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Jan 5, 2022 · BlackBerry phones relied for many functions on key services, external provided by the company not just on the device itself, and with the withdrawal of support these are ending.
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By Michael Hicks
last updated 9 March 2022
It's confirmed to have been canceled
The Blackberry 5G remained one of the most anticipated smartphones we'd heard about, ever since it was first announced in mid-2020... up until the project was officially canceled in 2022.
This was a much-hyped revival for the nostalgia-riddled Blackberry brand, though one being pushed by a company other than Blackberry itself.
The Blackberry line hasn't exactly been dormant since original company Research In Motion, or Blackberry Limited, stopped making phones under the name in 2017. However the hey-day of QWERT keyboard-toting productivity phones was certainly in the rear-view mirror.
From 2016 to late 2020, Chinese tech firm TCL signed up to release phones under the Blackberry name, and we saw a small smattering of devices like the KeyOne. However it seems that TCL struggled with the same issue that Research In Motion did - in a world of fantastic touch-screen phones, physical keyboards had become a niche proposition.
That's not to say that there's no place for keyboard phones, and some users swear by them.
This kind of user got to come out in force in mid-2020 when a little-known Texan company called OnwardMobility purchased the rights to the Blackberry name.
You can see a video of the company's CEO, Peter Franklin, announcing the new Blackberry below.
Fans were excited: OnwardMobility promised a 5G phone with a QWERTY keyboard, lots of features and top-notch security. More, the website implied future Blackberry 5G products would be coming too.
The Blackberry 5G from OnwardMobility isn't coming because the company shut down. But digging deeper, what happened to delay and then cancel the launch of this device?
Officially, there's not been any comment on this topic, and the message OnwardMobility posted on its website doesn't say anything. But that report from a Blackberry fan site we mentioned has some theories.
Apparently, the current CEO of Blackberry Limited (a company which still makes software and security tech) has been trying to distance the company from smartphones, as a recent sale in Blackberry's patents suggests. The theory is that the CEO soured on the idea of a new Blackberry smartphone.
Beyond that, it's very possible that OnwardMobility found it'd bitten off more than it could chew. We often see new companies try to make smartphones and give up after a few tries, and presumably it's a lot harder than it seems.
That's all speculation though, and unless someone breaks the silence, it's impossible to know for sure. Hopefully that'll happen, as we're sure it's a fascinating story.
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Aug 19, 2020 · The new BlackBerry device will feature 5G connectivity and a physical keyboard. Comments (0) The BlackBerry Key2 didn't sell well, but Onward Mobility is hoping to revive the brand with a 5G phone.
- Philip Michaels
Jan 7, 2022 · In a blog post, the company has reiterated its desire to launch a 5G BlackBerry phone, even though it is now a significantly delayed launch. OnwardMobility originally planned to launch a 5G ...
- Video Producer
Jan 4, 2022 · BlackBerry, the company that once dominated smart mobile devices, recently announced it is finally discontinuing key services that support its phones. As of today, the phones will no longer be ...
- John Timmer, Ars Technica
Jan 4, 2022 · BlackBerry phones, once the height of mobile devices, are finally being shut off. The company announced that services for the older devices will be brought to an end on 4 January. At that point ...
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Jul 27, 2021 · The 5G BlackBerry smartphone was expected to arrive in the first half of 2021. OnwardMobility wants you to know that BlackBerry is still alive and that a new smartphone is on the way. At least ...