BlackBerry has announced details of a global rights deal with Chinese hardware manufacturer TCL, the firm responsible for making the DTEK50 and DTEK60 smartphones.
The Canadian company confirmed back in September that it would cease production of its own mobile devices to focus on its software and services division, throwing the future of the once-iconic phone brand up in the air.
Enter TCL, which has now acquired the rights to “design, manufacture, sell, and provide customer support for BlackBerry-branded mobile devices” all around the world.
Well, nearly. There’s a few notable exceptions in the form of Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia, where separate licensing deals are said to be being negotiated, according to Bloomberg.
For the UK, though, the consequences are clear – your next BlackBerry phone will still be proudly labelled a BlackBerry phone, it just won’t be made by BlackBerry.
When will we get our first taste of post-BlackBerry BlackBerry? All eyes will no doubt be on CES 2017 in January, where we could either see TCL’s latest fruit-themed efforts, or witness BlackBerry’s eagerly anticipated last hardware hurrah – the Canadian outfit has previously confirmed it will issue one last in-house handset.
WATCH: CES 2017 preview
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
