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Meizu, a Chinese consumer electronics company known for its smartphones, has announced that it will stop manufacturing Android phones and focus instead on artificial intelligence (AI). The company’s latest smartphone “Meizu 21”, which will be released in China in November 2023, may be the last smartphone. This isn’t the first time Meizu has exited a business it was known for. In 2007, we retired our MP3 players.
The news was first revealed on Chinese social media platform Weibo by Li Nan, former marketing director of Meizu. Later, the company confirmed it in a video on its official website. Meizu CEO Ziyu Shen explained the reasons behind this decision in a video. He said the smartphone market has become saturated and competitive, and people are using smartphones for longer periods of time. According to him, the average time it takes to upgrade a phone is now 51 months, or more than four years for him.
He also said that the market is very competitive, with other companies offering phones with similar features and quality. Therefore, in a new step, Meizu wants to go “all in on AI” and work on AI devices that can interact with other things. According to Li Nan, Meizu plans to apply Flyme OS, which is currently being developed for smartphones, to create an operating system for AI devices. He also plans to develop a new mobile OS that will include more AI features and bring AI to mobile phones.
Li Nan also gave some examples of AI devices that Meizu may develop, referring to Humane’s AI Pin and Rabbit R1. It is a device similar to a smartphone, but with a different design and functionality. Meizu said it would launch its first AI product by the end of 2024, but did not provide details.
Regarding Meizu smartphones, Li Nan assured users that Meizu will continue to support existing smartphones in China, and offline stores will remain open. However, he did not say anything about the international market. Notably, the company hasn’t mentioned or hinted at the Meizu 21 Pro or Meizu 22 series yet, so the Meizu 21 could be Meizu’s last phone.
On the other hand, Meizu is not a major player in the global smartphone market, so its move to AI is seen as bold and risky. According to Counterpoint Research, Meizu’s market share was less than 1% in Q3 2023. The company faces stiff competition from other Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo, as well as Samsung. And apple.
However, although Meizu is now shifting its focus to AI, the competition will not end, but will intensify. Meizu will face challenges in an AI market already dominated by international giants such as Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft. However, Meizu wants to leverage its experience and expertise in consumer electronics to develop AI products that can attract customers and differentiate itself from competitors. The AI market is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years, and Meizu wants to be a part of it.
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