When it comes to benchmark performance, the BlackBerry Priv is far from a record-setter, but with a Snapdragon 808 SoC and 3GB of RAM, it is quite adequately specc'd to compete with the current generation of flagship devices. It is slightly disappointing that the OEM didn't go with a top-of-the-line chip, like the Snapdragon 810, like one would naturally expect considering the price tag, but the 808 still offers ample power for even the most advanced productivity tasks currently achievable with Android. Plus, more often than not, true performance comes down to proper implementation and utilization.
Two ARM Cortex-57 cores, clocked at 1.8GHz and additional four Cortex-A53 ones, working a 1.44 GHz, should provide plenty of power to go around, despite being slightly under-clocked. However, the Priv doesn't exactly shine in the performance department.
BlackBerry has undoubtedly done a spectacular job, as far as a first attempt at Android goes and, as already mentioned, all the features you would expect are there with an extra touch of BlackBerry innovation mixed in. However, optimization is really lacking down to the point where some parts of the GUI and a few apps, like the camera, tend to freeze up quite often.
Benchmark scores on the Priv are quite low and we know that the Snapdragon 808 is capable of a lot more. We also have the data to prove it, as the LG G4, Moto X Style and Nexus 5X happen to use the same silicon with noticeable better results.
Naturally, we made sure to include the above in our test charts. As for the rest of the competition, we made sure to pick out a few other phones with roughly the same display size. These include the Sony Xperia Z5, iPhone 6s, Huawei Mate S, and the Huawei P8. The rest of our picks are popular devices that fall within the BlackBerry Priv budget. Some of them, like the Z5 Premium and the 6s plus do cost a bit more, but if you are willing to sink so much cash into a phone, these shouldn't really be out of budget either.
First up, we have the raw CPU performance test with GeekBench 3, which should be straight-forward enough. Like we mentioned, the Snapdragon 808 inside the Priv has more than enough horsepower to breeze through computing tasks, just like the LG G4 and the Moto X Style or the Pure Edition. Sadly, that is not the case. We see the Priv underperform quite a bit and it is an observable pattern throughout all the benchmark results. We often find the Priv below the Huawei Mate S and P8, which are both equipped with notoriously under-performing HiSilicon chips. BlackBerry definitely has a lot of work on its plate, if it is going to bring the Priv up to code.
Higher is better
AnTuTu is a compound benchmark, which also takes into account RAM and GPU performance. Here we see pretty much the same arrangement. The BlackBerry Priv did manage to best the Mate S, but not by much. Other than that, Galaxies dominate the top chart again and you can clearly see that the performance difference is quite noticeable.
Higher is better
Moving on to Basemark OS II, which is a truly all-round benchmark. Here we see the hexa-core setup of the Snapdragon 808 finally shine, at least in single-core tests, where the phone outperformed the Huawei's, as well as the OnePlus 2, both of which do use octa-core processors.
But sadly, that is just one ray of hope and it quickly fades away when we examine the milti-core performance. It is underwhelming to say the least and factoring in the poor overall score, we can only come to one conclusion - the Priv suffers severely from poor optimization. Hopefully, this can and will be fixed with timely software updates, but in the current state, the Snapdragon 808 in the Priv is highly underutilized, which is a real shame.
Higher is better
Higher is better
Higher is better
And if you hoped that the Priv could at least redeem itself in the graphics department, well, it's not the case. The Adreno 418 inside the Snapdragon 808 is no pixel-pushing monster, but it is still a capable platform for some casual gaming and light GPU tasks. The LG G4 and Moto X Pure Edition both manage to hit a good 34 frames on the GFX 2.7 test and the LG Nexus 5x with its Android 6.0 firmware, pushes the envelope even further and can squeeze out 37 frames.
The BlackBerry Priv, on the other hand, was only capable of producing 27fps on the same test, which is a lot less than what the Nexus is capable of, despite having the same identical hardware. And mind you, we are talking about offscreen rendering, so the display cannot be blamed in any way.
This is a major example of poor implementation and underutilization yet again. And while, you would have trouble spotting the missing frames while working with the GUI, gaming is another thing and it is a shame that the Priv can't even hit the pivotal 30fps. Then again, perhaps it wasn't meant to be a gaming device.
Higher is better
Higher is better
Higher is better
Higher is better
Higher is better
Higher is better
The BlackBerry Priv ships with the Chrome browser by default, which is definitely a good thing. Google's mobile solution offers clear-cut performance and stability advantages over most any other proprietary browser we have experienced and it is generally a good idea to stick with it, expecially in BlackBerry's situation of just adopting Android.
Still, like every other aspect of the OS, Chrome suffers from the overall bad optimization.
Lower is better
Higher is better
Like the old saying goes - "Never judge a book by its covers". It is definitely true when it comes to the BlackBerry's first big dip in the Android realm, but sadly, the connotation is slightly different. The legendary Canadian OEM has definitely put a lot of effort into adapting the OS to its needs and bringing over all of the essentials of its own secure ecosystem and that has actually worked out quite well, even better than we expected.
However, underneath the slick GUI the Priv is hiding some pretty major optimization issues. We know it's a first try and do sympathize with BlackBerry and the process it is going through, but we can't exactly give up on our expectations of flagship-grade performance to meet the flagship price.
Overall, if it is power you are after, you can most-certainly do better than the Priv and even spend far less. However, it's not like there is a better Android Lollipop device with a slide out keyboard out there, or a more capable BlackBerry enterprise communication device, so it all depends on how you look at things. But more on that later.
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