BlackBerry devices made up only 3 percent of smartphones used in Canada in 2017

BlackBerry phones accounted for three percent of the total amount of smartphones used in Canada in 2017, according to a new report from analytics company comScore.

For context, market research firm Statista estimates that there were approximately 24 million smartphones used in Canada in 2017.

While BlackBerry phones were massively popular around ten years ago, the brand suffered from the introduction of Apple’s iPhone in 2007 and the creation of the Android platform the following year.

After years of continued market share loss, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company finally shifted its strategy in 2016 with the announcement that it would focus on developing software rather than phones.

Since then, BlackBerry has introduced various types of software for other companies to use, including a platform for connected and autonomous cars and cybersecurity solutions for government entities.

The BlackBerry phone brand, meanwhile, has been kept alive thanks to licensing partnerships, most notably with Chinese manufacturer TCL.

In May 2017, TCL released the well-received BlackBerry KEYOne, which brought back the phone brand’s signature physical QWERTY keyboard.

The phone’s successor, the KEY2, is also set to be formally unveiled at a New York event on June 7th.

There’s no sign that this partnership will end anytime soon, either, as TCL executives told MobileSyrup earlier this year that it’s still committed to the BlackBerry brand.

Are you one of the three percent using a BlackBerry in Canada? Let us know in the comments below.

Via: BNN

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