BlackBerry just suffered another blow to its survival hopes. WhatsApp has just announced it’s ending support for the BlackBerry ecosystem, including BlackBerry 10, the OS designed to save the company.
The reason? BlackBerry just isn’t popular enough in 2016, and the WhatsApp wants to “focus [its] efforts on the mobile platforms the vast majority of people use”. Ouch. In a blog post, WhatsApp explains that it’s stopping support for a number of operating systems, but unfortunately for BlackBerry, BlackBerry 10 is the only contemporary OS being dropped. Support for the affected systems will end by 2017.
- BlackBerry, including BlackBerry 10
- Nokia S40
- Nokia Symbian S60
- Android 2.1 and Android 2.2
- Windows Phone 7.1
The decline of BlackBerry
In the same post, WhatsApp compares the mobile landscape of 2009 to the one of today, and the figures tell the story. According to WhatsApp, in 2009 around 70% of smartphones were either BlackBerry and Nokia phones. Now phones with Google, Apple and Microsoft operating systems account for 99.5% of sales, up from 25% in 2009.
What to do if you have a BlackBerry device
If you want to use WhatsApp, you’ll need to ditch your BlackBerry. WhatsApp simply says: “We recommend upgrading to a newer Android, iPhone or Windows Phone before the end of 2016 to continue using WhatsApp.” But, if you’re still set on using the messaging app with a BlackBerry, you could always purchase an Android-powered BlackBerry Priv. So there’s that.
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