Strange as it might seem, there was once a time when checking and sending email from one’s phone was far from the norm. This created an opening for an enterprising company to fill the void, and so the BlackBerry was born — a device that seemed boxy at the time but seems less so by modern smartphone standards, with a tiny keyboard and screen. For years, it or something similar — any users of Motorola’s Q Phone out there? — was the business device of choice for many.
In early 2022, BlackBerry devices will find themselves at the end of an era. As The Verge reports, the company will no longer provide support for legacy devices using the platform.
“[W]e will be taking steps to decommission the legacy services for BlackBerry 7.1 OS and earlier, BlackBerry 10 software, BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 and earlier versions, with an end of life or termination date of January 4, 2022,” BlackBerry noted in an announcement on its website.
You’ll note the reference to legacy devices. That’s because BlackBerry has a tendency to make comebacks; last year, that included news of an Android-powered BlackBerry slated for launch in 2021. As The Verge pointed out in its report, however, there hasn’t been much in the way of news since then.
But for all that the BlackBerry does seem symbolic of a prior age of technology, it also feels like an echo of a time when our relationship to our internet-connected devices was a bit simpler. That doesn’t necessarily mean “better,” but nonetheless — this does feel like the end of an era.
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