A new BlackBerry phone was to be launched in 2021, once again the brand is rising from the ashes like a phoenix. So far, however, the Phoenix hasn’t been reborn, leaving fans wondering when the long-awaited new BlackBerry will hit the market. After a long silence, its creators have finally spoken.
Recounting the rise and fall of BlackBerry is common conversation in the tech world, especially since the brand has had a second rise and fall in the past three years.
Once king of the business telephony world in the mid-2000s, the physical keyboard and Software Direct from BlackBerry did not survive the onslaught of the iPhone and the rise of Android. BlackBerry released an Android phone – the Priv in 2015 – and then stopped making phones.
TCL then bought the launch rights to BlackBerry-branded phones, giving us the KeyOne from 2017, and then the Key2 from 2018, an even better sequel. A few more phones came out of the partnership, but as of August 31, 2020, TCL stopped supporting those phones with software updates and the partnership ended.
It is therefore surprising that at the same time that TCL gave up its license, the American company OnwardMobility picked it up instead and since then has announced that it will be working to launch a BlackBerry device soon with a 5G capability and a physical keyboard.
When will a new BlackBerry be announced in 2022?
A new Android-powered BlackBerry was originally slated to arrive in “the first half of 2021,” according to OnwardMobility’s initial 2020 press release on the subject, however, nearly a year after that initial window, the new BlackBerry isn’t coming. still not materialize.
In late July 2021, the company announced its “Pre-Engagement Program,” which offers enthusiasts and businesses a way to provide feedback on the development process for the first BlackBerry 5G, as well as the chance to get early access. to pre-order, once the phone is ready for its debut.
While the program’s registration page didn’t reveal any additional information on when the phone would be ready for launch, it did provide information on OnwardMobility’s progress, since development of their device was already underway. at that time, but the final engineering design or specifications and features were not yet fixed.
With legacy BlackBerry devices deprecating software support on January 4, 2022, attention quickly turned to OnwardMobility and the company’s apparent radio silence after mid-2021, leaving fans completely in the dark as to the progress of their first BlackBerry and when to expect it.
On January 5, the company’s website began to stagnate, only mentioning a 2021 launch, with no new posts or activity for months, both on the site and on its social media, meaning that a “when” looks like a “yes” again. in the eyes of hopeful BlackBerry fans.
However, following the growing attention from the media and BlackBerry enthusiasts, a new OnwardMobility blog post appeared a day later (January 6), titled “Contrary to popular belief, we are not dead.”
In the post, OnwardMobility acknowledged its lack of public communication and promised to offer “more regular updates starting this month that will clarify and answer many of your questions” regarding the development of its new BlackBerry. .
Regarding the silence so far, the first paragraph of the message read: “2021 has truly been a difficult year to launch a new phone, not to mention the high expectations we have set for ourselves and the fact that we want to do well things,” citing unspecified delays that prevented the company from shipping its first smartphone in 2021, as originally promised.
However, when this new BlackBerry arrives, it should go on sale in North America, Europe and Asia, although we don’t yet know which specific markets within those regions are included.
How much will the new BlackBerry of 2022 cost?
We don’t have an indication of the price yet, but we think it will be quite high, around $800 probably. The phone will not sell in large numbers and the TCL BlackBerry phones were more expensive than the guaranteed specs and compared to other phones of similar specs.
A BlackBerry in 2021 is a niche device to say the least, and the premium price will attempt to reflect the exclusivity of a secure keypad phone, but the reality is that it’s likely to be expensive because few people will buy it.
New BlackBerry 2022 specs
According to OnwardMobility, its new BlackBerry will offer 5G network capabilities and a physical keyboard. Those are really the only two spec hints we have so far other than the phone running Android, as currently the announcement is only about the existence of the partnership and nothing more.
OnwardMobility has licensed the BlackBerry name and is also working with FIH Mobile Limited – a subsidiary of Foxconn – to manufacture the phone.
The only part of the original ad that hinted at the phone’s specs says “there is an absolute need for a secure, feature-rich, 5G-ready phone that improves productivity.”
It’s still pretty vague, but it suggests that the current BlackBerry company might be involved at the corporate level. Software, as was the case with TCL phones. He was not responsible for the design of the material, but his Software of course, it was intertwined with Android, and might as well be on OnwardMobility’s new phone too.
On the other hand, BlackBerry has sold its catalog of patents over the past year, with 90 already sold to Huawei, although admittedly this is a drop in the bucket compared to its alleged total bounty of 38,000 patents.
It is not clear whether the sale of his patents for Software for smart phones will affect the company’s ability or intent to offer its own Software original in the future.
The term “feature-rich” perhaps means that the new BlackBerry will be a high-end device that sings and dances, unlike the KeyOne and Key2.
5G phones don’t have to boast the latest and most powerful Snapdragon chipset, but that could help the new BlackBerry last a few years for buyers. The KeyOne, in particular, runs quite slowly today and wasn’t well prepared for the future.
What we wish the BlackBerry 2022 had
With so little concrete information to go on, here are some things we hope the new BlackBerry 5G will have to make the famous brand’s return worthwhile.
A high refresh rate screen
The KeyOne and the Key2 used the exact same screen and it was the wrong one. The colors were a bit dull and the brightness wasn’t very good. A premium BlackBerry should have a much better screen, and we expect a screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. If Onward Mobility wants to appeal to professionals, it should offer them a premium screen.
A superlative keyboard
Needless to say, the physical keyboard must be good, but the last great BlackBerry keyboard was the BlackBerry Classic from 2014. The clicky touch keys haven’t been recreated since. Key 2 came close, but the keys were too small and too square.
slider design
The problem with putting in larger keys is the expectation of modern smartphone form factors. The KeyOne and Key2 had sharp screens so you could place a physical keyboard under them and still have a conveniently sized phone. We think the new BlackBerry should recreate the BlackBerry Priv form factor, with a normal smartphone touchscreen and a sliding form factor that hides a physical keyboard.
On the other hand, if the phone fits the compact design of the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and runs Android properly, we’d be in nostalgia heaven.
good cameras
The BlackBerry TCL cameras were all weak. We expect the BlackBerry 5G to have cameras that can stand up to modern smartphones. If companies keep bringing the brand back, they need to stop compromising on camera quality, one of the main things people value in their phones – even business people.
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