Plans to resurrect the Blackberry model with a brand new keyboard-equipped 5G Android gadget have been shelved, based on reviews from Android Police and CrackBerry. Growth on the gadget was introduced in 2020 by Texas-based startup OnwardMobility, after it licensed the model title from Blackberry. The gadget was rumored to make use of the same design to 2015’s Blackberry Priv — which had a bodily keyboard that might be revealed with a slide of its display screen — with a launch date deliberate for a while in 2021.
That, clearly, didn’t occur, however there have been indicators of life earlier this yr when OnwardMobility revealed a weblog publish titled “Opposite to common perception, we aren’t useless.” Though the corporate admitted that it had “encountered numerous delays that prevented us from delivery in 2021” it stated it hoped to supply an replace on its “ultra-secure 5G enterprise smartphone” quickly.
A month after the corporate stated it was nonetheless alive
Now it appears the state of affairs has radically shifted. CrackBerry reviews that “a number of sources” have confirmed to the publication that “OnwardMobility and their BlackBerry 5G keyboard telephone dream are useless.” Android Police provides that OnwardMobility’s license to make use of the Blackberry branding was lately canceled and that BlackBerry’s CEO John Chen was reluctant for the model’s title for use on one other smartphone. The trade’s continued supply-chain points are unlikely to have helped.
OnwardMobility didn’t instantly reply to The Verge’s request for remark. Android Police notes it’s unclear whether or not the corporate will pivot to releasing a non-Blackberry branded smartphone, or stop buying and selling solely. However, maybe notably, its replace from final month doesn’t point out the Blackberry title.
Blackberry itself obtained out of the patron smartphone enterprise in 2016 to give attention to cybersecurity services and products for enterprises, and merchandise working its personal software program stopped working earlier this yr. The model title has been licensed out to smartphone producers like TCL and Optiemus Infracom over time, although every of those corporations finally moved away from the model.
Given the variety of resurrections BlackBerry-branded smartphones have had over time, it feels presumptuous to name this the ultimate nail within the coffin. However the physique’s been chilly for some time now.
