Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

BlackBerry ‘pauses’ launch of BBM for Android and iOS

By
BlackBerry Messenger BBM iOS Android

Picture the scene. Friday, BlackBerry HQ. Conference room. The company has just announced it intends to lay off a third of its workforce, adding that it expects to announce financial losses of almost a billion dollars for the June to August quarter.

In a desperate bid to inject some positivity into the proceedings, CEO Thorsten Heins says with a smile, “But hey, at least we’re all set for the launch of BlackBerry Messenger for Android and iOS this weekend, eh.”

Recommended Videos

At this moment, an awkward silence envelops the room. Some of those present turn their gaze to the floor. Others brush specs of dust from the conference table.

Heins: “It’s not ready, is it.”

Related

Issues

BlackBerry Messenger was supposed to arrive on Google Play at 7am ET on Saturday, and iTunes just after midnight on Sunday. But no, it didn’t. Not properly, anyway.

According to the troubled mobile maker, an “unreleased version” of the Android app appeared online some time on Saturday. However, this app “caused issues”, leading the Ontario-based company to pull the iTunes version, which had seemingly launched without a hitch, and halt the rollout across both platforms until the problems are sorted out.

‘Interest and enthusiasm’

Despite the obvious mess, BlackBerry couldn’t resist painting the (attempted) launch in a positive light.

“The interest and enthusiasm we have seen already – more than 1.1 million active users in the first 8 hours without even launching the official Android app – is incredible,” the company said in a somewhat confusing post on the official BlackBerry blog.

It went on, “Our teams continue to work around the clock to bring BBM to Android and iPhone, but only when it’s ready and we know it will live up to your expectations of BBM. We are pausing the global rollout of BBM for Android and iPhone.”

It said anyone who’s already downloaded BBM for iOS can continue using the app, though the unreleased Android app will be disabled. It added that only when the issues have been solved will the app be properly launched, though it gave no indication as to when this might happen.

Android and iOS users who haven’t entirely given up on the idea of using BBM on their device are advised to follow @BBM on Twitter for the latest updates or sign up for updates at www.BBM.com.

Beleaguered BlackBerry is apparently looking to sell itself off within the next couple of months, though the bundle of bad news delivered over the last couple of days will do little to help woo potential buyers.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
How to create your own iMessage stickers in iOS 17
An iPhone with iOS 17, showing custom stickers in iMessage.

Apple's iOS 17 brings a ton of new and fun features to the system apps. For instance, the Phone app gets Contact Posters, which lets you set full-screen photos for the caller screen. It's immersive and brings a fresh new look to the boring screen that comes up when someone is calling.

Another fun feature is being able to create stickers in the Messages app. iOS 17 lets you create a sticker by choosing any image from your photos. It uses iOS 16's press-and-hold to pick the subject but works automatically.

Read more
11 features in iOS 17 that I can’t wait to use on my iPhone
ios 17 11 features i cant wait to use on my iphone mashup

Apple made a big splash at WWDC 2023 this year as it introduced the first major new product since the Apple Watch with the Vision Pro spatial computing headset. But of course, we also got software announcements for iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and macOS 14 Sonoma.

Though I feel that iOS 17 is an overall underwhelming update compared to the past few years with iOS 14 and iOS 16, there’s still a lot of interesting stuff coming. The developer beta is out now, and people have been diving into all that iOS 17 has to offer so far. And you know what? There’s plenty to talk about — including a few things Apple didn't even mention during the keynote.

Read more
iOS 17: Apple didn’t add the one feature I’ve been waiting for
Multiwindow on Galaxy S23 Ultra (on left) and multiwindow with popup window on Oppo Find X6 Pro (on right).

Multiwindow on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (left) and multiwindow with pop-up window on the Oppo Find X6 Pro (right). Prakhar Khanna/Digital Trends

I’m a big-screen phone advocate. While I like the comfort of holding a compact phone (such as the Samsung Galaxy S23 with a 6.1-inch display), I prefer using devices like the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Oppo Find X6 Pro, Xiaomi 13 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Read more