Do we really have BlackBerry Zero yet?

wapmastaFebruary 16, 2017Last Updated: April 10, 2021

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In Q4, 2016, BlackBerry Limited shipped only 208,000 BlackBerry OS smartphones globally. That figure combines legacy BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10 OS. That amount is so insignificant that it registers on Gartner’s global operating system chart as 0%.

Note that below the Gartner chart, we have “Other OS” amounting to a 0.1% marketshare. What platforms constitute this “Other OS”? Tizen OS and Sailfish OS are in there for sure. Gartner should just have lumped BlackBerry OS in there under “Other OS”. Afterall, the phones are selling like those others. Of course, we get the idea that Gartner’s intention was to show the exact number of BlackBerry OS phones sold.

We do know that BlackBerry OS is as good as dead, having been on life support for a while. So, it really doesn’t matter any longer to most mobile users.BlackBerry Marches Forward With Android OS While BlackBerry OS is as good as dead, the brand is pushing forward with smartphones that run its own customised version of Android OS. Sadly, those Android smartphones are not yet available in a lot of places around the world.

Windows Next?

From the chart, the trajectory of Windows Phone/Mobile suggests that shortly, it will hit ground zero too. Windows has gone from 1.1% to 0.3% in a year. And then, mainstream smartphone users will be left with no choices besides the very open Android OS and and the locked down iOS.