BlackBerry may have launched its latest and perhaps greatest smartphone, the Android-powered DTEK60, but it will "absolutely not" be the company's last.
Back in September, BlackBerry announced that it will stop making hardware and focus on software instead, which naturally led many to believe that we won't be seeing any new BlackBerry devices.
However, BlackBerry only plans to stop making devices itself, but it will still partner with other OEMs to bring devices to market. The new DTEK60 and DTEK50 before it, for instance, are both made by TCL.
With that said, the impressive new DTEK60 will not be the last BlackBerry smartphone to hit the scene.
"This is ABSOLUTELY not the last BlackBerry phone," as we work with more partners - @MartyJBeard, at #DTEK60 launch #Android pic.twitter.com/nixRFw2fgW
— BlackBerry (@BlackBerry) October 25, 2016
During a webcast following the DTEK60 reveal, BlackBerry chief operating officer Marty Beard noted that the company will continue to team up with more partners and release additional Android devices. The executive offered no specifics as to when BlackBerry may plan to release more handsets or with which partners, but it's still good to hear the company is not giving up on smartphones altogether. Moreover, although the latest BlackBerry smartphones don't feature a physical keyboard, Beard seems confident that QWERTY keyboards are not out of BlackBerry's future.
"I will be very surprised if we don't have a keyboard device" coming with our partners - @MartyJBeard at #DTEK60 launch — BlackBerry (@BlackBerry) October 25, 2016
Beard also mentioned that BlackBerry had recently signed a deal with Indonesian wireless carrier PT Telekomunikasi to produce, distribute and promote BlackBerry-branded devices, offering a glimpse into what the company's hardware future may hold.
BlackBerry has been trying to make a comeback for a good while now, after falling significantly behind rivals on the smartphone market, but has yet to make a breakthrough. The company sold only 400,000 in its fiscal second quarter, marking another decline from the 500,000 it sold in the previous quarter and the 600,000 it sold in the quarter prior to that.
The TCL-made DTEK60 now aims to compete with the likes of the latest Google Pixel phones, arriving at the high end of the smartphone market. The DTEK60 sports a $499 price tag unlocked and features a 5.5-inch QHD display (2,560 x 1,440 pixels), Snapdragon 820 processor, 4 GB of RAM, 32 GB of native storage space, 21-megapixel rear camera, 8-megapixel selfie cam, fingerprint sensor and 3,000 mAh battery.
The DTEK60 looks and feels like it is the best smartphone BlackBerry has ever made, but it remains to be seen whether it will manage to help BlackBerry relive its glory days. Either way, it's good to know it will not be the last BlackBerry to hit the market, despite the company's focus on software. For now, the DTEK60 is available for purchase — and it has a lot to offer.
