BlackBerry Phones: Not Made in Mexico, and Not Made by BlackBerry Anymore

BlackBerry smartphones have never been manufactured in Mexico. The brand's hardware journey reflects the broader shift from vertical integration to licensing.

Historical Manufacturing (BlackBerry Ltd. Era)

• Canada: Waterloo headquarters; early RIM devices (850, 957, 5810)
• Mexico: Never — common confusion with other electronics
• China: Contract manufacturers (Celestica, Flextronics, Wistron, Jabil) for volume models
• Hungary: Komárom plant (Flextronics) — European market supply
• Brazil: Manaus (Jabil) — local content requirements
• Indonesia: Batam — some assembly

The Pivot: 2016 Licensing Model

BlackBerry Limited (formerly RIM) exited hardware design/manufacture in 2016. It licenses the brand to partners who design, build, and sell BlackBerry-branded phones:

• TCL Communication (2016-2020): KEYone, KEY2, Motion, Evolve — manufactured in China
• Optiemus Infracom (India, 2017-2020): KEY2 LE, Evolve X — India manufacture
• BB Merah Putih (Indonesia, 2017-2021): Local market only
• OnwardMobility (2021-2022): Announced 5G KEY3; never shipped; license expired

Current Status (2024)

• No active licensees producing new BlackBerry smartphones
• BlackBerry Limited focuses entirely on cybersecurity (QNX, IVY, Spark, UEM)
• Legacy devices: No security updates since Jan 2022; apps increasingly non-functional

If you see a "new" BlackBerry phone, it's either old stock, refurbished, or counterfeit. The keyboard dream lives on in Unihertz (Titan, Titan Slim) and F(x)tec Pro¹ — but not in Mexico.