Razer buys small phone manufacturer and may release smartphones

Razer has bought Nextbit, the manufacturer of the Nextbit Robin smartphone released last year in the Benelux. Nextbit will continue to make software and hardware within Razer, but neither company has announced exact plans yet.

Nextbit announced the acquisition on its site, saying that as part of Razer, it will “continue to do the same, just bigger and better.” In an interview with tech site Techcrunch, the director of Nextbit said that the company chose Razer over other parties, because the thirty employees of Nextbit could continue to work with hardware and software after the acquisition. With this, the CEO hints that Razer will take a step into the smartphone market with the purchase of Nextbit.

The American smartphone maker has been around for a few years and released only one phone. The Nextbit Robin became available last year and, unlike many competitors, is completely made of plastic. Nextbit also wanted to differentiate itself with its web storage service. The phone stores apps and data from apps on Nextbit servers and deletes little-used apps if the user runs out of storage space.

Razer will not be selling the Robin. Nextbit has withdrawn the phone from the market. Razer gives customers another six months of warranty, and updates will continue to come through January 2018.

It is Razer’s third acquisition in a short time. The gaming accessories maker took over THX last year, and the year before got its hands on Android gaming console maker Ouya. How much Razer pays for the smartphone maker is unknown.