The BlackBerry brand of smartphones is now officially dead. According to a public service announcement sent out by TCL Communications’ official Twitter account, BlackBerry-brand phones will no longer be available to purchase starting August 31, 2020.
TCL Communications, the Chinese company that owns the license to BlackBerry-branded phones, announced in a tweet that it will cease to sell them in the market. Although they no longer have the rights to sell, design, or manufacture new BlackBerry phones, they will continue to provide customer service and warranty services for the brand until August 31, 2022, or for as long as the law requires.
Since TCL is BlackBerry’s primary licensor and manufacturer, this discontinuation might be the final nail in the coffin for the Canadian smartphone brand.
What Happened?
While the statement on Twitter didn’t provide an exact reason for TCL’s decision to discontinue the BlackBerry brand, it can be inferred that it was due to the phone’s poor sales performance.
BlackBerry is known for its constant fluctuation between success and failure. It once held a very high spot in the smartphone market—controlling 50% of the American market and 20% worldwide at one point. It even sold 50 million units back in 2011. However, the brand’s failure to keep pace with its competitors ultimately led to its downfall, eventually rendering the brand obsolete.
In 2016, BlackBerry exited the smartphone market, leading to what many thought would be the brand’s demise. The company announced that it would stop designing and building its own phones and instead chose to have a different company handle the brand. Many companies took up that offer, but it was TCL Communications that owned a majority of the rights to the BlackBerry brand.
TCL, which also held the right to Alcatel, did a decent job of making and selling new BlackBerry phones, but it wasn’t enough. Their latest model, the KEY2, wasn’t a horrible phone by any means, but it didn’t have the same impact on consumers as the iPhone or Samsung’s Galaxy line. You won’t see people sell their laptops online to buy a BlackBerry phone.
Unfortunately for BlackBerry, none of its new models lived up to the hype of its former glory. Other brands were just better.
What’s in Store for BlackBerry?
TCL’s statement ended on a somewhat optimistic note, saying that both they and BlackBerry Ltd have a bright future ahead of them. Currently, however, there is no concrete information available regarding the future of the smartphone brand.
While TCL still has a lot going for it, given its partnership with other brands, it’s challenging to predict what BlackBerry will do, considering the company’s current focus on creating software and security products.
BlackBerry hasn’t released a statement of its own regarding future plans yet. If they do stop manufacturing phones completely, then this incident will truly mark the end of this once-beloved smartphone brand.
Final Word
The curtain has officially closed on BlackBerry’s storied run in the smartphone arena—a brand once synonymous with mobile innovation and executive prestige. From dominating global markets to fading quietly into obsolescence, BlackBerry’s journey reflects the unforgiving pace of technological evolution. With TCL stepping away and no successor in sight, the physical embodiment of BlackBerry may be gone for good. Yet, its legacy endures in the DNA of modern mobile security and enterprise software, where the company now seeks its future. Whether this marks a quiet retirement or a strategic rebirth, one thing is certain: BlackBerry’s impact on the mobile world won’t be forgotten.