The BlackBerry revival is dead as Onward Mobility shuts down

New BlackBerry-branded phones were announced by upstart company Onward Mobility in 2020. Unfortunately, the company missed its 2021 launch window but still promised to deliver a keypad-toting phone in 2022. It might not come as a surprise to learn that the manufacturer has now officially confirmed its demise.

Onward Mobility posted a farewell message on its website (h/t: Android Central) confirming its shutdown and the cancelation of its smartphone:

We want to thank you all for the tremendous amount of support that you have given us since we first launched Onward Mobility. However, it is with great sadness that we announce that Onward Mobility will be shutting down, and we will no longer be proceeding with the development of an ultra-secure smartphone with a physical keyboard.

The news doesn’t come as a surprise, as Crackberry reported earlier this month that Onward Mobility was dead and its BlackBerry-branded phones were canceled. The latter was subsequently corroborated by Android Police.

This saga also comes after BlackBerry announced that it was selling its mobile-related patent portfolio for roughly $600 million. Furthermore, it was claimed that CEO John Chen decided against licensing the BlackBerry name for another smartphone.

Onward Mobility’s closure means those on the hunt for a phone with a keypad don’t have many options. For one, some of the best Android phones in this regard are actually aging BlackBerry devices made by TCL. Then there’s the fact that BlackBerry 10 has reached end-of-life status, meaning that you can’t even buy and set up an old BlackBerry 10 device. However, the Unihertz Titan Pocket might be up your alley if you absolutely need a recent phone with this form factor.