BlackBerry has announced that it is cutting ties with TCL, and the Chinese company will no longer have the rights to design, make, and sell BlackBerry-branded devices. While the deal will end on August 31, 2020, existing customers will get service and support until August 31 2022 (or as long as is required by a country’s local laws). The Canadian giant, however, has not announced any further plans regarding this.
BlackBerry and TCL announced their partnership in 2016, which produced smartphones like the DTEK50, DTEK60, and BlackBerry Keyone. These handsets were designed, built, and sold by TCL. The smartphones were equipped with BlackBerry’s secure software. Moreover, the company is into secure enterprise services and owns QNX OS for automotive applications.
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— BlackBerry Mobile (@BBMobile) February 3, 2020
Last year, BlackBerry partnered with LG Electronics to accelerate the deployment of connected and autonomous vehicle technology for global automotive OEMs. It is using the QNX OS to build digital consolidated cockpits, infotainment systems, digital instrument clusters, and telematics systems. Automotive manufacturers like Audi, BMW, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, KIA, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Toyota, and Volkswagen have already used BlackBerry solutions in their vehicles.
