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BlackBerry sold under 50,000 Priv units, Play Store data suggests
August 02, 2025
Late last week, BlackBerry CEO John Chenshared some very optimistic guidanceabout his company’s future. Despite device sales being around 200,000 units lower than expected (700,000 as opposed to 900,000), the OEM managed to severely reduce losses incurred during the quarter, ultimately sending the stock price up. Much discussion was made about that number however: 700,000. Was it Priv sales, or was it company-widetotaldevice sales? Indeed the latter was correct.
The question thus on everyone’s minds is how much of a successisthe Priv? Mr. Chen did not mention any specific numbers, just that the development costs are lower than with traditional BlackBerry OS handsets, and that the price will inevitably fall around Mobile World Congress this coming winter. And yet, ironically enough it would seem that the sales data is right in front of our collective faces: the Google Play Store.
As the Play Store lists an approximated number of installs for every app, it is simply a matter of checking various BlackBerry-related ones to find the results. Note that, on a smartphone, these apps willonlyappear on search if you have a Priv.
As can be seen above, the Install count is listed as “Over 10,000”. The same holds true for the other apps as well:
On a PC you can find them simply by searching the Google Play Store website, however there will be a note about a lack of device compatibility. Nonetheless, the full browser Play Store lists the number of installs as between 10,000 and 50,000.
Play it by the numbers
Because the Priv apps can only be installedonthe Priv itself, this offers a very good indication of the kind of sales numbers BlackBerry has achieved. At worst, there are possibly 10,001 sold, and at most, there are possibly 50,000. For the sake of argument, there is the possibility that the statistics on the Play Store are not accurate. Even assuming that installs are double that which is reported, that would still give a range between 20,002 and 100,000 units.
It is difficult to make heads or tails of this presumed purchase point. Considering that BlackBerry sold approximately 700,000totalhandsets in Q3, it would mean the Priv was not a major seller. Granted it was only available for 2 weeks before the end of Q3, but many devices typically see the highest sales in the initial release window.
It is also important to mention that the Priv is only available in select markets, with dozens more coming in the future. In the USA specifically, it is only sold on AT&T’s network.
Pricey Privilege: Too much for too long? Not so, it seems.
Last month,an in-depth look was offeredat the pricing structure of the BlackBerry Priv. The piece considered the issue of a justification for the high cost, and asked if that might ultimately result in diminished sales. When Mr.Chen disclosedQ3 fiscal performance last Friday, he made a curious point:
This roughly translates to a product that cost less to produce than it otherwise would have had it been running a new BlackBerry OS build. Furthermore, the display on the device – while AMOLED – is decidedly not of the same quality and clarity as those used in Samsung’s 2015 flagships. In an interview with Bloomberg, Chen disclosed the fact that Samsung is producing the panels. Clearly the display parts purchased were not as premium as it could be, though it could be a result of either party’s initiative.
Interestingly enough it seems that BlackBerry itself knows the Priv is perhaps too expensive. In the earnings call last week, thefollowing exchange took place:
It is in this exchange that CEO John Chen has basically admitted that the price of the Priv will need to decrease come Mobile World Congress in February. Ironically speaking, many of the features of the Priv are already classified as “mid-tier” by some: the phone has a Snapdragon 808 SoC as opposed to an 810. The phone has 3GB or RAM as opposed to 4GB. The phone does not appear to have the latest generation AMOLED display. The casing of the phone is made of plastic, not metal or glass.
If the price will begin to fall in February – assuming retailers don’t drop it first – the profit margin for each device sold will thereby also decrease. In the event BlackBerry can then start to sell mass numbers of the handset, it would ultimately result in a positive financial gain. On the other hand, if the price drop is such that the profit margin becomes too small or non-existent entirely, it wouldn’t make much of a difference with respect to the bottom like.
Notes on the numbers
The point has been raised that Play Store download/install numbers do not count pre-installed apps. This is a valid argument and one that was actuallyexplained back in 2013. Even so, as mentioned earlier these BlackBerry apps can only be installed on a Priv. If the tally will increase the first time someone with a Priv downloads an app update, it still implies the total number of handsets sold is quite low. Also consider:
Thus while it is fair to point out the Play Store app data itself may not be perfectly reflective of the exact number of devices sold, based on a variety of factors, a handful of which are listed above, it is logical to extrapolate the figures provideddopaint a plausible picture of the product’s performance.
Truth be told, with BlackBerry itself choosing the conceal the actual sales figures of the Priv, the best approximation that can be made is from the Google Play Store installation tallies. As they are not particularly high, it would suggest that the Priv is not a smash success that it presumably needs to become.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this possible sales situation! Would even 50,000 units sold be considerably a success for BlackBerry at it enters the Android market this late?
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