The BlackBerry death knell is unmistakable – new research points to the company’s UK market share slipping below one million users by the end of 2017.
That’s a stark drop from its comparatively glorious yesteryears, with BlackBerry having once held an 8 per cent market share – that’s 8 million users – back in June 2012.
The research comes as part of a new report from eMarketer, revealing this year’s BB market share would be a far low 1.9 per cent.
This Blighty-based slump is particularly poignant due to the fact that the UK has traditionally been one of BlackBerry’s more loyal user bases.
BlackBerry’s steady decline has been evident for many years, with both Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platforms laying claim to the majority of UK market share.
Bill Fisher, UK analyst at eMarketer, said: “BlackBerry’s fall from grace has been spectacular, but these latest figures show that even its previously loyal core seems to be leaving in droves.”
“Its market share has been decimated by Android and iOS, and more recently by Windows Phone, which is slowly gaining a foothold in the UK market,” he explained.
Windows Phone finally edged out over BlackBerry last year, putting the Canadian firm in fourth place nationally.
“As these operating systems continue to see growth in their market shares, it’s likely we’ll see BlackBerry drop off the map completely, leaving us with just three main players in the UK market.”
It’s important to note that this is for casual users only, and doesn’t count BlackBerry handsets doled out in business.
BlackBerry is still a popular corporate handset, largely thanks to a focus on smartphone security and the company’s business-targeted marketing.
The company recently released its BlackBerry Classic handset that, while well-received, unfortunately may not be enough to restore the company to former glory.
