Promised BlackBerry 5G smartphone with physical keyboard now in doubt

BlackBerry license holders, OnwardMobility, kicked off the new year by apologizing for failing to launch the promised BlackBerry 5G smartphone last year and reiterating their commitment to releasing such a device this year. One month later, things look a bit iffy.

According to Kevin Michaluk of CrackBerry, it appears that OnwardMobility now has no plans at all of bringing the promised 5G BlackBerry smartphone to the market. Supposedly, the company reached out with an offer to provide more details about its plans if Kevin signed an NDA—a sketchy proposition by all metrics. Rejecting that offer has been followed by information from multiple sources indicating that the BlackBerry 5G smartphone project now sleeps with the fishes.

This isn't confirmed, of course, and the source claims there may never be an official announcement. That said, the BlackBerry 5G phone was starting to look like vaporware and most enthusiasts harbored doubts over OnwardMobility's ability to deliver a tangible product. BlackBerry sold off US$600 million worth of its IP recently as well. As it stands, fans may be better off giving up hope of ever getting a modern BlackBerry smartphone with a physical keyboard. Or, at least, one from Onward Mobility.

Buy the BlackBerry KEY2 LE on Amazon.