Social network giant Facebook has announced that it will end support for BlackBerry 10.
Around a month ago popular messaging service WhatsApp made the same decision, writes Steve Ranger for ZD Net. WhatsApp is owned by Facebook.
BlackBerry expresses disappointment at decision
BlackBerry announced that Facebook would end support for the APIs. WhatsApp previously announced that it would end support by the end of 2016.
BlackBerry tried to change their minds, even starting a Twitter campaign, but Facebook would not budge.
“We are extremely disappointed in their decision as we know so many users love these apps. We fought back to work with WhatsApp and Facebook to change their minds, but at this time, their decision stands,” said Lou Igazzola, who leads BlackBerry’s app ecosystem and developer outreach team.
WhatsApp announced that it would end support for the operating system as well as older versions of Android and Windows Phone. “While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future,” said the company.
Users may not be unduly affected
BlackBerry now appeals primarily to enterprise customers, meaning that losing Facebook is probably not that likely to impact users that much. BlackBerry 10 users will also be able to download Facebook for Android from the Amazon app store.
Despite the fact that the situation may not change too much for BB users, the news provides further evidence of the demise of the company. The company once dominated the smartphone market, but now it is being shut out in the cold by app developers.
When WhatsApp made its announcement, the company revealed that Android, iOS and Windows Phone now make up 99.5% of total smartphone sales. WhatsApp said it was dropping support for BlackBerry to concentrate on the bigger-selling platforms.
Facebook will provide support until the end of the year. The smartphone sector continues to evolve apace and it’s a cutthroat world out there for companies that can’t keep up. BlackBerry looks set to concentrate its efforts on enterprise customers, who appreciate the extra security features that the platform offers.
