No BlackBerry OS 7 upgrade for existing handsets

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Remember how excited you were about getting your new Blackberry Torch or curve 3G? Or how giddy you got at the prospect of getting the OS 6 update on your Bold 9700? Well, prepare to become a little deflated. RIM’s latest mobile platform, BlackBerry OS 7 won’t be gracing current BlackBerry smartphones with its new-fangled presence.

RIM has decided to forego an upgrade for current BlackBerry users and instead start afresh with a clean slate – its newly announced Bold 9990 and 9930.

There is a good reason for this heinous omission. As we know, the 9900 and 9930 both pack a 1.2GHz processor and all that extra power means a better performing OS. Older BlackBerry’s and their significantly lower processors will simply not be able to handle its power.

While this may seem like a harsh blow to current BB users – especially owners of the Torch who have only been rocking the latest OS for a short amount of time – there’s no denying it makes sense. However, it does mean users will miss out on HTML 5 support, improved performance, faster web browsing and slick new icons.

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About

Dan is Editor-in-chief of Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website. Our Editor-in-Chief is a regular at tech shows such as CES in Las Vegas, IFA in Berlin and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as well as at other launches and events. He has been a CES Innovation Awards judge. Dan is completely platform agnostic and very at home using and writing about Windows, macOS, Android and iOS/iPadOS plus lots and lots of gadgets including audio and smart home gear, laptops and smartphones. He's also been interviewed and quoted in a wide variety of places including The Sun, BBC World Service, BBC News Online, BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Radio 4, Sky News Radio and BBC Local Radio.