BlackBerry was a major company in the pre-smartphone era. It was often the first choice for business customers and was also the preferred phone of many governments. However, the company’s iconic QWERTY keyboard began to lose its relevance with the advent of smartphones with touchscreens and advanced Operating Systems.
Canadian company tried to remain strong for many years by betting on its BlackBerry OS. Although the company offered Android app support, it was not a great experience. We saw a few devices, such as the Blackberry KEY and BlackBerry Priv, a few years back.
These devices attempted to combine the tactile keyboard experience with touchscreens, but they didn’t make it into the final. However, a new report suggests that BlackBerry smartphones will soon be back on the market.
BlackBerry is Making a Comeback Soon With Onward Mobility
Onward Mobility has had the BlackBerry brand since August 2020. The company has made no promises regarding new BlackBerry smartphones, however, until now. However, things are starting to happen. The company announced a pre-commitment program, which suggests that a new handset may finally be in the works.
This program is essentially a subscription list for fans and partners. They will receive “product, features, and availability updates” before the general public. Onward Mobility’s landing page states that these individuals and organizations can directly influence functionality and feature design. Most interesting is the hint that a new smartphone may be in development.
It is worth noting that Onward Mobility does have some expertise in security. However, the company does not have any experience in the area of mobile hardware. This is why the company is looking to influencers and telecoms partners for help. To produce BlackBerry smartphones, we expect that the company will likely use an ODM (probably from China).
There are many questions about the return of BlackBerry smartphones. For example, we believe many people are wondering if BlackBerry will continue to insist on a hybrid experience that includes a touchscreen and QWERTY keyboards or if it will finally embrace full-screen devices.
We have to use large screens that are small enough that the device that has a physical keyboard is not as appealing. This design will be useful to those who love the experience. This is not a look back at the past. It’s a way for BlackBerry to distinguish itself. It is unclear if users still need this differentiation.
