TCL has announced that it will no longer produce or sell more BlackBerry phones by the end of August of 2020.
The announcement explained the termination as the result of BlackBerry’s decision to end its agreement with TCL for in-house hardware development.
The press statement by BlackBerry noted that, “We do regret to announce that as of August 31, 2020. TCL will no longer be selling Blackberry branded mobile devices. TCL has no further rights to continue to design, manufacture or sell any BlackBerry mobile device.”
It continued, “However, they will provide support for the existing portfolio of mobile devices including customer service and warranty service until August 31 2022.”
The company will however continue to support some of its existing devices, including; the KeyOne, Key2 and Key2 LE, as well as a few less popular all touchscreen phones from the brand.
Blackberry stopped making its own devices in 2016. It then licensed its technology to TCL who continued to design and sell Blackberry branded phones.
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BlackBerry has not shed any more light on whether it will license to another technology firm.
The full statement read:
” When TCL Communication announced in December 2016 that we had entered into a brand licensing and technology support agreement with BlackBerry Limited to continue making new, modern BlackBerry smartphones available globally we were very excited and humbled to take on this challenge. Indeed, our KEY Series smartphones, starting with KEYone, were highly-anticipated by the BlackBerry community. What made these devices great wasn’t just the hardware developed and manufactured by TCL Communication, but also the critical security and software features provided by BlackBerry Limited to ensure these were genuine BlackBerry devices. The support of BlackBerry Limited was an essential element to bringing devices like BlackBerry KEYone, Motion, KEY2 and KEY2 LE to life and we’re proud to have partnered with them these past few years on those products. “
We do regret to share however that as of August 31, 2020, TCL Communication will no longer be selling BlackBerry-branded mobile devices. TCL Communication will continue to provide support for the existing portfolio of mobile devices including customer service and warranty service until August 31, 2022 – or for as long as required by local laws where mobile device was purchased. Further details can be found at www.blackberrymobile.com or by phoning customer support at the numbers found at https://blackberrymobile.com/hotline-and-service-center/ .
For those of us at TCL Communication who were blessed enough to work on BlackBerry Mobile, we want to thank all our partners, customers and the BlackBerry fan community for their support over these past few years. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to meet so many fans from all over the world during our world tour stops. The future is bright for both TCL Communication and BlackBerry Limited, and we hope you’ll continue to support both as we move ahead on our respective paths.
From everyone who worked on the BlackBerry Mobile team at TCL Communication over the years, we want to say ‘Thank You’ for allowing us to be part of this journey.
BlackBerry, Press Statement
