[Matt J]

I'm on a Rogers KEYone and received my Oreo update about 10 days ago. I wanted to give it some time to settle in before writing my observations.

I did not do a clean wipe and install, instead I chose to let the OTA do it's thing upgrade the device.

THE GOOD

When I was on Nougat, my KEYone was indeed lagging. This would usually be solved with a clearing of the cache and a 32 second reboot, but I found myself doing this every other day.

After a few days with Oreo, it because quite clear that everything was just faster. The lag had gone and I no longer had to clear cache and reboot. Apps opened and closed faster, the device was more responsive and it felt like I had a new phone. After 10 days, it still performs the same. I'm hoping this will last.

Memory management is much better. Using the BlackBerry Power Centre under Nougat, I noticed that my memory usage performance was always in the "yellow" with a few hundred MB free. Now under Oreo it is always exclusively in the "green" with 700 to 800 MB free all the time. I have yet to see a yellow. Remember, this was an OTA upgrade, so all my apps and processes are the same. So I'm comparing apples to apples.

Battery life is much better. Not a little, but a lot better. Oreo must be doing a good job controlling background processes and location. Under Nougat, I would end the day with 30%, now I am ending the day with 40% to 50%. This is significant. The KEYone is now a two-day phone under moderate usage.

Wi-Fi calling is amazing. I set it as priority over cellular because there are some spots at home and work that have poor signal. I have yet to drop a call since upgrading to Oreo. I think this is the best feature for me. I cannot understate how this has made my user experience so much better.

THE BAD

I miss the power notifications control under Nougat. There were varying levels of notification control which Oreo doesn't seem to have. I think this will be solved when the apps are updated for Oreo, but in the meantime I don't have the control I did.

The new settings menu take a little getting used to. But after 10 days, I think I know where everything is. Not "bad", but different.

SUMMARY

Oreo gave me a new phone. I was thinking about upgrading to the KEY2 right away, but will give it some time for the camera and spacebar issues to be worked out. Eventually, I will move to the KEY2, but Oreo hasn't really given me a reason to. This is one OS that just made most things better.

[dgwarren]

thanks for the review! As a K1 Verizon user your review is encouraging for those waiting...

[supertom]

I'm on a Rogers KEYone and received my Oreo update about 10 days ago. I wanted to give it some time to settle in before writing my observations.

I did not do a clean wipe and install, instead I chose to let the OTA do it's thing upgrade the device.

THE GOOD

When I was on Nougat, my KEYone was indeed lagging. This would usually be solved with a clearing of the cache and a 32 second reboot, but I found myself doing this every other day.

After a few days with Oreo, it because quite clear that everything was just faster. The lag had gone and I no longer had to clear cache and reboot. Apps opened and closed faster, the device was more responsive and it felt like I had a new phone. After 10 days, it still performs the same. I'm hoping this will last.

Memory management is much better. Using the BlackBerry Power Centre under Nougat, I noticed that my memory usage performance was always in the "yellow" with a few hundred MB free. Now under Oreo it is always exclusively in the "green" with 700 to 800 MB free all the time. I have yet to see a yellow. Remember, this was an OTA upgrade, so all my apps and processes are the same. So I'm comparing apples to apples.

Battery life is much better. Not a little, but a lot better. Oreo must be doing a good job controlling background processes and location. Under Nougat, I would end the day with 30%, now I am ending the day with 40% to 50%. This is significant. The KEYone is now a two-day phone under moderate usage.

Wi-Fi calling is amazing. I set it as priority over cellular because there are some spots at home and work that have poor signal. I have yet to drop a call since upgrading to Oreo. I think this is the best feature for me. I cannot understate how this has made my user experience so much better.

THE BAD

I miss the power notifications control under Nougat. There were varying levels of notification control which Oreo doesn't seem to have. I think this will be solved when the apps are updated for Oreo, but in the meantime I don't have the control I did.

The new settings menu take a little getting used to. But after 10 days, I think I know where everything is. Not "bad", but different.

SUMMARY

Oreo gave me a new phone. I was thinking about upgrading to the KEY2 right away, but will give it some time for the camera and spacebar issues to be worked out. Eventually, I will move to the KEY2, but Oreo hasn't really given me a reason to. This is one OS that just made most things better.

I have pretty much the same observations as you especially the quickness!!

to add to that more specifically:

1) Double tap to wake now works in direct sunlight!!--and is MUCH more responsive

2) On the lockscreen and when the notification shade is down, it no longer just darkens the background--as it is now blue-ish.

3) The Time clock on the lock screen is much smaller... i don't like that.

[Matt J]

I'm really pleased how Oreo extracted more performance out of the Snapdragon 625 while improving battery life. Just goes to show that devices can be faster through software optimisation.

[RWIndiana]

I'm really pleased how Oreo extracted more performance out of the Snapdragon 625 while improving battery life. Just goes to show that devices can be faster through software optimisation.

Odd how that works. I still think Android could go a lot further in optimization, but it's good to see it moving in the right direction this time. Meanwhile, iOS seems to be getting worse.

[Matt J]

Odd how that works. I still think Android could go a lot further in optimization, but it's good to see it moving in the right direction this time. Meanwhile, iOS seems to be getting worse.

I had my doubts when upgrading to Oreo, but they were unfounded. Ten days later and this thing is faster and lasts longer than when it was new and running Nougat.

[anon(9710967)]

thanks for the review! As a K1 Verizon user your review is encouraging for those waiting...

I'm waiting too and I use a Verizon KEYone too. I'm very excited for this update to be coming but I'm also disappointed that it has yet to show up yet nearly two weeks after release

[shandy-R2D2]

I find the following enhancement as groundbreaking for me with Oreo 8.1:

1) Night mode with the ability to control the PKB backlight

2) The addition of Equalizer within the phone app enabling me to boost treble and thus to finally be able to compensate for a bit of a mushy earphone sound experience of the KEYᵒⁿᵉ for me which quite often lead to me not being able to understand the other party, especially when finding myself in an noisy environment

I also enjoy the battery life boost and the ability to control notifications and ringtone volume separately from each other (sounds crazy in the 21st century and coming from BB10 OS, but thank God this got better...)

[pooyam]

Ditto all the above.
One minor thing I don't like is that they removed the WiFi traffic indicator arrows. Also they removed the WiFi calling settings

[shandy-R2D2]

Also they removed the WiFi calling settings

This seems to be very phone version/PRD/carrier specific. For instance for me WiFi settings actually only appeared with Oreo (it simply wasn't there with Nougat). But it doesn't mean much as it doesn't work anyways (can't blame BlackBerry though, it's the carrier not being able or willing to provision my phone for WiFi calling...)

[Frank Costanza]

I was wondering when a post like this might go up.

I LOVE OREO!

My device is just much smoother and no clearing cache and restarts.

It just works and works very well.

I am in love all over again.

[bb10adopter111]

I wasn't at all impatient about getting the Oreo update for my KEYone, but I am happy to admit it is an significant improvement for me.

Posted with my trusty Z10

[wfm69685]

Can someone confirm the following Bug:
1. Set Auto Brightness to on.
2. Enable Night Mode and set it to automatic at sunset.
Bug: Everytime the Night mode is enabled/Disabled, the phone brightness slider will automatically be set to the lowest value.

Black Keyone, running Oreo ABD174. Did a factory reset and a clean Setup after installed Oreo.

[shandy-R2D2]

Can someone confirm the following Bug:
1. Set Auto Brightness to on.
2. Enable Night Mode and set it to automatic at sunset.
Bug: Everytime the Night mode is enabled/Disabled, the phone brightness slider will automatically be set to the lowest value.

Black Keyone, running Oreo ABD174. Did a factory reset and a clean Setup after installed Oreo.

Interesting - can only reproduce 50 pct. of the described behavior. That is: turning the night mode on with the Auto Brightness on does always bring my brightness slider to the lowest level. However, when turning the night mode back off, the slider reverts back to the level it had been at prior to night mode activation (all of this with the Auto brightness on). Go figure...

[mvsalvino]

I find the following enhancement as groundbreaking for me with Oreo 8.1:

1) Night mode with the ability to control the PKB backlight

2) The addition of Equalizer within the phone app enabling me to boost treble and thus to finally be able to compensate for a bit of a mushy earphone sound experience of the KEYᵒⁿᵉ for me which quite often lead to me not being able to understand the other party, especially when finding myself in an noisy environment

I also enjoy the battery life boost and the ability to control notifications and ringtone volume separately from each other (sounds crazy in the 21st century and coming from BB10 OS, but thank God this got better...)

Those were some of the same things I noticed. Oreo notification settings are getting slightly better, once more apps are updated. I still really wish they would let you change the volume buttons to control the media and not notification.

[Sarek1701]

SUMMARY

Oreo gave me a new phone. I was thinking about upgrading to the KEY2 right away, but will give it some time for the camera and spacebar issues to be worked out. Eventually, I will move to the KEY2, but Oreo hasn't really given me a reason to. This is one OS that just made most things better.

^This. I usually like to upgrade to the latest BlackBerry device, but I think this time I may skip a generation until the KEY3 is released. I really prefer the glossy keys of the KEYone, especially when using the keyboard to scroll or swipe. Oreo (and my recently-replaced device due to the inevitable screen lift) have given me a new phone! Unlike others, I'm not already griping about the fact that this phone will not receive Android P.

[Matt J]

Funny you should mention the glossy keys. I was thinking the same thing. Not sure if the matte keys look or feel better now that I played with a KEY2 at the Rogers store. The KEY2 keyboard also seems more noisy, especially the space bar.

[Gene Fells]

Thanks for the feedback on the upgrade. It definitely makes the Keyone a viable option again

Posted via CB10

[Djcessna1]

verizon........ we're waiting.

[YusBlack]

I'm on a Rogers KEYone and received my Oreo update about 10 days ago. I wanted to give it some time to settle in before writing my observations.

I did not do a clean wipe and install, instead I chose to let the OTA do it's thing upgrade the device.

THE GOOD

When I was on Nougat, my KEYone was indeed lagging. This would usually be solved with a clearing of the cache and a 32 second reboot, but I found myself doing this every other day.

After a few days with Oreo, it because quite clear that everything was just faster. The lag had gone and I no longer had to clear cache and reboot. Apps opened and closed faster, the device was more responsive and it felt like I had a new phone. After 10 days, it still performs the same. I'm hoping this will last.

Memory management is much better. Using the BlackBerry Power Centre under Nougat, I noticed that my memory usage performance was always in the "yellow" with a few hundred MB free. Now under Oreo it is always exclusively in the "green" with 700 to 800 MB free all the time. I have yet to see a yellow. Remember, this was an OTA upgrade, so all my apps and processes are the same. So I'm comparing apples to apples.

Battery life is much better. Not a little, but a lot better. Oreo must be doing a good job controlling background processes and location. Under Nougat, I would end the day with 30%, now I am ending the day with 40% to 50%. This is significant. The KEYone is now a two-day phone under moderate usage.

Wi-Fi calling is amazing. I set it as priority over cellular because there are some spots at home and work that have poor signal. I have yet to drop a call since upgrading to Oreo. I think this is the best feature for me. I cannot understate how this has made my user experience so much better.

THE BAD

I miss the power notifications control under Nougat. There were varying levels of notification control which Oreo doesn't seem to have. I think this will be solved when the apps are updated for Oreo, but in the meantime I don't have the control I did.

The new settings menu take a little getting used to. But after 10 days, I think I know where everything is. Not "bad", but different.

SUMMARY

Oreo gave me a new phone. I was thinking about upgrading to the KEY2 right away, but will give it some time for the camera and spacebar issues to be worked out. Eventually, I will move to the KEY2, but Oreo hasn't really given me a reason to. This is one OS that just made most things better.

I am glad that the issues that most people are experiencing are dealt with in this update. Couldn't wait for it to arrive on my K1. Looking forward to it.

[rotorwrench]

So if I'm not experiencing lagging issues and have good battery life, usually ending the day with 50% to 60%, I'm not expected to notice any performance improvements? That's disappointing, but honestly I've been happy with my current performance but improvements are always welcome.

[Matt J]

So if I'm not experiencing lagging issues and have good battery life, usually ending the day with 50% to 60%, I'm not expected to notice any performance improvements? That's disappointing, but honestly I've been happy with my current performance but improvements are always welcome.

I'm sure you will experience performance improvements. Even if you're not experiencing lag, you will notice that performance is faster overall, especially switching between apps. If you're usually ending your day with 50% to 60%, you may now end it with 60% to 70% or better. I'm pretty sure Oreo will just improve the overall experience.

[Chuck Finley69]

I feel like Oreo is using more battery than Nougat on my AT&T KEYone.

[rotorwrench]

Excellent! I was hoping to see some good things beyond feature changes with this update. Having an unlocked -3 VZW compatible unit, I'll probably be one of the last to see that though.

[Djcessna1]

ok I'm on Verizon and I just received and update from Abd 693 to Abd564. is this Oreo or something else???