BlackBerry

BlackBerry to discontinue services from January 4: Everything you need to know

BlackBerry, once upon a time favorite smartphone among tech-savvy enthusiasts will stop working starting January 4. According to company sources, the devices based on the proprietary operating system will not work with reliable functionality from next week. The market share of BlackBerry declined considerably after the emergence of Android and iOS devices.

Even people who were working with BlackBerry devices started to migrate to Android. The revolutionary change in the technology is attributed to the decline of BlackBerry consumption. The Canada-based company revealed that its devices will no longer be able to provide support for legacy services over cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity starting January 4.

Even though BlackBerry announced the termination of support and services in September 2020, the company extended as an expression of thanks to its loyal customers and partners. The latest update will not be applicable to BlackBerry smartphones based on the Android operating system.

The devices running BlackBerry 7.1 OS and earlier, BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 and earlier versions will not be able to reliably function after January 4. There is no assurance that BlackBerry phones with Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity will be able to allow data access including the ability to make phone calls, sending text messages and even emergency 911 functionality.

BlackBerry lost market share after 2010s with the emergence of Android. Moreover, the company faced debacles when COVID-19 pandemic hit the world. The company took a challenging step by migrating to Android in 2015 from the BlackBerry 10. The BlackBerry Priv smartphone was introduced as a replacement to Apple and Samsung.

BlackBerry established partnership with TCL Communications and Optiemus Infracom in India to manufacture smartphones. The BlackBerry KeyOne and Key2 entered the market via the partners. Interestingly, TCL stopped producing BlackBerry phones in 2020 followed by other brands.

The BlackBerry Key2 LE is the last smartphone and there is no scope for the launch of another device. However, Texas-based OnwardMobility teased a launch of a 5G BlackBerry phone in 2021 but the model not yet released. BlackBerry posted a net profit of $74 million for Q3 2021 when compared with the net loss of $130 million in the previous same quarter.

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