Yes, but, you cannot build a new brand in a couple of years. If you look at the Wikipedia article, you'll see the Priv, the first all android Blackberry, was released in 2015, and they bailed in late 2016.
You cannot re-invent a brand in a bit more than a year. They should have expected years to see significant adoption.
Worse, the people who trusted Blackberry, often didn't want a Chinese company making their hardware.
What really got me, was how much people I showed the Priv to, and the slide out keyboard loved it.
An example, I was on a plane. Guy next to me, a Canadian, had never heard of or seen the Priv, and had a Samsung.
When he saw me scrolling a webpage up and down with the touchpad/hardware keyboard, use it for gestures, then type with swipe completion via the hardware keyboard, and keep a full screen, he immediately wanted one.
I had to tell him the last security update was 2 months ago, and it looked like the end of line.
How many people didn't even know? I wonder that, to this day.
Further to that, phone purchase cycles are often 3 or 4 years. They gave it no chance IMO.
iPhone happened 2007, Android, 2008. Their “people love our software never hardware” self deception had completely wiped positive brand values by that point, along with trust from the market towards mobile hardware keyboard, because BB engaged anyone getting close to their level of sophistication in the technology, rendering competitors’ implementations inconsistent and lackluster as the result.
I still don’t fully understand serial suicides in phone market 2007-2012, it was strange times. Lots of companies were politely asked to finish their free lunch session and most decided to burn their retirement instead of accepting it.
You cannot re-invent a brand in a bit more than a year. They should have expected years to see significant adoption.
Worse, the people who trusted Blackberry, often didn't want a Chinese company making their hardware.
Sad really.