A brand new BlackBerry telephone was purported to launch in 2021, with the model seemingly again from the useless…but once more. No such handset emerged, however that hasn’t stopped a recent swell of hype round traditional BlackBerry handsets in 2025.
Many telephone manufacturers and working methods have fallen by the wayside through the years, together with the would possibly of LG and Microsoft’s Home windows Telephone. BlackBerry has had a storied historical past, from the telephone of selection for businessmen and ladies to the selection of brand name for youngsters chatting on-line, because of the rise of BBM (BlackBerry Messenger).
Quick ahead to 2025, and all of a sudden the well-known model is making waves once more, however why are BlackBerry telephones all of a sudden fashionable, and must you get on board? Let’s have a look.
Is BlackBerry making a brand new telephone in 2025?
In a phrase, no. Don’t anticipate there to be a brand new BlackBerry telephone anytime quickly or presumably ever.
As alluded to on the prime, there was purported to be a brand new BlackBerry mannequin in 2021, nevertheless it by no means occurred (extra in-depth particulars under in the event you’re within the story).
Maybe the rise of hype across the previous model and telephones will trigger some curiosity in a brand new one to be made, however don’t maintain your breath.
Why are BlackBerry telephones getting fashionable in 2025?
There’s a sudden hype for BlackBerry resulting from a viral development on social media.
It seems that some Gen Zs, after recycling varied different 2000s developments and fashions, have adopted BlackBerry as a brand new go-to cell phone possibility.
The concept being, like fundamental Nokias, is it’s a solution to detox from the addictive nature of a full-blown smartphone. Much less doomscrolling, in-app purchases, binging YouTube movies when you have to be asleep and such like. It’s interesting to me, and I’m not even near being Gen Z.
Viral TikTok hits embody this under clip from shozie_055 with the caption “POV: you acquire a blackberry in 2025 bc your iPhone is ruining your life.” and has a whopping 6.6 million views.
There are additionally loads of YouTubers reviewing telephones just like the BlackBerry Basic in a ‘nonetheless value shopping for?’ approach.
It appears to be a follow-on development from the ‘flip telephone problem’, the place you ditch your fashionable smartphone for an old-style fundamental flip telephone like the long-lasting Motorola V3 for a time period, or so long as you’ll be able to. It’s one thing our Cellular Editor tried for per week, albeit not a flip mannequin.
Paradoxically, a lot of the movies going viral about ditching an iPhone or Android telephone for a BlackBerry have been posted on TikTok, one of many apps we must always arguably all be decreasing our display screen time on. It doesn’t even run on a BlackBerry.
Can you continue to use a BlackBerry telephone in 2025?
There’s definitely nothing stopping you from utilizing an previous BlackBerry telephone in 2025, assuming that the gadget is in working order and you’ve got a suitable charger.
You possibly can even put your SIM card in it and fake the millennium simply occurred just a few years in the past. The latest fashions are the 2017 KeyOne and 2018’s Key2 (each made by TCL beneath license and operating Android).
There was additionally the favored BlackBerry Passport in 2014 – sure, we’ve reviewed many BlackBerry telephones through the years.
Foundry
If you’d like a ‘real’ traditional BlackBerry, then look to fashions just like the Q10 from 2013 operating BlackBerry OS 10. Or, if you would like a extra old-school possibility, the Curve 8520 from 2009. Each have the long-lasting bodily keyboard, as does the Daring sequence.
Probably the most fashionable fashions getting used and re-reviewed once more in 2025 is the BlackBerry Basic (under), a 2014 mannequin which was the final to supply the really iconic rounded type issue with fashionable specs and options.
Foundry
Nonetheless, it’s value noting that you just gained’t have assist for varied fashionable apps because the working system is now successfully defunct. That features WhatsApp, so when you would possibly be capable of detox from addictive video games and apps, you gained’t have these DMs and group chats that you just doubtless depend on.
There’s additionally a possible safety danger. Similar to older variations of Android and iOS, the shortage of safety updates means you may be exposing your self to cybercrime.
You would possibly argue that attackers will probably be focusing on working methods with a bigger consumer base, but when BlackBerry utilization begins to extend resulting from these viral movies, that may doubtless catch the curiosity of hackers.
For those who do determine to make use of a BlackBerry (with or with no SIM card), keep away from utilizing any banking apps or different high-risk companies, whether or not you’ll find an app to obtain or entry it by way of a browser. It’s merely not well worth the danger.
Follow fundamental, low-risk apps as a rule of thumb.
The place to purchase a BlackBerry telephone in 2025
When you can’t simply stroll into your telephone community’s retailer and purchase a BlackBerry, there are many methods of getting maintain of 1.
You would possibly even have an previous one mendacity in a drawer or cabinet, but when not, you’ll be able to simply supply one from the likes of eBay, Fb Market, Vinted or CeX.
Most may be purchased for £/$10-50, so now is an efficient time to checklist it and make some cash in the event you don’t need to be a part of this development.
Is there an alternate?
If issues just like the safety dangers or lack of supported apps put you off utilizing an previous BlackBerry, you do produce other choices.
If you’d like a bodily keyboard, Clicks instances are fashionable. And in the event you’re attempting to scale back your display screen time, then you should utilize apps like Opal and Forest.
Another choice is to purchase a contemporary ‘dumb telephone‘, that are an excellent stability of nostalgic, easy and safe.
Clicks
What occurred to the brand new BlackBerry in 2021?
In brief, it by no means obtained launched; no less than not beneath OnwardMobility’s steam, not anymore. However what occurred?
A brand new BlackBerry Android telephone was initially slated to reach in “the primary half of 2021”, in line with OnwardMobility’s preliminary 2020 press launch on the topic. Nonetheless, a yr on from that preliminary window, no such ‘Berry had materialised.
In late July 2021, the corporate introduced its “Pre-Dedication Program“, providing followers and companies a method of offering enter on the event technique of the primary 5G BlackBerry, in addition to the chance to realize early pre-order entry as soon as the telephone was prepared for its debut.
Whereas this system’s sign-up web page didn’t reveal any extra details about when the telephone would really be prepared for launch, it did present some perception into OnwardMobility’s progress, with the event of their gadget already underway on the time, however a last engineering design or specs and options had not but been locked in.
In mild of legacy BlackBerry gadgets formally dropping software program assist on 4 January 2022, consideration rapidly turned again to OnwardMobility and the obvious radio silence the startup had slipped into after mid-2021, leaving followers fully at nighttime in regards to the progress of its debut gadget and when to anticipate it.
Checking in on 5 January 2022, the corporate’s web site was stagnant; nonetheless solely making point out of a 2021 launch, with no new posts or exercise in months, masking each the location and its social channels; making a “when” more and more appear like an “if” within the eyes of hopeful BlackBerry followers.
Following mounting consideration from media and BlackBerry lovers alike, nevertheless, a brand new weblog publish (since eliminated) appeared on OnwardMobility’s weblog only a day later (6 January), entitled “Opposite to fashionable perception, we’re not useless.”
Within the publish, OnwardMobility acknowledged the absence of any public-facing communication and vowed to ship “extra common updates beginning this month that may make clear and reply lots of your questions,” regarding the improvement of its debut gadget.
With reference to the silence up till this level, the publish’s opening paragraph acknowledged, “2021 was really a difficult yr to launch a brand new telephone, a lot much less one with the excessive expectations we set and the truth that we need to get it proper,” citing unspecified delays that prevented the corporate from transport its debut smartphone in 2021, as had initially been promised.
Even with OnwardMobility’s seemingly renewed dedication to bringing its debut gadget to market, nevertheless, it turned out that BlackBerry (the corporate) had different plans, not lengthy after.
On 10 February, CrackBerry’s Kevin Michaluk described the undertaking as “useless as of yesterday,” stating that quite a few sources had verified that OnwardMobility’s efforts had sunk.
BlackBerry (the corporate) had chosen to cancel OnwardMobility’s license (stopping it from utilizing the BlackBerry identify), a transfer that itself had adopted on from the Canadian firm promoting off the final of its cellular patent portfolio, reportedly to the tune of US$600 million.
This lack of the BlackBerry branding, paired with the tough and protracted timeline with which OnwardMobility was having to take care of have been all ap[apparently contributing components in its determination to desert the undertaking. Lower than per week later, the corporate introduced that it was shutting down fully, with its web site being changed by a single assertion (pictured under), thanking followers for his or her assist and lamenting the choice to close up store.
The one a part of the unique announcement that hinted on the specs of the telephone acknowledged that “there’s an absolute want for a safe, feature-rich 5G-ready telephone that enhances productiveness.”
That’s nonetheless fairly obscure however means that BlackBerry – the corporate (after ceasing to supply its personal telephones, BlackBerry targeted on turning into a viable cybersecurity model) – was doubtless concerned on the software program stage, because it was with TCL’s licensed telephones.
Whereas the cancellation of the OnwardMobility license was one thing of a shock within the saga, the previous development of BlackBerry promoting off its catalogue of patents was nothing new.
Through the years, the corporate had been busy shedding its cellular patent portfolio, with 90 bought to Huawei as of mid-2021, although admittedly that’s a drop within the ocean in comparison with the purported whole haul of 38,000 patents it was at one level in possession of.
“Function-rich” maybe signifies that the brand new BlackBerry was meant to be an all-singing, all-dancing high-end gadget, not like the KeyOne or Key2. 5G telephones don’t must tout the newest, strongest Snapdragon chipsets, nevertheless it may’ve helped the brand new BlackBerry garner extra endurance with patrons. The KeyOne, specifically, runs fairly sluggish right now and was not properly future-proofed.
OnwardMobility’s supposed gadget apparently took a whole lot of cues from 2015’s BlackBerry Priv; the final telephone BlackBerry itself made, and in addition the primary BlackBerry to run Android.