BlackBerry faces an uncertain future – again – after the Chinese firm TCL issued a statement saying it would not be making BlackBerry handsets after 31 August 2020. The firm had been baking BlackBerry’s handsets, running on Android, for the past four years, after BlackBerry stopped manufacturing them itself.

The news was revealed in a tweet on the BlackBerry Mobile account in which it shared TCL’s statement, with no additional comment or response of its own. The statement said:

“We do regret to share, however, that as of 31 August 2020, TCL Communication will no longer be selling BlackBerry-branded mobile devices. TCL Communication has no further rights to design, manufacture or sell any new BlackBerry mobile devices.”

The statement went on to say that TCL would continue to provide support, including customer service and warranty service until 31 August 2022, or for as long as is required by local laws where the device was bought.  It then added, perhaps slightly less convincingly: “The future is bright for both TCL Communication and BlackBerry Limited.”