It has been a few years since a BlackBerry-branded smartphone was released. A model was planned for release in 2021 by a new licensee, but it didn't launch. Most modern smartphones now have a full-screen design and are operated by touching the display. The physical buttons required for input controls on phones of old have now been replaced by virtual ones. However, there is still a small group who long for smartphones that have a physical keyboard.
BlackBerry used to be a big name in the smartphone industry and its products were used by government officials, business professionals, and even students. The popularity of its phones and the signature QWERTY keyboard even influenced the design of phones from rivals including Nokia, HTC, and Samsung. However, the BlackBerry smartphone brand slowly became less relevant over the years.
It was in 2020 that Onward Mobility announced its plans to bring a new BlackBerry smartphone to market. The US-based company acquired the license to make and sell BlackBerry smartphones and revealed a few key details about its first device. Support for 5G, boasting a physical keyboard that's different to previous models, and running Android were enough to get the BlackBerry name trending again. According to an official blog post, the phone didn't ship in 2021 due to “various delays” but it now appears that the device may never see the light of day. February 2022 reports from CrackBerry and Android Police suggest that Onward Mobility's license has been revoked.
Probably Time To Say Goodbye
According to the two publications, the decision might have been the result of BlackBerry CEO John Chen no longer wanting the brand name to be associated with mobile phones. There has also been some speculation that the sale of the company's mobile and messaging legacy patents to Catapult IP, a Baltimore-based innovations company, in late January 2022 may be related to the loss of the license.
Onward Mobility itself has not been forthcoming with information about the development of the phone and has practically been silent since first announcing a device was in development. The company has yet to confirm the future of the phone and its last public statement was in January 2022 which claimed that the device was not dead. Based on these developments, however, the possibility of a new BlackBerry smartphone launching anytime soon seems very unlikely, and it may just be finally time to say farewell to the brand that once ruled the phone market.
Source: CrackBerry, Android Police, Onward Mobility