Blackberry Is Gone For Good, Here’s Why
Once on top, Blackberry is now gone for good, find out why.
This article is more than 2 years old
Blackberry was one of the biggest names in the cellphone game, but then all their products disappeared. What happened to the beloved tech brand? Reports suggest they are moving away from the cellphone business in 2022 and progressing towards other technological developments. After a new phone failed to release, Blackberry is transforming into a different entity altogether.
Blackberry is distancing itself from the smartphone world due to a couple of factors. In 2020, a startup called OnwardMobility licensed the brand to manufacture new Blackberry phones, which wasn’t successful or profitable. The smartphone set to release in early 2021 kept getting pushed back, ultimately leaving the product on an indefinite hiatus. Now, it’s reported OnwardMobility has lost its Blackberry license for good, leaving its phones permanently in the past.
However, contrary to reports, OnwardMobility’s website still parades the Blackberry logo, though the company doesn’t mention the former cell giant in any advertisements. The company released a blog post on January 7th stating the 2022 product was not dead and was still intending on its release. OnwardMobility made no further indications that it had a specific release date for the device. The only other information the company included in the post was its assurance that it’d release a 5G phone, but it doesn’t mention the Blackberry brand.
The Blackberry’s exclusion in recent OnwardMobility press has the public believing confidently that it lost the mobile phone license. Reporters and websites who’ve wanted to reach out to OnwardMobility for statements have found it quite tricky since there are no emails listed on the company website. Many suspect the tech company may quietly disappear since there are no concrete statements that the Blackberry smartphone will ever reach stores in 2022.
As of now, reports claim that Blackberry is trying out different tech ventures in 2022. In late January, the company sold its mobile patent for $600 million, putting an unequivocal pause on its cellphone distribution. Since its heyday in the early and mid-2000s, smartphones like iPhones and Androids have taken over the industry, pushing Blackberry products into antiquity.
In a strange move, new tech company Catapult IP Innovations bought Blackberry’s patents, sending the company into astronomical debt. Since Blackberry isn’t a highly coveted brand name in the tech world anymore, many suspect Catapult will be litigious to make a profit. The company can sue businesses infringing on the patents, which is a possible reason the former phone retailer is distancing itself from the smartphone industry.
Back in 2016, Blackberry made one last foray into saving its once prominent cellphone reign. The Blackberry Priv was released, utilizing an old version of Android’s hardware. The insufficient Android 5.1.1 already put the Priv at the bottom of the high-tech pyramid, alongside numerous hardware frustrations.
The Blackberry Priv’s price couldn’t compete with other quality Androids on the market. Even though the Priv cost the same price as other Androids in 2016, it couldn’t keep up with those smartphones’ quickness and sufficiency. The company also kept its external keyboard like prior phones, but the lettering remained small compared to other smartphones’ virtual keyboards. An overall lack of advancement kept the Blackberry Priv from reaching market success.
