Products · Product
BlackBerry
Raised as a usability problem by 87 people on Hacker News over 19 years (2008–2026), in 80 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Some features are poorly documented and hard to find via searchUnreviewed
20082026- Software was buggy, and email and calendar needed a paired BlackBerry phone2021-11-05
- Some BlackBerry-specific features are poorly documented and hard to find via search2019-12-25
- BlackBerry developer tools were horrible, hindering app development2012-05-29
Tiny packed keys make typing a sentence take minutesUnreviewed
20082026- Typing non-alphabetical characters is much slower than on touchscreen2024-12-10
- Small keyboard takes time to learn; some characters need awkward function-key combos2020-08-21
- Keys are so tiny and packed close together that typing a sentence takes minutes2010-11-24
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Portrait keyboard layout is awkward to use compared to horizontal QWERTY2026-02-22
- Applying to the store and using its developer tooling was a huge pain2026-01-24
- Typing non-alphabetical characters is much slower than on touchscreen2024-12-10
- Signing server often offline, causing frustration for developers deploying apps2024-10-05
- Touchscreen was so bad the commenter abandoned it2024-05-04
- Physical keyboard takes up screen space and harms app usability2024-01-07
- Settings split across two confusing, buried menu structures, hard to find things2023-09-30
- Small changes take a week to test because every build must be signed by a frequently down server2023-08-31
- Development IDE and simulator were so slow to use they nearly drove the developer away2023-05-23
- Scrolling is janky, the phone is sluggish, and the keyboard barely works2023-04-05
- Scrolling was janky and the keyboard barely worked, phone felt sluggish2023-02-08
- Felt like pressing too hard, as if the screen might break with each tap2022-05-27
- Scrolling janky, phone sluggish, and keyboard barely worked2022-01-06
- Software was buggy, and email and calendar needed a paired BlackBerry phone2021-11-05
- Useless animations were added, making the phone harder to use in every way2021-09-14
- Phone takes about six minutes to boot after a battery swap, undermining the removable battery2021-09-14
- Touchscreen model was buggy and unusable, with many units returned2021-09-14
- Touch scrolling is slow and janky, making the phone feel unfinished2021-09-13
- Navigation is horrible and attachments take about five seconds to load2021-09-13
- Performance drops about 90% past 2^15 objects, making apps unusable with no error2021-08-27
- Simulators unreliable, 40-60 second signing waits, and no usable logs make debugging very slow2021-08-14
- Slow, janky scrolling makes the touch interface feel like a rushed beta2021-08-13
- Keyboard is missing critical keys like arrows and OK, and can't be remapped without root2021-07-28
- Signing code and deploying to devices is very slow and servers often fail, blocking testing2021-02-03
- Extremely laggy scrolling and sluggish web browsing, even on Edge2021-02-02
- Small keyboard takes time to learn; some characters need awkward function-key combos2020-08-21
- Touchscreen keyboard was unusable and the UI felt clunky2020-02-13
- Some BlackBerry-specific features are poorly documented and hard to find via search2019-12-25
- Android apps run painfully slowly and multitasking is unusable on BlackBerry2018-03-01
- Android apps needing Google Play services were a pain to maintain and install2016-09-28
- Screen clicks down without giving tactile feedback on where the keys are2015-05-23
- Cut and paste on BlackBerry is confusing to use2015-05-23
- Developer portal asks carrier restrictions and export numbers, with a manual push ID process2015-01-22
- Can't scroll vertically; must sweep sideways to a hidden scroll bar, making reading tedious2014-11-08
- Clickable touchscreen is a poor solution for a smartphone2014-05-31
- Touchscreen often failed to respond, so input didn't work about half the time2013-11-04
- Touchscreen was awkward to manipulate and the device felt slow and buggy2013-09-28
- Couldn't figure out how to reach the home screen or back out of voice search2013-09-24
- Users get stuck finding how to move between apps, with no visible affordances2013-09-24
- Touchscreen-plus-keyboard hybrid design is a bad, half-assed UX2013-09-22
- Chart lacks visual hierarchy, so the main BlackBerry decline doesn't stand out2013-09-21
- Hello world required Windows, an XP virtual machine, Eclipse and a simulator to run2013-09-20
- Old APIs are obsoleted with every new phone, breaking developers' code2013-06-30
- Phone functions like adding contacts and viewing call logs are hard to use2013-06-12
- Couldn't figure out how to uninstall apps or change app position2012-12-16
- Browser engine unusable for wrapping web content into apps without arcane APIs2012-11-10
- Each UI change requires a 20-minute compile and device deploy, with an unreliable simulator2012-09-25
- Phone battery dies by evening so user must pre-book taxi2012-07-18
- Most visitors couldn't figure out how to use the tablet2012-07-06
- Web browsing on 2007-era BlackBerry is so awful it barely works2012-07-02