Back in December 2017, BlackBerry announced that it planned to support BB10, the company’s in-house developed mobile operating system, until the end of 2019. While this may still be technically true, BlackBerry is preparing to deliver what developers are describing as the “final nail in the BB10 coffin.”
In an email to developers, the company says BlackBerry World “will move to a free-only storefront,” on April 1st, 2018. Following the move, “all purchasing mechanisms will be disabled,” according to BlackBerry.
Developers will technically still be able to monetize their BB10 apps as long as they’re willing to implement and support their own in-app payment backend. However, those that decide not to make their apps free will see them removed from BlackBerry World on March 31st, 2018.
https://twitter.com/stroughtonsmith/status/968547446006734850
In short, this is effectively the end of BB10, and it’s coming in a month’s time.
When The Verge asked BlackBerry to comment on the email, BlackBerry pointed the website to a post on its official blog in which it writes:
“Customers who upgrade to a new KeyOne or Motion won’t miss a beat as they’ll have immediate access to the rich universe of apps in the Google Play store without compromising on either security or their desire for a physical keyboard.”
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
