It's been almost a month since BlackBerry 10 launched alongside the Z10 smartphone and users are already being treated to their first update for the operating system. Announced this morning in a blog post by BlackBerry product manager Michael Clewley, BlackBerry 10.0.10.85 addresses some of the most common complaints about the software, with improvements to third-party app performance and battery life.
Clewley says there are more than 60 battery saving improvements in the update that will result in a longer average user per char cycle for heavy users – though he gave no specific figures beyond that. Phone, calendar and contacts features are also getting some rough edges worked out with better Gmail calendar integration, as well as improvements in how call logs are handled and importing contacts from online sources.
Blackberry 10 users will also be pleased to know that the company has optimized the camera app to take better pictures in low-light situations and enhanced video-playback handling in the browser. As for the aforementioned improvements in third-party app support, Blackberry said that this update will lead to some fresh apps, such as Whatsapp. The popular cross-platform IM application is arriving to the platform later this month.
The first BlackBerry 10 update is approximately 150MB in size and will roll out over the air through all carrier partners over the coming weeks. You should get a notification about the update when it's available on your network, but you can also manually check by going to Settings> Software Updates> Check for Updates.