A new 5G BlackBerry phone with Android and a physical keyboard will arrive in 2021

The once-respected BlackBerry brand has been re-licensed by a company hoping to use a well-known name to make a dent in the competitive Android phone market. This time, it’s a new Texas launch called OnwardMobility that takes the giant, and promises to release a 5G BlackBerry device with Android and a physical QWERTY keyboard in 2021.

Little else is known about the device, including screen size as well as internal specs, but OnwardMobility told The register it would come with a completely new keyboard design that “will reflect the market values ​​from a keyboard-type experience and input experience.” Which, yes, sure! I love reflecting market values. Do it all the time.

It looks like OnwardMobility will take the device to business customers, emphasizing the phone’s ability to get work done (surely less of a pandemic?) And its security features. This all makes sense, considering these were the attributes that attracted so many customers to BlackBerry devices in the past.

It seems that the device will not be a flagship standard, but probably a healthy midrange. As OnwardMobility CEO Peter Franklin said The register: “Top of mind is for us not only to make the safest and most productive device, but also to be a daily device. That means things like a top-notch camera, and the other specs you’d expect from your entire phone. At the same time, we know we need to be competitive, and that’s our price. “

Image: OnwardMobility

It’s worth remembering how strange BlackBerry’s journey as a brand has been. BlackBerry devices were monarchs of the mobile world in the late aughts, but then Android and iOS took off and sales took a nosedive.

There was a reboot of sorts from 2013, when a number of devices running BlackBerry 10 were released (including the fantastic square BlackBerry Passport). Then, in 2015, the company finally switched to Android with the BlackBerry Priv and its slide-out keyboard. In 2016, it stopped making its very own phones and licensed the brand to Chinese manufacturer TCL. TCL will lose rights to that market by August 31 this year, which apparently cut the way for OnwardMobility to enter. (A side note: Indian telecommunications company Optiemus has Infracom ek has made its own Android devices with BlackBerry brands, but they are only available in the Indian market.)

This makes it the fourth or fifth iteration of BlackBerry devices, depending on how you want to count them. And call us stupid, stupid, or just plain morbid, but we’re still very envious of seeing exactly what OnwardMobility comes with.

The new phone will be produced by FIH Mobile, a subsidiary of production giant Foxconn. It will be available in North America and Europe “in the first half of 2021.”