Tuesday marks the end of the BlackBerry era that will discontinue service on its classic smartphones. 

The company reminded users of the development in a 22 December statement, which will affect services for all of its devices that do not run on Android software, including the BlackBerry 10, 7.1 OS, and earlier.

“As of this date, devices running these legacy services and software through either carrier or Wi-Fi connections will no longer reliably function, including for data, phone calls, SMS, and 9-1-1 functionality,” the statement said.

BlackBerry was once a cell phone powerhouse, boasting a physical keyboard and BBM instant messaging. The devices were proudly carried by white-collar professionals and then-President Barack Obama in the first decade of the 2000s.

At its peak in 2009 and 2010, BlackBerry controlled nearly 20% of the global smartphone market, with an even larger share in the United States, selling more than 50 million smartphones per year.

However, with the rise of touchscreen devices such as the iPhone and Android, the phone eventually fell out of favor. And, unless it gets a reboot like the T-Mobile Sidekick or Motorola Razr, it appears that BlackBerry's time has come and gone.

Rise of the iPhone

When the iPhone first debuted in June 2007, it did not immediately dethrone BlackBerry. Business people, in particular, remained loyal to the product due to its elite status and user-friendly reputation.

BlackBerry's BBM instant messaging system, which has the same cachet and ease of use as iMessage today, has also remained a user favorite feature.

However, BlackBerry's technology quickly fell behind, and users began to abandon physical keyboards.

BlackBerry released a slew of underwhelming devices as the iPhone improved and Android devices became viable alternatives. Apple's phone sales surpassed BlackBerry's for the first time after the release of the iPhone 4.

By 2016, BlackBerry had announced that it would outsource its products and no longer manufacture its own phones. Instead, the company made a similar move to Nokia, another former cellular giant, by pivoting into software.

BlackBerry now describes itself as "an enterprise software and cybersecurity company" that creates software solutions for businesses. According to Statista, the company still employs thousands of people and generated about a billion dollars in revenue in 2020.