Designs to resurrect the Blackberry brand name with a new keyboard-equipped 5G Android product have been shelved, according to stories from AndroidPolice and CrackBerry. Development on the unit was declared in 2020 by Texas-centered startup OnwardMobility, after it certified the brand identify from Blackberry. The system was rumored to use a comparable design to 2015’s Blackberry Priv — which experienced a bodily keyboard that could be uncovered with a slide of its screen — with a launch day prepared for some time in 2021.
That, clearly, didn’t materialize, but there were being signs of everyday living earlier this year when OnwardMobility released a weblog submit titled “Contrary to well known belief, we are not dead.” Although the company admitted that it had “encountered various delays that prevented us from shipping and delivery in 2021” it stated it hoped to offer an update on its “ultra-secure 5G company smartphone” before long.
Now it seems the circumstance has radically shifted. CrackBerry experiences that “multiple sources” have confirmed to the publication that “OnwardMobility and their BlackBerry 5G keyboard telephone aspiration are useless.” AndroidPolice provides that OnwardMobility’s license to use the Blackberry branding was lately canceled and that BlackBerry’s CEO John Chen was hesitant for the brand’s title to be made use of on a further smartphone. The industry’s continued offer-chain concerns are not likely to have assisted.
OnwardMobility did not immediately react to The Verge’s request for comment. AndroidPolice notes it is unclear no matter if the firm will pivot to releasing a non-Blackberry branded smartphone, or cease trading entirely. But, perhaps notably, its update from final thirty day period does not point out the Blackberry title.
Blackberry itself acquired out of the client smartphone small business in 2016 to aim on cybersecurity products and expert services for enterprises, and items jogging its individual application stopped doing the job earlier this 12 months. The brand name has been accredited out to smartphone brands like TCL and Optiemus Infracom more than the yrs, however each and every of these firms eventually moved away from the manufacturer.
Presented the selection of resurrections BlackBerry-branded smartphones have experienced over the a long time, it feels presumptuous to contact this the closing nail in the coffin. But the body’s been cold for a when now.
