Blackberry has officially rolled curtains on Smartphone manufacturing and now intends to focus on the software and service side of its business. This doesn’t come as a shock and has been on the cards since John Chen signed as COO. Moreover, the company reported disastrous $372million loss in Q2 of 2016 which must have eventually led to this conclusion.
However, this doesn’t mean that you won’t be seeing new BlackBerry smartphones in the market. The Canadian manufacturer has now outsourced manufacturing and designing process to it partners like TCL and Foxconn. The company recently did the same with its recently launched DTEK 50 smartphone which was design and developed by Alcatel.
“We are reaching an inflection point with our strategy. Our financial foundation is strong, and our pivot to software is taking hold,” Chen said in a statement today.
”Our new Mobility Solutions strategy is showing signs of momentum, including our first major device software licensing agreement with a telecom joint venture in Indonesia. Under this strategy, we are focusing on software development, including security and applications. The company plans to end all internal hardware development and will outsource that function to partners. This allows us to reduce capital requirements and enhance return on invested capital.”
Under this strategy, we are focusing on software development, including security and applications. The company plans to end all internal hardware development and will outsource that function to partners. This allows us to reduce capital requirements and enhance return on invested capital,” he added.
BlackBerry used to be among the market leaders in last decade with nearly 40 percent of the global smartphone market share, but with the arrival of Apple iOS and Google Android, it has continuously spiraled towards the bottom.
Later, BlackBerry tried to make amends by embracing Android, but there already were more mature Android ROMs and products available for the premium it asked. It must be noted that BlackBerry hasn’t been taking the failure lying down. The company has been constantly reinventing its products and software but still hasn’t managed to garner consumer attention. Relinquishing control over hardware isn’t the last page of BB story, but definitely marks the end of an era.
