Onward Mobility has announced that its 5G BlackBerry smartphone is still on the way. There has not been a new BlackBerry smartphone in almost four years, and that's because the former licensing partners of the brand, which includes China's TCL, India's Optiemus Infracom, and Indonesia's BB Merah Putih, have all ended their partnerships with BlackBerry.
TCL signed an agreement in 2016 to make BlackBerry-branded smartphones. Between then and 2018, it launched a few phones such as the all-touch BlackBerry Motion and the physical keyboard-toting BlackBerry Keyone, BlackBerry KEY2, and the BlackBerry KEY2 LE, which was the last before the agreement was formally terminated in 2020. In addition, the BlackBerry Evolve and Evolve X were manufactured and sold in India by Optiemus Infracom.
Later in 2020, it was announced that there was a new licensing partner called Onward Mobility with a plan to release the first 5G BlackBerry smartphone in the first half of 2021. Unfortunately, that never happened, and there were speculations that the company had folded up. However, that isn't the case, as an official statement released a few days ago has revealed the company is not dead. According to Onward Mobility, the previous year was a challenging one for it that was filled with delays that prevented it from launching the highly-anticipated phone. The good news is perfectly timed as it arrives just shortly after BlackBerry pulled the plug on legacy devices.
A 5G BlackBerry Android Phone With A Keyboard
Not much is known about the phone but what has been revealed is that it will have support for 5G and also have a (physical) keyboard. It will also run Android and be made in partnership with FIH Mobile, a subsidiary of Foxconn. Thankfully, Onward Mobility says it will be providing regular updates starting Jan. 2022, so it is expected that some details such as the design and specifications will be released to the public before the smartphone is announced. However, considering the phone was initially slated for a 2021 release, there is a high chance the specifications and features may be regarded as outdated when the phone is unveiled. On the other hand, the delay may also mean some parts might be upgraded.
Onward Mobility is based in the United States, and in 2020, it said its BlackBerry smartphone would launch in North America and Europe. That is expected to remain unchanged even with the hiccups it suffered last year. It also revealed its plans to launch the phone in Asia, but that should happen after launching first in the regions mentioned above. The launch date is still a closely-guarded secret for now.
Source: Onward Mobility