BlackBerry's market share has plummeted in the last two years, and analysts claim it now only has 700,000 users in the UK
The number of people in the UK using BlackBerry's operating system will decline dramatically this year, analysts predict, dipping below one million users for the first time in many years.
eMarketer's latest forecast of mobile phone usage indicates that BlackBerry now has as few as 700,000 users in the UK, with this number expected to fall to 400,000 by 2017.
BlackBerry's demise has been well documented, as the growing popularity of the iPhone and Android have eroded its user base. In the past two years alone, BlackBerry's UK market share has fallen from 8 per cent to less than 2 per cent.
Last year, a further blow came when Windows Phone ousted BlackBerry from its third-place position among the UK smartphone user base.
"BlackBerry's fall from grace has been spectacular, but these latest figures show that even its previously loyal core seems to be leaving in droves," said Bill Fisher, UK analyst at eMarketer.
"Its market share has been decimated by Android and iOS, and more recently by Windows Phone, which is slowly gaining a foothold in the UK market. As these operating systems continue to see growth in their market shares, it's likely we'll see BlackBerry drop off the map completely, leaving us with just three main players in the UK market."
Windows Phone, meanwhile, has seen its popularity grow. eMarketer estimates that it will have 3.3 million users in the UK this year, and a projected market share of 8.5 per cent.
Android-based handsets account for an outright majority of smartphones in the UK, with iOS representing almost one-third. eMarketer estimates that in total, 38.3 million people in the UK will own and use a smartphone at least monthly this year.
The news comes after BlackBerry unveiled its BlackBerry Classichandset in December 2014. The company also brought out a new, square 'Passport' handset last year, which impressed investors if not consumers.
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