In June 2018, the BlackBerry Key2 was launched in international markets, and in India by licensee Optiemus Infracom. These devices, along with BB Merah Putih's BlackBerry Aurora make up BlackBerry's current lineup.
BlackBerry Mobile's latest Android smartphone is the BlackBerry Key2 which was officially announced on June 7, 2018, and released on July 13th of that year in the US. In February 2017, BlackBerry Mobile released the BlackBerry KeyOne, which was known for having a physical keyboard below its 4.5 inch screen, having a long battery life, and the last device to be designed by BlackBerry Limited. Optiemus Infracom, under the name BlackBerry Mobile India, and BB Merah Putih also serve as licensees of the brand, serving the Indian and Indonesian markets, respectively.
TCL Communication became the global licensee of the brand, under the name " BlackBerry Mobile". On September 28, 2016, BlackBerry announced it would cease designing its own phones in favor of licensing to partners. In 2015, BlackBerry re-focused its business strategy and began to release Android-based smartphones, beginning with the BlackBerry Priv slider and then the BlackBerry DTEK50. The first BB10 powered device was the BlackBerry Z10, which was followed by other all-touch and keyboard-equipped models including the BlackBerry Q10, BlackBerry Classic, Blackberry Z30, BlackBerry Passport, and the BlackBerry Leap. BlackBerry 10 was meant to replace the aging BlackBerry OS platform with a new system that was more in line with the user experiences of Android and iOS platforms. In 2013, BlackBerry introduced BlackBerry 10, a major revamp of the platform based on the QNX operating system. The BlackBerry line traditionally uses a proprietary operating system developed by BlackBerry Limited known as BlackBerry OS. However, BlackBerry lost its dominant position in the market due to the success of the Android and iOS platforms its numbers had fallen to 23 million in March 2016. At its peak in September 2013, there were 85 million BlackBerry subscribers worldwide.
īlackBerry was one of the most prominent smartphone brands in the world, specializing in secure communications and mobile productivity, and well known for the keyboards on most of its devices. For the creation of the new BlackBerry-branded smartphones, OnwardMobility is cooperating with BlackBerry Limited and FIH Mobile (a subsidiary of Foxconn). The device, which will probably be released in 2021, is expected to have flagship specifications and a BlackBerry-typical physical keyboard. In summer 2020, the Texas-based startup OnwardMobility signed a new licensing agreement with BlackBerry Limited to develop a new 5G BlackBerry Smartphone. The original licensors were BB Merah Putih for the Indonesian market, Optiemus Infracom for the South Asian market, and BlackBerry Mobile (a trade name of TCL Technology) for all other markets. Beginning in 2016, BlackBerry Limited licensed third-party companies to design, manufacture, and market smartphones under the BlackBerry brand. OnwardMobility (Enterprise 2020–present)īlackBerry World, Google Play Store, BlackBerry MessengerīlackBerry is a brand of smartphones, tablets, and services originally designed and marketed by Canadian company BlackBerry Limited (formerly known as Research In Motion, or RIM).