BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) users who love the physical keyboard do not have to worry as the firm has announced that it does not plan to discontinue the physical keyboard anytime soon.
The announcement was a response to press reports suggesting that the Canadian firm will no longer include physical keyboards in its handsets. The announcement follows a previous reveal about the company’s decision to do away with the Blackberry Classic which featured the iconic keyboard design. The company still has other handsets that feature physical keyboards. The firm already has the Blackberry Passport and the Blackberry Priv in the market and both handsets feature physical keyboards.
The announcement that the company will stop manufacturing the Classic model was made yesterday. It was the last handset from the company that featured the iconic keyboard and it had been thought that the keyboard design would die along with the handset. However, that is not the case according to the recent announcement. It is not clear what the company is planning, but Blackberry has confirmed that the physical keyboard will remain a signature part of the Blackberry identity.
As for future devices, there are rumors that the firm is planning to release three new handsets this year, including a handset that will feature a physical keyboard. The company still believes that its fans prefer the physical keyboard despite the speculation in the market that the physical keyboard has become obsolete.
The Canadian company, however, believes that the physical keyboard is part of the reason why it still has a loyal fan base and thus the need to keep manufacturing phones that have feature both touch and physical keyboards. Blackberry is also determined to make sure that its Blackberry OS remains relevant through updates while it embraces the Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google Android OS. The firm is aware that the physical keyboard is one of its strong suits which will remain available for the foreseeable future.