Chinese electronics group TCL will stop producing BlackBerry-branded smartphones this year, the companies said on Monday, leaving it unclear whether that will be the end of the line for the once-dominant handsets. At the end of August, TCL will no longer have rights to design, make or sell BlackBerry smartphones, the Canadian company said in a message shared on Twitter. BlackBerry did not disclose any plans for the future of its once-dominant smartphone line. Key2 model smartphones introduced in 2018 were still being promoted at the BlackBerry website on Monday. Under its agreement with TCL, BlackBerry remains in control of software and security on smartphones, while TCL produced the handsets, abandoning the former BlackBerry OS software.

Source: Punch February 03, 2020 18:56 UTC