The Robin smartphone is no more after Razer acquires Nextbit

The acquisition suggests Razer is looking to move into the smartphone business.
 By 
Karissa Bell
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Nextbit, maker of the crowdfunded Android smartphone Robin, has been acquired by Razer, the companies said in a statement Monday.

Though Razer plans to keep Nextbit as a separate unit within the company "focused on unique mobile design and experiences," according to Nextbit's CEO, the company stopped production for Robin and will no longer sell the handset or its accessories.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed but Recode reports it was an all-stock deal and that all of Nextbit's employees are making the move to Razer. The acquisition suggests the company, which until now had been known for its gaming laptops and accessories, is looking to move into the smartphone business.

"With the talent that Nextbit brings to Razer, we look forward to unleashing more disruption and growing our business in new areas," Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan said in a statement.

The news will no doubt come as somewhat of a disappointment to fans of Robin, which was successfully Kickstarted in 2015. The startup aimed to set its phones apart from other Android devices with its promise of leveraging cloud storage so users would never run out of space on their phones.

Those who backed the original Kickstarter or purchased a Robin since aren't totally out of luck, though.

Writing on the company's forums, Nextbit CEO Tom Moss promised existing users would continue to see software updates and security patches through February 2018. "We are still dedicated to supporting all of you," he wrote.

And while the company is backing away from Robin, Moss hinted that there's much more to come from the team. "We’ll be doing exactly what we’ve been doing all along, only bigger and better."

Topics Android

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Karissa Bell

Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.

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