Are First Generation BlackBerry 10 Devices Nearing Their End

Is BlackBerry going to pull the plug on first generation BB 10 devices? Some rumors doing the rounds of blogosphere seem to suggest so. There is no official confirmation as yet; the rumors have, nonetheless, shaken the BlackBerry community.

If these rumors are true, at least some of the first generation BB 10 devices are nearing ‘end of life’. The company will allegedly stop supporting them when BlackBerry 10.4 rolls out.

It is not clear what exactly is meant by the term of ‘end of life’. Does that mean that these devices will stop receiving updates?

It looks like that isn’t the case. The rumors also state that in spite of reaching their ‘end of life’, these BlackBerry phones are likely to receive minor updates. These are more likely to be security patches.

The same rumors also indicate that first generation BB 10 devices are unlikely to get upgraded to 10.4. They will remain on some form of 10.3.X.

When software reaches ‘end of life’, it will stop receiving updates and security patches. Users who possess the software will be able to continue using it although they can’t expect the company to fix security or other issues associated with it.It is not exactly clear what ‘end of life’ means in the case of hardware.

The term ‘first generation’ BB 10 devices is also a bit ambiguous. What are first generation devices? It looks like the Z10, Q10, Q5, Z30, and Z3 are all first generation devices. If that is the definition, then all BlackBerry 10 devices that are currently available on the market can be considered first generation.

This can cause a great deal of concern for consumers. To start with, the BlackBerry Z30 is an expensive device. If you possess it, you will definitely not want BlackBerry to stop supporting it.The Z3, on the other hand, hit the market only recently. If BlackBerry cuts support soon, how is the company going to justify that?

We must also remember that the 10.4 is not yet ready for prime time. Its launch may be months or even years away. The rumor predicts that it will be launched in the third quarter of 2015.

The 10.3, too, hasn’t arrived yet. Also there is no point in expecting that 10.3 will directly get updated to 10.4. We are more likely to see several minor updates in between.

Some people also suggest that this cut off could be the result of BlackBerry’s decision to shift its focus towards hardware that supports the 64-bit architecture with more RAM. If that is the case, then it will be fairly easy to understand this move.

We are taking these rumors with a pinch of salt. BlackBerry rumors are a dime a dozen and it is easy to get worked up about nothing.Even if these rumors are true, we don’t believe that BlackBerry will withdraw complete support. Such a move will surely invite the wrath of early adopters. Some amount of support is likely to be there. In addition many of these devices already possess competent hardware and software and BlackBerry has no reasons to discontinue them too soon.