OnwardMobility shutdown means BlackBerry revival isn't happening

Photo by Randy Lu on Unsplash

Startup OnwardMobility hoped to bring back the BlackBerry brand through a 5G-equipped Android device. But the company has announced its shutdown on its site. "It is with great sadness that we announce that OnwardMobility will be shutting down, and we will no longer be proceeding with the development of an ultra-secure smartphone with a physical keyboard," the company wrote in a statement on its website.

There have been reports before about the BlackBerry project being cancelled, but there was speculation OnwardMobility would still develop a keyboard-equipped 5G Android phone without the BlackBerry name. But now that isn't going to happen. It didn't mention why they didn't push through. But as The Verge pointed out, it wouldn't have been easy to enter the smartphone business amid a global chip shortage.