TCL Communications was responsible to make modern BlackBerry phones like KEYone (or the KEY series of smartphones) possible.
Basically, they had the rights the sell BlackBerry-branded smartphones which they partnered (or acquired) in December 2016.
Even though they did a good job – the sales were not enough to keep up with the business.
And, we think that is the reason why TCL Communication decided to stop making BlackBerry smartphones. In a recent tweet via BlackBerry’s official Twitter handle, they mentioned about it:
— BlackBerry Mobile (@BBMobile) February 3, 2020
Officially, they will stop selling BlackBerry-branded smartphones on August 31, 2020. As per the announcement, it is still not clear whether the existing devices will receive any software updates or not.
However, smartphones will continue to get customer service and warranty service up until August 31, 2020. So, technically, you have enough time to switch to a new smartphone.
Probably, you will have to make a switch quicker than expected because the existing smartphones may not get software updates at all. But, it is indeed unfortunate news for a lot of BlackBerry fans and users.
It is unclear if BlackBerry will opt for another partner to help revive the smartphone. Maybe BlackBerry is officially done – or maybe not. We cannot be too sure until they completely confirm their future plans for their smartphones.
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