[7onZ]

That's a big phone. I work in the field and the Z30 is pushing it for me size wise. I wish BlackBerry would stay with the 5" screen. I really like that they may make this slider, though.

But what if they've based that from the size of a flat screen before it being curved? That is if the specs are true at the first place

[veggielasagna]

The ability to use more RAM is not the only benefit of 64-bit. You also get a significant increase in general purpose registers on the CPU, with those registers increasing in size. On top of that, the architecture used by all 64-bit mobile CPUs, ARMv8, packs other improvements unrelated to 64-bit. Moving to 64-bit will, in other words, provide more CPU oomph.

If BlackBerry doesn't mess up the implementation, apps should not require any rewrites at all either - the CPU should still understand 32-bit instructions just fine, and process them faster than ever. Apple and Google both had very few issues, if any, making the jump.

That's funny! when two years ago Apple introduced the 64bit on the 5s everyone here called it a gimmicks..now that it is on a Blackberry, it is the bomb. LOL

[pttptppt]

That's funny! when two years ago Apple introduced the 64bit on the 5s everyone here called it a gimmicks..now that it is on a Blackberry, it is the bomb. LOL

Are you sure it was 2 years ago? I feel like it was more like 1 and a half

Posted via CB10

[veggielasagna]

Well this is a surprise and actually I am quite happy if this is the case....


5.4-inch Quad-HD display
18 MP rear-camera
5 MP front-camera
1.8 GHz Hexa-core (Snapdragon 808 chipset) 64-bit
3 GB RAM

What I am especially happy about is the Camera and chipset....I really don't like the 810 processor and yes it would have been awesome that they would use the exynos instead

5.4 Inch Quad HD is huge to be honest....

Please tell me you what you guys think.....

I do not believe it one bit..same drivel they said about the Classic, which was supposed to have monstrous specs before release.

[cbvinh]

That's funny! when two years ago Apple introduced the 64bit on the 5s everyone here called it a gimmicks..now that it is on a Blackberry, it is the bomb. LOL

Having a 64-bit CPU isn't novel or innovative. It's been on the desktop for quite a while. ARM, which designs the CPU cores that the Apple CPU's are based upon, had already released the 64-bit CPU core design. That's how Apple got it. Delivering first to market when there's nothing to take advantage of it, especially when one of the big points is being able to address more memory and iDevices have so little of it, means it was a gimmick. The 64-bit CPU is in there, but then what? Was it needed to address 1-2 GB RAM? Nope. Was it needed for apps? Nope, none needing it yet. In fact, having 64-bit run 32-bit code may sometimes even be a speed penalty.

[LazyEvul]

Having a 64-bit CPU isn't novel or innovative. It's been on the desktop for quite a while. ARM, which designs the CPU cores that the Apple CPU's are based upon, had already released the 64-bit CPU core design. That's how Apple got it. Delivering first to market when there's nothing to take advantage of it, especially when one of the big points is being able to address more memory and iDevices have so little of it, means it was a gimmick. The 64-bit CPU is in there, but then what? Was it needed to address 1-2 GB RAM? Nope. Was it needed for apps? Nope, none needing it yet. In fact, having 64-bit run 32-bit code may sometimes even be a speed penalty.

I suppose you completely ignored my post pointing out the increase in general purpose registers and their size - which just about anything can take advantage of. Calling it innovative might be a stretch, but it does have its advantages, and credit where credit is due, Apple beat everyone to the market with it by a significant margin. It wasn't just a half-assed effort either, the Apple A7 is still a very fast processor, and the A8 took things a step further before anyone else had 64-bit ready to sell.

Also, the way ARMv8 works should incur no performance penalties whatsoever with 32-bit apps - the 32-bit instruction set is still implemented at a hardware level, with no intervening emulation required.

Posted via CB10

[Joao Oliveira]

I would not expect BlackBerry to make a slider be their flagship since they are known for their Keyboard. If these specs are true, then this will be a major upgrade for ANY BB user currently. Pretty much for any Android user as well. The camera will delight many and the 3 GB Ram will be a pleasant addition to most users.

Wonder what their base storage memory will be. Anything less than 32GB will be a slap in the yap.

How do you know tha camera is any good? because it has 18mp?

[cbvinh]

I suppose you completely ignored my post pointing out the increase in general purpose registers and their size - which just about anything can take advantage of. Calling it innovative might be a stretch, but it does have its advantages, and credit where credit is due, Apple beat everyone to the market with it by a significant margin. It wasn't just a half-assed effort either, the Apple A7 is still a very fast processor, and the A8 took things a step further before anyone else had 64-bit ready to sell.

Also, the way ARMv8 works should incur no performance penalties whatsoever with 32-bit apps - the 32-bit instruction set is still implemented at a hardware level, with no intervening emulation required.

Not so much as ignored, but as didn't see/read. I'm not on the thread constantly, so kinda read from the bottom backward and sometimes that just means missing all but the most recent posts.

No doubt having larger registers is an advantage for speed, especially once code is running 64-bits. The question is, how does it compare to having a 32-bit CPU running 32-bit code at a higher clock rate? Were they able to have their 64-bit CPU run at a lower clock rate, or the same, and have it execute 32-bit code faster? How does 32-bit code even recognize the larger registers and take advantage of it? How much of the extra speed is attributable to more cache space, which usually makes a huge difference? The A7 is faster than its predecessor, but is it because it's 64-bit or because they made other improvements, like larger cached, that would have benefited a 32-bit chip anyway?

[tufcustomer]

I do not believe it one bit..same drivel they said about the Classic, which was supposed to have monstrous specs before release.

Who said the classic was going to have monstrous specs? I'm asking because I want to know what people were saying vs what BlackBerry actually released.

Posted via CB10

[amathtools]

Why they didn't put that kind of specs on the Passport ? It's the first time since a while that Blackberry put higher specs than mid range specs in their phone... Maybe it's because this device will run Android instead of Blackberry 10 ?

Posted via my Q10

Because perhaps the next flagship will be even beastlier!

Posted via CB10

[amathtools]

Not so much as ignored, but as didn't see/read. I'm not on the thread constantly, so kinda read from the bottom backward and sometimes that just means missing all but the most recent posts.

No doubt having larger registers is an advantage for speed, especially once code is running 64-bits. The question is, how does it compare to having a 32-bit CPU running 32-bit code at a higher clock rate? Were they able to have their 64-bit CPU run at a lower clock rate, or the same, and have it execute 32-bit code faster? How does 32-bit code even recognize the larger registers and take advantage of it? How much of the extra speed is attributable to more cache space, which usually makes a huge difference? The A7 is faster than its predecessor, but is it because it's 64-bit or because they made other improvements, like larger cached, that would have benefited a 32-bit chip anyway?

Yeah... what he said!

Posted via CB10

[LazyEvul]

Not so much as ignored, but as didn't see/read. I'm not on the thread constantly, so kinda read from the bottom backward and sometimes that just means missing all but the most recent posts.

Fair enough, no worries.

The question is, how does it compare to having a 32-bit CPU running 32-bit code at a higher clock rate? Were they able to have their 64-bit CPU run at a lower clock rate, or the same, and have it execute 32-bit code faster?

The A7 ran at an identical clock speed to the A6 that came before it, and a quick glance at Geekbench shows that even when running 32-bit instructions, it still yielded better performance in most instances than the A6: iPhone 5s vs iPhone 5 - Geekbench Browser

It did suffer minor losses in Mandelbrot performance, but did better everywhere else - in some cases, significantly better.

How does 32-bit code even recognize the larger registers and take advantage of it?

I'm having trouble confirming this, but I would imagine 32-bit may not recognize larger registers, but should still be able to take advantage of the greater number of registers - double the general purpose and floating point registers, in the case of the A6 to A7 transition.

How much of the extra speed is attributable to more cache space, which usually makes a huge difference? The A7 is faster than its predecessor, but is it because it's 64-bit or because they made other improvements, like larger cached, that would have benefited a 32-bit chip anyway?

Anandtech did a very good comparison between the A7's 32-bit benchmarks and 64-bit benchmarks that should answer your question. You can find it here, just scroll down to the "64-bit Performance Gains" section: The Move to 64-bit - The iPhone 5s Review

To make a long story short, improvements in the vast majority of instances.

No doubt having larger registers is an advantage for speed, especially once code is running 64-bits.

And this is why Apple got a lot out of 64-bit right off the bat - the OS and Apple apps all ran in 64-bit from day one. Third-party apps were quick to include 64-bit support because, hey, it's iOS and developers love iOS. Those who took their time making the jump were forced to adopt it in February this year, when Apple made it mandatory for all new apps and app updates. Basically, any apps that still don't support 64-bit are likely abandoned or poorly maintained - though in fairness, I'm sure that still equates to thousands of apps on Apple's enormous App Store.

Like I said, though - I don't think this was necessarily innovative or groundbreaking. 64-bit is only new to mobile, and being part of the ARMv8 architecture made it pretty much inevitable. But it was a notable step forwards, one that Apple made so quickly that it caught the entire industry off guard. Their entire ecosystem has pretty much completed the transition, while Google is still in its first year of 64-bit devices - not to mention both BlackBerry and Microsoft have yet to offer 64-bit.

[medic22003]

Agree with you on this. The z30 is definitely pushing the boundary on size

Posted via CB10

[guygardner73]

Good specs,

but what do you have against the 810?

I've got good specs. Without them I can't read.

PassportSQW100-1/10.3.1.2576 O2 UK

[TheScionicMan]

Why they didn't put that kind of specs on the Passport ? It's the first time since a while that Blackberry put higher specs than mid range specs in their phone... Maybe it's because this device will run Android instead of Blackberry 10 ?

Posted via my Q10

Maybe it's because it's an unfounded rumor...

[SenorPistachio]

I would have loved to see this with 'just' a full hd display. Had a Note 3 with a full hd display @ 5.7 inch, and i never had any issues with jaggies. Plus it would benefit the battery... Hope BB will make this thing dual-boot, or implement their HUB and style in the Android OS so that people will get to 'know' the BB OS without having their phones run on the actual OS itself, without making it too bloated. Let's wait and see.

[BlackberryFan777]

Reason being is that the 810 is known to throttle performance under heavy load.....that is why a lot of android manufacturers opten for the 808 hexa core instead.....

I think the generation of phones being announced in the next month or so will have 810 processors with the overheating issues fixed. At least that's what OnePlus and Qualcomm will claim at their announcement on Monday. The 810 has significant advantages for camera / video / multimedia and better multitasking.

OnePlus 2 to feature Snapdragon 810 v2.1 with no overheating - SlashGear

(As an aside, if I didn't find Android to be a substandard platform with poor stability and clumsy navigation, I'd be buying a OnePlus Two or Asus ZenPhone 2 over a BlackBerry Slider running Android. But, I'd pay $900 for a BB10 Slider with Android App support that includes Google Services and native Android apps. We'll see.)

[RyanGermann]

Not so much as ignored, but as didn't see/read. I'm not on the thread constantly, so kinda read from the bottom backward and sometimes that just means missing all but the most recent posts.

No doubt having larger registers is an advantage for speed, especially once code is running 64-bits. The question is, how does it compare to having a 32-bit CPU running 32-bit code at a higher clock rate? Were they able to have their 64-bit CPU run at a lower clock rate, or the same, and have it execute 32-bit code faster? How does 32-bit code even recognize the larger registers and take advantage of it? How much of the extra speed is attributable to more cache space, which usually makes a huge difference? The A7 is faster than its predecessor, but is it because it's 64-bit or because they made other improvements, like larger cached, that would have benefited a 32-bit chip anyway?

From my perspective, the most significant issues is: will Apple make OS upgrades backward compatible to the first 64-bit CPU device, or will they cut off support after 3 generations, so that those first 64 -bit devices touting a 64-bit CPU will never get the chance to live up to.the promise? For that reason the adoption of 64-bit CPUs meant little to the owner of THAT device, but it inspires developers to move toward 64-bit programming... on a device that freezes most backgrounded tasks in a block of ice so cold they might as well be closed completely.

If you want a productive 64-bit future, you have to start with a 'useless' 64-bit present.

Posted via CB10

[LazyEvul]

From my perspective, the most significant issues is: will Apple make OS upgrades backward compatible to the first 64-bit CPU device, or will they cut off support after 3 generations, so that those first 64 -bit devices touting a 64-bit CPU will never get the chance to live up to.the promise? For that reason the adoption of 64-bit CPUs meant little to the owner of THAT device, but it inspires developers to move toward 64-bit programming... on a device that freezes most backgrounded tasks in a block of ice so cold they might as well be closed completely.

If you want a productive 64-bit future, you have to start with a 'useless' 64-bit present.

Posted via CB10

Well, there's a couple things to dispel your concerns. Firstly, iOS 9 already marks 3 generations of 64-bit and all iPhones back to the 4S will receive the update - the 5S has at least another year in it as a result, up to three if they continue supporting devices this far back.

Secondly, as I covered in my last post, Apple's ecosystem has already pretty much completed the 64-bit transition - new apps and app updates are required to include 64-bit support as of this year. There are certainly some apps that have been left behind by their developers, but anything that's actively supported by its devs has to support 64-bit in its next update, if it hasn't already been updated. Starting over a year before everyone else gave Apple a huge edge in this regard.

Posted via CB10

[RyanGermann]

Well, there's a couple things to dispel your concerns. Firstly, iOS 9 already marks 3 generations of 64-bit and all iPhones back to the 4S will receive the update - the 5S has at least another year in it as a result, up to three if they continue supporting devices this far back.

Secondly, as I covered in my last post, Apple's ecosystem has already pretty much completed the 64-bit transition - new apps and app updates are required to include 64-bit support as of this year. There are certainly some apps that have been left behind by their developers, but anything that's actively supported by its devs has to support 64-bit in its next update, if it hasn't already been updated. Starting over a year before everyone else gave Apple a huge edge in this regard.

OK, so what is the benefit to the end user today? I'm not seeing it.

Posted via CB10

[LazyEvul]

OK, so what is the benefit to the end user today? I'm not seeing it.

Posted via CB10

In a nutshell, faster performance in most instances. The 32-bit vs. 64-bit benchmark from Anandtech that I linked to a couple posts ago shows some substantial gains in performance.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7335/t...ne-5s-review/4

Posted via CB10

[RyanGermann]

In a nutshell, faster performance in most instances. The 32-bit vs. 64-bit benchmark from Anandtech that I linked to a couple posts ago shows some substantial gains in performance.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7335/t...ne-5s-review/4

I guess what I meant was: will a human be able to perceive the performance improvements or are they mostly related to benchmarks, not real world applications in practical situations on mobile devices? What is a smartphone user doing on their handheld that benefits from 64 bit? The encryption scores are orders of magnitude better on 64 bit, but does that equate to seconds or minutes of perceived performance improvements? or does it improve typical smartphone tasks so instead of taking 50 microseconds it takes 5? My iPad Air doesn't perform much faster than my iPod 4 in terms of what I do with it. Eventually the use cases may catch up with the CPUs capabilities, but the form factor and use cases do limit this somewhat.

Posted via CB10

[LazyEvul]

I guess what I meant was: will a human be able to perceive the performance improvements or are they mostly related to benchmarks, not real world applications in practical situations on mobile devices? What is a smartphone user doing on their handheld that benefits from 64 bit? The encryption scores are orders of magnitude better on 64 bit, but does that equate to seconds or minutes of perceived performance improvements? or does it improve typical smartphone tasks so instead of taking 50 microseconds it takes 5? My iPad Air doesn't perform much faster than my iPod 4 in terms of what I do with it. Eventually the use cases may catch up with the CPUs capabilities, but the form factor and use cases do limit this somewhat.

Posted via CB10

That's a tough question to answer and will depend on a whole lot of factors, but the benchmarks in question are designed to be reflective of regular smartphone tasks so some improvements should be noticeable in day-to-day usage. In fairness though, noticeable does not necessarily mean major. Then again, CPU improvements in regards to daily tasks have been merely incremental for some time now - anything that gives you that little extra edge counts.

Posted via CB10

[a7madberry]

BlackBerry is going to kick all other phones' ***

Posted via CB10

[The Big Picture]

BlackBerry should focus on using 64 bit resources and performance benefits to ensure their devices are super secure.

Like turning on encryption by default and make it so seamless and user friendly that the average user doesn't feel the difference.

Posted via CB10