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‘This was peak technology’: Gen Z is bringing back the BlackBerry
It’s 2009. Everyone is rocking ankle socks. “TikTok,” is just a Ke$ha song. You pull out your BlackBerry Bold 9700 and update your BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) status. All is well. Before the iPhone, the BlackBerry was the “it” phone. At its peak in the early 2000s, BlackBerry commanded over 50% of the U.S. and 20% of the global smartphone market. But times changed. Physical keyboards gave way to touchscreens, and eventually, BlackBerry discontinued support for its classic phones in 2022. But this isn’t where the story ends. The 2000s have since made a comeback. As The New York Times recently reported, “Everything Millennial Is Cool Again.” Adding to that list, I’m happy to report, is the humble BlackBerry. “Getting a blackberry bold just because,” one TikTok user posted, holding up a BlackBerry Bold they purchased on eBay for $40. “This is a sentence I never thought I would say, especially not in 2025,” another wrote, unboxing a second-hand BlackBerry Bold 9900. “I got a Blackberry.” @alyssa.lenore What’s your pin?
It’s 2009. Everyone is rocking ankle socks. “TikTok,” is just a Ke$ha song. You pull out your BlackBerry Bold 9700 and update your BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) status. All is well.
Before the iPhone, the BlackBerry was the “it” phone. At its peak in the early 2000s, BlackBerry commanded over 50% of the U.S. and 20% of the global smartphone market. But times changed. Physical keyboards gave way to touchscreens, and eventually, BlackBerry discontinued support for its classic phones in 2022.
But this isn’t where the story ends.
The 2000s have since made a comeback. As The New York Times recently reported, “Everything Millennial Is Cool Again.” Adding to that list, I’m happy to report, is the humble BlackBerry.
“Getting a blackberry bold just because,” one TikTok user posted, holding up a BlackBerry Bold they purchased on eBay for $40. “This is a sentence I never thought I would say, especially not in 2025,” another wrote, unboxing a second-hand BlackBerry Bold 9900. “I got a Blackberry.”
