BlackBerry has announced that it will no longer be providing monthly software updates for the Priv smartphone.

BlackBerry has announced that it will no longer be providing monthly software updates for the Priv smartphone. When the Priv was announced,  the company previously said that it would support the device for 2 years. True to its words, BlackBerry is ending the monthly security updates for the Priv after 2 years.

“When we introduced our first Androiddevice more than 24 months ago, we committed to delivering 2 years of monthly software updates for the Priv,” wrote Alex Thurber, Senior Vice-President and General Manager of BlackBerry’s mobility division , in a blog post. “Having now stepped outside the original 2-year window, we will no longer be delivering monthly updates for the Priv moving forward.”

However, the company did mention that it will continue to fulfill any warranty obligations for the Priv and if there are any critical vulnerabilities it will work with the partners to offer patches. Thurber also announced that the company will be introducing a “trade-up” program for current BlackBerry Priv owners.

“We will soon be introducing a trade-up program for current BlackBerry customers who are still using the Priv as well as those holding onto BB10 and BBOS devices, Thurber wrote. “Stay tuned for details and get ready to upgrade to a BlackBerry KeyOne or Motion, the most secure Android smartphones on the planet.”

Announced in 2015, BlackBerry Priv was the company’s first smartphone running Google’s Android mobile OS. The flagship phone featured the slider keyboard and a 5.4-inch AMOLED curved screen. It was marketed as the most secure Android smartphone in the market. Analysts were skeptical about the smartphone and it was neither  commercially nor critically successful in the market. BlackBerry Priv was launched at a price of Rs 62,999, targeting the premium segment of the smartphone market.