BlackBerry smartphone brand may die this year as TCL stops making handsets for it

Looks like BlackBerry is about to die, again. The smartphone brand that gave up manufacturing its own handsets and tied up with the manufacturer TCL Communications back in 2016, may have to revive its license with the Chinese manufacturer to keep itself alive in the market. The news came directly from BlackBerry in a tweet, mentioning that TCL won't be selling BlackBerry-branded smartphones starting August 31, 2020 since it doesn't have the rights to design and manufacture them. However, the smartphones that already exist, will continue to be supported.

"We do regret to share however that as of August 31, 2020, TCL Communication will no longer be selling BlackBerry-branded mobile devices. TCL Communication has no further rights to design, manufacture or sell any new BlackBerry mobile devices, however TCL Communication will continue to provide support for the existing portfolio of mobile devices including customer service and warranty service until August 31, 2022 - or for as long as required by local laws where the mobile device was purchased."

It is not for sure if the two companies will revive the deal or not. But rest assured, with TCL moving out of the picture, BlackBerry will most likely disappear from the market once and for all. Also, with no TCL Blackberry will only be left with Optiemus as its exclusive manufacturer for countries including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. Some of the popular smartphones we saw under TCL's timeline were the BlackBerry Evolve, Evolve X, KEY One, KEY 2 and KEY 2LE.

For those unversed, TCL also makes its own branded smartphones along with Alcatel and Palm handsets. Earlier this year, it announced the TCL 10 Pro, TCL 10L, and TCL 10 5G and even teased a foldable phone, which for now seems far from reaching the hands of end users.