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BlackBerry ends deal with phone-maker TCL

Chinese electronics giant TCL will not release any more BlackBerry-branded phones, the company has announced.

In 2016, it signed a deal to produce BlackBerry-branded Android phones, after BlackBerry decided to stop making its own devices.

It released several contemporary Android phones featuring the classic BlackBerry keyboard.

However, in a statement it confirmed that the arrangement would come to an end in August 2020.

In 2016, BlackBerry decided to stop designing its own smartphones in-house after 14 years.

Once a market leader, the company struggled to keep pace with rival handsets produced by competitors such as Apple and Samsung.

It attempted to launch a new operating system called BlackBerry 10, but it failed to attract popular apps to its platform.

The company now focuses on software and cyber-security.

Under the agreement, TCL could release BlackBerry-branded handsets featuring the iconic keyboard, which BlackBerry has several patents for.

BlackBerry Limited provided apps and a security-enhanced version of the Android operating system for the devices, while TCL paid BlackBerry a royalty for each one sold.

Announcing the end of the agreement, TCL said it had been “blessed” to work with BlackBerry on the smartphones.

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