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Highlights:
- BlackBerry's OS will stop working today, which means that users won't be able to make calls or send text messages.
- BlackBerry phones captured the market due to their security features and reliability. However, its popularity soon faded.
- The Canadian company's legacy services will stop functioning, and the phones will be officially dead starting January 4.
Once so popular among the masses, nobody ever thought that BlackBerry smartphones would vanish from the market.
If you own a BlackBerry smartphone, it is time to say goodbye as the company's phones will stop working starting Tuesday, January 4.
The Canadian company's phones have an in-built operating system (OS), and BlackBerry's smartphones will no longer support it.
What is happening to BlackBerry smartphones?
BlackBerry's OS will stop working today, which means that users won't be able to make calls or send text messages from their phones.
In a blogpost, the Ontario-based company said that its legacy services would stop functioning from January 4.
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Notably, the legacy services for BlackBerry 7.1 OS and earlier, BlackBerry Playbook OS 2.1 and BlackBerry 10 software will stop functioning over cellular data and wireless connections.
BlackBerry (TSX:BB) smartphones operating on the Android operating system will continue to function until August 2022.
The company's smartphones were popular due to its Qwerty keyboards and proprietary messaging platform called BlackBerry Messenger or BBM.
Also Read: TSX breaches 21,000 mark as Blackberry (TSX:BB) rallies, loonie up
BlackBerry phones captured the market due to their security features and reliability. However, its popularity soon faded as Apple's iPhone and Android smartphones became famous worldwide.
Bottom line
BlackBerry stopped manufacturing its smartphones in 2016. However, it transformed itself into a software and cybersecurity company.
It remains a popular stock on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Due to its smartphone legacy, BlackBerry registered a massive surge in prices last year when retail investors on Reddit backed the BlackBerry stock and put it in the list of meme stocks.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2022, BlackBerry posted solid financial results and achieved a net income of US$ 74 million against a net loss of US$ 130 million in Q3 2021.
As of November 30, 2021, the Ontario-based company had cash and cash equivalents worth US$ 271 million, which indicated the company had a strong balance sheet.
Also Read: What’s next for BlackBerry (TSX:BB) stock after Q3 earnings results?
The news of BlackBerry smartphones dying will not likely affect the stock performance as the company has already emerged as one of the country's top cybersecurity and software firms.
Notably, BlackBerry's software is used in electric vehicles, and as they are becoming popular, the company could record a surge in its sales and profit.
