Meizu announces strategic adjustment: discontinuing traditional smartphone business development and shifting towards AI

Source: CINNO

    On February 18th, Meizu announced today that it will stop traditional "smartphone" new projects and fully invest in "tomorrow‘s device" AI for New Generations.

    Meizu stated that currently, with the prolonged replacement cycle of the global mobile phone market, limited space for consumer innovation, and intensified vicious competition in the industry, the mobile phone industry is facing unprecedented challenges. Meanwhile, relying solely on hardware upgrades and parameter competition, mobile phone products are no longer able to meet the diverse and comprehensive usage needs and experiences of consumers. The industry urgently needs to find new sustainable development directions.

    After two years of team adaptation, resource allocation, product layout, and sufficient pre research on related technologies, Meizu has now possessed the ability to fully transform into the AI field. As a fully developed technology ecosystem company, Meizu has a complete hardware team in research and development, supply chain, and a systematic software team for development, design, and interaction, which will provide solid technical support and service guarantee for Meizu All in AI.

    At this AI press conference, Meizu also announced the detailed content of its AI strategic plan, including building AI Device products, restructuring Flyme systems, and building an AI ecosystem.

    According to the plan, Meizu‘s newly built mobile operating system for the AI era in 2024 will undergo system updates to build the infrastructure capability of the AI era operating system; In addition, Meizu‘s first AI Device hardware product will also be officially released this year and will compete head-on with top AI Device manufacturers worldwide.

    Considering the transitional needs of new and old users, during the Meizu All In AI transition period, the user experience and services of the original Meizu Flyme, Flyme Auto, Flyme AR, MYVU, PANDAER, and Unbounded Smart Travel businesses will not be affected. At present, Meizu has completed the construction of over 300 retail stores and over 400 service stores in its offline channels, covering various parts of the country, and will continue to provide convenient and high-quality service experiences for its users.

    In addition, the existing Meizu mobile phone products on sale will continue to provide users with normal software and hardware maintenance services. Users who have purchased Meizu 20 series and Meizu 21 flagship phones will still enjoy the original after-sales and related service guarantees.

    From recent business adjustments, it appears that the parent company of Meizu brand, Xingji Meizu, has shifted its business focus to product lines outside of mobile phones. As early as August 2023, Xingji Meizu decided to terminate its self-developed chip business and focus more on product innovation and software user experience. The decision was made less than half a year after the establishment of the chip research and development team of Xingji Meizu Group.

    Previously, it was reported that the chip research institute of Xingji Meizu mainly includes three important departments: Soc Development Department, Media Development Department, and XPU Development Department. The company may develop in car system level chips, mobile phone functional chips, and XR chips.

    According to public information, in July 2022, Star Times, a subsidiary of Li Shufu, acquired 79.09% of the equity of Meizu Technology. In March 2023, Xingji Era and Meizu Technology merged to establish Xingji Meizu Group, with Shen Ziyu serving as the chairman and CEO. Shen Ziyu stated at the establishment press conference of Xingji Meizu Group that Xingji Meizu Group will focus on the full chain innovation of consumer electronics, bridging the boundaries between smartphones, XRs, operating systems, chips, cars and other intelligent devices, and achieving deep integration and super synergy between the consumer electronics industry and the automotive industry.

    From its initial intention to focus on "full chain innovation in consumer electronics", to the later disbandment of its chip research and development team, and now cutting off its smartphone project and shifting to betting on artificial intelligence, as a company that has been established for less than a year, the focus of Startech Meizu has shifted quite frequently. Although Meizu now has Flyme AI in hand, whether Meizu can successfully advance in this "money burning competition" in the current mobile AI market where strong players gather remains to be tested by the market and consumers.