Officially, there's not been any comment on this topic, and the message OnwardMobility posted on its website doesn't say anything. But digging deeper, what happened to delay and then cancel the launch of this device?
The Blackberry 5G from OnwardMobility isn't coming because the company shut down. But as we can see with TCL and OnwardMobility picking up the baton, tech companies won't let the Blackberry name rest, and perhaps in a few years, we'll see another brand try.Ī BlackBerry phone lying on money (Image credit: TechRadar) So what happened? So dream of a new Blackberry 5G are dead. In a post on its website the company confirmed "it is with great sadness that we announce that OnwardMobility will be shutting down", and said "we will no longer be proceeding with the development of an ultra-secure smartphone with a physical keyboard". Less than two weeks later, the report was confirmed - and not only was OnwardMobility shuttering the Blackberry project, but it was closing down itself. That is, until a report from a Blackberry fan site posted a report suggesting that the Blackberry 5G dream was, in fact dead. Well, that's not bad news, right? A delayed phone is better than no phone at all!
The radio silence was finally broken in January 2022 when the company confirmed that the phone had faced delays but was still in the works. The Blackberry KeyOne and Key2 (Image credit: Future) Many had just forgotten about the device entirely. Some fans were upset, more were confused. That suggested a release is nearing, but the terminology used also suggested that it may be a bit of a longer wait.Ī longer wait was indeed in store, because 2021 limped onwards and, by the time it had collapsed in a pile and made way for 2022, we still hadn't heard anything about the Blackberry 5G. In July 2021, OnwardMobility opened up a waitlist for updates about the upcoming 5G BlackBerry phone. Blackberry phones are coming back? And back with a bang? Take my money!Īt the time, OnwardMobility pledged to release the device in 2021, and in an interview with Nikkei Asia in February of the year, Frankling said 'more details will be announced within the next few months.' At the time, we thought that could mean a product reveal as soon as May 2021.Ĭlearly that wasn't to be, though, as May sailed past with nary a word from the fruity company. Understandably, there was a lot of excitement. OnwardMobility also promised that this device would be coming to consumer markets too, so anyone could buy it. More, the website implied future Blackberry 5G products would be coming too. Fans were excited: OnwardMobility promised a 5G phone with a QWERTY keyboard, lots of features and top-notch security.
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