The BlackBerry smartphone brand has been through several RIPs. Thanks to its resilience, though, it has always managed to bounce back. However, the brand has not yet managed to draw more users back, unlike in the early days.
A 5G BlackBerry smartphone is coming with the iconic physical keyboard in 2022, which hopefully could help recapture its loyal fanbase. But who needs a physical keyboard smartphone in 2022 anyway?
OnwardMobility Is Releasing a 5G BlackBerry in 2022
For the third time, BlackBerry-branded phones are making a comeback, and this time they're doing it with OnwardMobility, a Texas-based tech company. This smartphone branding partnership was announced back in 2020, near the end of BlackBerry's previous contract with TCL.
As a result, OnwardMobility has said it will release a new 5G "enterprise" BlackBerry Android smartphone in 2022, complete with the iconic physical keyboard.
The device was slated to make an official debut in 2021, but the company didn't manage to do it, citing various issues.
But the phone is on track for 2022, OnwardMobility has assured BlackBerry fans who've been waiting for a new BlackBerry-branded smartphone since the BlackBerry Key2 LE launch in August 2018. More details on the device will be announced soon.
The announcement comes hot on heels after BlackBerry's "end of life" announcement for its classic devices from the BlackBerry 7 to BlackBerry 10, rendering them dead.
Who Needs a Physical Keyboard on a Smartphone Now?
BlackBerry has not been entirely dead but what remains is, to say the least, a shell of its former self in the smartphone industry. One thing that will distinguish BlackBerry's upcoming Android phone from others is its physical keyboard. However, will that be enough to make it draw more users? Certainly not.
To understand why the upcoming device probably won't be a hit, we should first examine why the physical keyboard on smartphones is dead.
First, physical keyboards made phones beefier. Phones with physical keyboards with BlackBerry-esque design offer a less than ideal viewing experience for multimedia playback and web browsing. Buttons on physical keyboards are also small and fixed, relative to virtual keyboards which are versatile with features like one-handed typing and swipe gestures.
Physical keyboards also mean that smartphones have less screen real estate with a weird aspect ratio. Some companies tackled this by having a sliding keyboard, which translates to a thicker device.
While virtual keyboards are not without flaws, their pros far outweigh their cons. As such, many will certainly never buy into the physical smartphone keyboard pitch.
Perhaps the remaining market for physical keyboards is small, primarily made of holdouts that still want to use what they're most familiar with or prefer. Or those who want to evoke the feeling of nostalgia from the early physical smartphone keyboard era.
The bottom line is, you don't need to commit to a phone with a physical keyboard. You can get the best of both worlds by simply connecting a USB keyboard to your touchscreen Android phone without compromising on much.
Physical Keyboard Smartphones Continue to Fight Back
Physical keyboards had their time, and with the advent of the touchscreen, they no longer fit in the new world. However, holdouts like BlackBerry continue fighting on.
Currently, only a handful of companies are making such phones, including Planet Computers, which showcased a keyboard-toting Astro Slide 5G at CES 2022. London-based Fxtec also debuted the Pro1 at MWC 2019 and has a successor, the Pro1 X, shipping in 2022.