BlackBerry phones might have finally reached the end. Although this is a headline that’s been used multiple times before, this time it might be for real. BlackBerry phones have been around a long time and while they’ve survived a couple of scares, time appears to be running out for the iconic phone brand.
Most people of a certain age will be acutely familiar with BlackBerry phones. Just like Nokia had its heyday, BlackBerry phones were all the rage at one point - largely thanks to their physical keyboards and emphasis on security. However, as Android phones and the iPhone entered the market with larger displays, more features and apps, and room for a virtual keyboard, BlackBerry phones looked like they had reached the end of the road. That was until TCL stepped in and breathed life into the brand.
Back in 2016, TCL entered a partnership deal to design, manufacture and release BlackBerry Mobile-branded smartphones. The big selling point this time around was the use of Android, making the newer BlackBerry phones as capable as any other Android phone, but with a physical QWERTY keyboard as an added bonus. However, last week BlackBerry Mobile issued a statement confirming the licensing deal was coming to an end. Starting from August 31, there will be no more new BlackBerry phones released in partnership with TCL.
Is This Really The End For BlackBerry Phones?
It looks like it could be. Technically, this is just the end of a licensing agreement and another company may decide to step in and give the BlackBerry name another spin. However, it does remain to be seen how much the brand has left to offer? While BlackBerry continues to do well outside of consumer smartphones, the mobile side continues to slide down the pecking order. Yes, the latest batch of phones did come running on Android (opening up the devices to a new and modern audience), but the physical keyboard is no longer the pull it once was. Instead, displays are now where the real innovation is happening, and while this brand continued to focus on taking up space with a physical keyboard, others were working on foldable displays that blurred the lines between a phone and a tablet. Over the last couple of years, this emphasis on a full-screen experience even led to BlackBerry Mobile releasing phones that did not feature a physical keyboard - reducing one of its main USPs even further.
The keyboard is not the only problem the aging phone brand faces either. While the name had always been paired with premium, the phones are no longer considered premium by the market as a whole. This has resulted in a disparity between the price BlackBerry Mobile expects its phones to be sold out, and what consumers realistically will pay for those same devices. To many, BlackBerry phones are just too expensive for what they offer, and that’s hardly going to sway consumers away from the actual premium smartphones being released by Apple, Samsung, Huawei, OnePlus, and the rest. All of which would seem to suggest this is likely to be the final nail in the coffin. That is, unless BlackBerry happens to have one more phone resurrection trick up its sleeve?
More: How Nokia Died So Quickly After Microsoft’s Acquisition
Source: BlackBerry Mobile/Twitter
