Meizu leaves the smartphone industry

According to some recent pieces of information, Meizu is undergoing a strategic shift. Yesterday, the company announced that it is abandoning the smartphone industry. In other words, the company will no longer develop new smartphones. The company intends to shift its focus to the development and creation of devices powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Meizu is going to adopt an “All in AI” approach.

It appears that the company has been working on this for quite some time now. According to the company’s Chairman and CEO, Shen Ziyu, Meizu made a seamless shift from being a “mobile phone company” to an “ecological group.” Meizu is noteworthy for having created immersive multi-terminal experiences, sharing core skills with partners through its open platform Unbounded Zhixing, and witnessing the growth of its MYVU brand into a leading player in AR glasses.

In addition to this, the chairman mentioned about the shifts in the smartphone market. He added that consumers now take longer to replace their smartphones since devices now come with improved performance and features. He believes that the current state of smartphone innovation is more and more like an arms race with “stacked parameters”—more memory, bigger sensors, and faster charging. For this reason, the company has decided to leave the smartphone industry. It also means that there will be no new smartphones like Meizu 21 Pro, Meizu 22, and Meizu 23 from the company.

Shein says Meizu’s decision to exit the smartphone business is consistent with the company’s past; Meizu famously gave up on its popular MP3 line in the face of strong sales to enter the expanding smartphone market, and the company’s recent development of MYVU smart glasses further demonstrates its willingness to make technological investments in the future. According to Shein, the company is now fully prepared to embrace this change. Perhaps the company will unveil a new mobile OS with AI features next year. Later this year, the company intends to debut its first AI hardware product.