The PlayBook Isn't Getting BlackBerry 10

By Jane McEntegart
published

Sorry, PlayBookers.

A couple of months ago, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins said that the tablet would be obsolete in five years' time. Considering his attitude toward the form factor, it should surprise no one that BlackBerry has decided that the PlayBook won't be getting an update to BlackBerry 10. Speaking during an investor call on Friday, Heins confirmed that the PlayBook users wouldn't ever see BB10 because of concerns regarding "performance and user experience."

Though it's not exactly surprising considering Heins' previous statements regarding tablets, it does contradict earlier plans relayed by the company. Speaking during the launch of BB10 in January, the company said that the PlayBook would be getting BB10. Then again, Heins' opinions seem to have changed rather a lot since the beginning of the year, as that was around the time the CEO said his company wouldn't be leaving the tablet market.

The BlackBerry PlayBook runs on the BlackBerry Tablet OS, which was BlackBerry's first QNX-based operating system. BlackBerry Tablet OS 2.0 was released in February of 2012, and was then replaced by BlackBerry 10.

Jane McEntegart
15 Comments Comment from the forums
  • computernerdforlife
    Thank you Blackberry for the slap in the face. Your contradictory statements speaks volumes about how you operate as a business. Hence why I continue to short trade your company: you're full of bad PR.
    Reply
  • kenyee
    Well at least they had the decency to do this.
    Unlike Motorola who way back slapped on Android 2.1 on the Motorola Cliq along w/ their horrid Motoblur crap which made it run like a dog and ticked everyone off :-P
    Reply
  • sykozis
    Yes, abandon Playbook users.... Nice to see that "Blackberry" has no problem abandoning their customers... Guess I'll throw my Playbook in the trash and buy from a company that will actually support their products. Screw you "Blackberry".... You're not getting another cent from me, ever.
    Reply
  • Grandmastersexsay
    Blackberry? I saw a documentary on the history channel about them once.
    Reply
  • AzureFlash
    Why is "Playbook users" being put in plural? :P
    Reply
  • stevelord
    lol @ PB fanboys that actually believed in this product and that 1-It would be a hit and 2-It would be supported.

    Said it since it's first month. FAILED PRODUCT!
    Reply
  • slyu9213
    Thank god I sold mine for ~$200 back a few years ago.
    Reply
  • halcyon
    My Playbook just gatherz dust. What a waste
    Reply
  • anything4this
    I'm pissed off at HP because they didn't update the touchpad to the new os version... I should never buy their crap again and what I have is currently useless now and has had all its current functionality disabled so I should get rid of it...

    Come on! You should have expected this the second they had a fire sale of these. Why would you expect bb10 on this hardware? You are on this tech site because you have a certain amount of knowledge of how hardware works and how it can become obsolete in a day. Moving backwards would probably gain them nothing as you would complain about the stupid move and they would just pay for nothing.

    tl;dr - Stop complaining about something that was expected. Your tablet still does a lot and you probs didn't pay much for it anyways.
    Reply
  • chicofehr
    I use mine as a GPS device and it works great for movies so it's still useful. I got it in my jeep on the dash for when I go traveling.
    Reply