Instead of worrying about apps (previous war), they could invest in a Rust-based browser and WebAssembly for mobile devices, building on their security strengths. Allow the 'mobile' device to dock with USB-C to a desktop display and keyboard, and you've got a WFH story for security-sensitive apps/data. They have enough proprietary security software to sell on top of WebOS.
Convert Blackberry Messenger to IETF MLS (open-standard E2E encrypted group messaging) and enable interop with Matrix and other apps/platforms that embrace MLS, while (re)creating a business identity network. By focusing on open standards and honoring their heritage in email/chat and physical UX, they could provide a usable alternative for high-end users who favor productivity and security without lock-in. Yes, BB was once the king of carrier gardens, but Apple is now a garden to be escaped, not emulated.
There may be Firefox browser engineers recently on the market, who can hit the ground running with variations of the above strategy. LG, lead developer of OSS WebOS, does not compete with QNX or Blackberry. QNX remains an undervalued gem. A hybrid OSS+proprietary model can bridge BB past & future, but it requires vision from Blackberry, not only a new brand licensee.
QNX is doing fine in cars, shame it never really got a chance. The 2 screen Doom and rebooting drivers over the network showed some amazing stuff.
You had to hand roll all your UI with drawing routines that scaled across various devices and handle all the touch/tracker button events yourself.
Networking was a minefield. Depending on your connection (bis/bes/tcp/WiFi) you'd have to pass various undocumented params. Think we had a modified version of some networking code a RIM employee has given us, God knows how you'd have figured it out as an indie dev.
The support and open source ecosystem wasn't really there at the time either. Just a couple of devs who were super prolific and knowledgeable on the dev forums (thanks Peter Strange, if you're about HN)
The only moat to keep users they had was their messaging app, but Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp killed it with interop. And it's not like their userbase was as valuable as, let's say, Bloomberg chat.
The Storm should have been a warning sign that their OS was starting to heavily lag behind. By the time it arrived on the market Apple already had the App Store and the 3G on the market. Anyone from BlackBerry taking a trip to the local mall would have noticed what was wrong with the Storm and the OS in the first 30 seconds when trying a (first gen!) iPhone.
Give me a Q10 with a higher resolution display, better camera, USB C, and you got yourself a banger.
Sadly the Key2 physically was a step back from the comfort of the KeyOne. I hope this device actually stacks up, or they finally decide to make an official physical keyboard attachment for some other popular devices