WhatsApp made an earlier announcement that it’s leaving the BlackBerry ecosystem which was apparently the beginning of Facebook’s exodus from the platform. The world’s biggest social network and its Messenger app will stop working on the BlackBerry OS, including BB10, by the end of 2016. In a blog post on the company’s website, the app team said Facebook decided to “discontinue support of their essential APIs for BlackBerry.” They tried to change their minds, but it sounds like Zuckerberg and his crew wouldn’t budge — the team even started a Twitter campaign in an effort to get Facebook to reconsider.
“We are extremely disappointed in their decision as we know so many users love these apps,” reads the post. The post goes on to urge users to reach out to both companies using the hashtag “#ILoveBB10Apps” to “let them know how you feel.”
When WhatsApp revealed its decision to drop BB, its announcement said Android, iOS and Windows Phone platforms account for 99.5 percent of smartphone sales. The company decided to leave BB, because it wanted to focus its efforts on developing the app for the platforms that sell the most. Its parent company likely has the same explanation for its departure. BlackBerry OS users can continue using FB’s apps until the end of the year, after which they’ll just have to accept the status quo or make the switch.
On the bright side, BlackBerry 10 users can still download and install the Android version of the Facebook app through the Amazon App Store, or use the mobile Facebook site to access their accounts. BlackBerry 10 has long included the ability to run Android apps, but it’s not the best experience. Often features don’t work, or apps fail to open at all.
On the bright side, BlackBerry 10 users can still download and install the Android version of the Facebook app through the Amazon App Store, or use the mobile Facebook site to access their accounts. BlackBerry 10 has long included the ability to run Android apps, but it’s not the best experience. Often features don’t work, or apps fail to open at all.
Neither solution is an ideal replacement, but for those BlackBerry diehards it’s enough to get by. At least until they can find another device.