It's an end of an era for BlackBerry, as the Canadian company is finally closing shop on production of the Classic smartphone just two years after its release. Launched in December 2014, the BlackBerry Classic brought back a fan favorite: the raised keyboard that is distinctly BlackBerry. The Classic was the rage at the time, up until Apple and Samsung released their touchscreen smartphones, which altered the course of BlackBerry's success.
The company was said to be focusing more on software rather than hardware, but Chief Executive John Chen is adamant about staying in the hardware game. He said that by licensing BlackBerry's mobile software to other companies, they can focus on making the mobile business profitable by the end of the fiscal year next February. Moreover, COO and General Manager for Devices Ralph Pini wrote in the BlackBerry blog that they are committed to innovation, creating new products in their portfolio that are state of the art.
"We are ready for this change so we can give our customers something better--entrenched in our legacy in security and pedigree in making the most productive smartphones," Pini wrote.
Meanwhile, USA Today reports that the U.S. Senate is also making a big switch from BlackBerry to Android or iPhone. A memo delivered to the Senate Sergeant at Arms indicated the switch, which is most likely a result of the company ceasing to produce the BlackBerry Classic. In addition, BlackBerry has informed both Verizon and AT&T that they are no longer producing BlackBerry OS 10 devices, including the Q10, Z10, Z30, and Passport. Nonetheless, BlackBerry users will continue to receive warranty and technical support in the event they need it, for the "foreseeable future."
The company suffered a loss of $671 million and more than 30% decrease in revenue earlier this year, selling only 500,000 units during that time. In contrast, Apple was able to sell 51 million iPhones in its last quarter.
