nokia Lumia 510
  1.268
• Samsung Galaxy Fame
  1.245
• LG Optimus L9
  1.227
• Meizu MX
  1.221
• Samsung Galaxy Young
  1.22
• Sony Xperia E
  1.215
• Nokia XL
  1.204
• Sony Xperia E dual
  1.203
• Asus Memo Pad 7 ME176C
  1.198
• Samsung Galaxy Pocket
  1.18
• Nokia Asha 305
  1.178
• Nokia Asha 306
  1.175
• Sony Xperia neo L
  1.169
• Sony Xperia tipo
  1.166
• Nokia Lumia 520
  1.161
• Samsung S6802 Galaxy Ace Duos
  1.148
• Samsung Galaxy mini 2
  1.114

BlackBerry Priv battery life

The Priv is equipped with a fairly large 3410mAh battery. In keeping with current trends, it is sealed in. As already mentioned, the Snapdragon 808, powering the phone, supports Quick Charge 2.0, which can get you from zero to 60% in about 30 minutes. Sadly, the bundled charger doesn't support quick charging so you would have to get an extra one.

The Priv also has wireless charging capabilities, both Qi and PMA compliant. Sadly, however, only the US model supports that.

Update, Dec 23: The BlackBerry Priv posted what can best be described as “satisfactory” battery life results. On a 3G call the smartphone lasted only around 15 hours, which is on the short side. A Samsung Galaxy Note5 can go for twice as long, while a Sony Xperia Z5 Premium and a Huawei Nexus 6P hover around the 20 and a half hour mark. Then again an LG V10 and the Apple iPhone 6s Plus aren’t much better at 16:40 and 15:51, respectively.

The Priv’s endurance when browsing the web over Wi-Fi was at 8:20 hours in our test. Again nothing impressive, but not entirely disappointing. It’s the exact same number the V10 posted, marginally lower than the Nexus 6P, and an hour less than the Xperia Z5 Premium. The iPhone 6s rules here with a little short of 12 straight hours, outlasting the Note5 by an hour.

Where the BlackBerry Priv performs least admirably is video playback. It throws in the towel after just 6 and half hours, but in all fairness the smartphone isn’t meant to be a multimedia-gobbling device. The flagships are all over the place in this test too. The Z5 Premium, for example calls it a day after 7 hours and change, the V10 a quarter of an hour later, and the Nexus 6P in 10 hours straight. It’s the Note5 and iPhone 6s Plus that truly excel, both a smidge short of the 14-hour mark.

Our proprietary score also includes a standby battery draw test, which is not featured in our test scorecard but is calculated in the total endurance rating. The BlackBerry is very frugal in this respect and can last for over 15 days, if left untouched and connected to a 3G network.

The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.

Connectivity

The Blackberry Priv is quite versatile when it comes to network connectivity. Thanks to the modem built inside the Snapdragon 808 SoC, it comes with quad-band GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz and multi-band 3G (model and market dependent). Cat. 9 LTE is also onboard with support for theoretical downlink speed of up to 450 Mbps.

Local connectivity is duly covered with dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac with Wi-Fi Direct and hotspot support. Bluetooth v4.1 with A2DP, EDR, LE is on board as well.

You also get GPS and GLONASS support. NFC is available as well and the microUSB 2.0 port can output up to 4k video via SlimPort.