BlackBerry says TCL Communications will stop manufacturing BlackBerry-branded phones on August 31, 2020 as its licensing deal comes to an end
In the past few years, BlackBerry has made a return to the smartphone market thanks to a partnership with TCL. Today, though, BlackBerry's Android …
Context & Ripple Effects
BlackBerry has been unwinding its phone business for years: it ended in-house phone development in 2016, outsourcing design and manufacturing to partners while refocusing on software after a $372M quarterly loss, then shuttered its World app store as BB10 wound down. TCL's Android handsets were the last visible piece of that licensed-hardware strategy.
The end of the TCL deal on August 31, 2020 removes even that outsourced presence, leaving BlackBerry as a software and security company — a pivot its recent quarters have rewarded, with QNX and Secusmart driving its first cash-positive first quarter since 2017.
First-order effects
- BlackBerry-branded phones disappear from the market after August 31, 2020, ending the licensing arrangement that produced TCL's Android Key and Motion devices.
- BlackBerry loses whatever royalty revenue the TCL deal generated, leaving its device business with no active manufacturing partner.
Second-order effects
- TCL Communications can redirect its handset engineering and retail relationships entirely to its own TCL-branded devices, where it is already investing — including smart TVs shipping with Google's Gemini integrated into Google TV.
- Any future BlackBerry appearance on a phone would have to come through a new licensee or purely as software, raising the bar for a brand whose app store and BB10 support have already been retired.
Third-order effects
- The episode closes the book on brand-licensing as a life-support model for legacy phone makers: BlackBerry tried in-house hardware, then outsourced hardware, and now exits devices altogether to concentrate on QNX, Secusmart, and security software.
- If the pattern holds, other once-prominent handset brands face the same binary — become a software or IP licensor like BlackBerry did with BLU, or leave the category entirely.
The trend: Smartphone brand licensing is proving a terminal stage rather than a turnaround path, as legacy names exit hardware entirely and monetize their remaining value through software and patents.