ISSUE 73 • ANDROID ADVISOR 9(and) has no further rights to design, manufacture or
sell any new BlackBerry mobile devices.” That’s pretty
much a death blow to the company’s slim hopes of
mounting a revival.
If you own a BlackBerry KeyOne or Key2, TCL says
it will continue to provide support for phones through
August 2022, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for an
Android 10 update anytime soon.
Granted, TCL’s investment in BlackBerry was
always an uphill struggle. When it announced it was
licensing the brand back in December 2016, it was met
with an equal mix of quizzical stares and sniggers, as
BlackBerry’s heyday was long in the rear-view mirror.
The launch of the iPhone and the proliferation of
Android handsets made the hardware keyboard seem
quaint and antiquated, and the mere thought of trying
to use one again made our thumbs hurt.
But nonetheless, TCL persisted, and to be honest,
we didn’t hate the BlackBerry Key2. But in a world
of sixin screens and powerful cameras, BlackBerry’s
vision was a tough sell to anyone but a hopeless
nostalgic. Even the once-popular BlackBerry
Messenger service called it quits in May.
So it’s not at all surprising that TCL has opted not
to renew its BlackBerry license. Any BlackBerry phone
is destined to be a niche product, and as Android
phones pick up more cameras and pixels, that niche
seems to be ever-shrinking. So pour one out for
BlackBerry and the physical keyboard, both of which
will likely never be seen again.