Nextbit hasn’t been on the smartphone scene long and its first attempt, the Robin, hasn’t been super successful at least in terms of pushing units. However, the talent at Nextbit is clearly valuable, and now the company has announced that it has been acquired by Razer…
It’s unclear exactly what Razer, the makers of PC gaming gear and insane triple-monitor laptops, has planned for Nextbit, but for now, the company will continue to operate on its own. The Robin and all of its accessories are no longer for sale through official channels, but current devices will be supported with security patches through February of 2018, and Nextbit will continue to support warranties for the next 6 months.
Speaking to TechCrunch, Razer seemingly confirmed that it plans to continue developing mobile phones under the Nextbit brand, but didn’t give any timeframe for when we should expect any of that.
“We’ll be ready to talk about that when we’re ready. With Nextbit, it was really the software and design talent we wanted to bring in. We have a good track record of going into traditional markets and building out from there,” said Min-Liang Tan, Razer’s co-founder and CEO.
It’s pretty needless to say that smartphone design over the past couple years has gotten pretty stale ─ Google’s Pixel design is proof enough of that ─ but we got a breath of fresh air last year with the Robin. It wasn’t everyone’s favorite design, but it was unique and had some neat software tricks to set itself apart. Whether it ends up that a Razer smartphone arrives, or just more phones from Nextbit, we’ll be happy either way.
I’m thrilled to announce that we’re joining the Razer family! They’re rebels like us, they speak from the heart, and they share our need to push boundaries. Nextbit will operate as an independent division inside Razer, focused on unique mobile design and experiences. To put it simply, we’ll be doing exactly what we’ve been doing all along, only bigger and better.
If you’re curious what this means for Robin, don’t worry. While we have stopped selling Robin and all accessories through our official channels, we are still dedicated to supporting all of you. We will continue to fulfill warranties for 6 more months. And as promised, we will continue to provide software updates and security patches through February 2018.
More than anything we want to preserve the community we’ve built on our forums and our social streams, we’re really proud of what we’ve accomplished together.
I want to thank all of you for your support. We would not be the company we are today without our backers, our supporters and our community — our band of Rebels. We love you guys.
Nextbit is joining the @Razer family! Now we’ll have more resources for more exciting (rebellious) projects. https://t.co/rC6Oww7TMO pic.twitter.com/HJScaIlVfS
— Nextbit (@nextbitsys) January 30, 2017
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