Pour one out for the BlackBerry, the former king of mobile. The company has announced that as of January 4th, classic devices running BlackBerry OS 7.1 or earlier, as well as OS 10, will lose key services. And by key, we mean absolutely crucial capabilities, like phone calls, texting, data and even emergency 9-1-1 access. You can also expect to have issues with Wi-Fi and apps like BlackBerry World and Desktop manager, Liliputing reports. January 4th will also mark the end for the PlayBook, the company’s ill-fated tablet.
Of course, none of this comes as a surprise. BlackBerry shut down its app store and its popular Messenger (BBM) service in 2019. There really was no coming back from that. If you’ll recall, the company was way too late to respond to the threat of the iPhone, and failed to find much success by adopting Android. At least it still has QNX, BlackBerry’s modern operating system that powers infotainment systems from Toyota, Audi, Honda, and plenty of other popular car makers.
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