- Meizu said that the sustained surge in memory component prices has made commercialization of next-generation smartphones unfeasible.
- The company is pivoting entirely toward an AI-driven software ecosystem, with its core bet placed on the Flyme Auto intelligent cockpit system.
China's veteran smartphone maker Meizu Technology announced Friday it will suspend in-house hardware development for new domestic mobile products.
Amid China's fiercely competitive smartphone market, the Geely-owned company is accelerating its core business shift toward artificial intelligence (AI) and automotive software ecosystems.
In a strategic transformation announcement released February 27, Meizu said that recent sustained surges in memory component prices have made commercializing the next-generation smartphone unfeasible.
Moving forward, Meizu will seek third-party partners for domestic smartphone hardware manufacturing or collaboration, while the company itself will fully transition from a "hardware-dominated" model to one "driven by AI-powered software products."
This strategic retrenchment highlights the survival challenges faced by China's second-tier smartphone brands amid pressure from giants like Apple, Huawei, and the BBK Group (Oppo, Vivo).
In July 2022, Xingji Shidai Technology — founded by Eric Li, chairman of Geely Holding Group — acquired a 79.09% controlling stake in Meizu. Since then, Meizu's strategic focus has gradually shifted toward automotive intelligence.
Data disclosed in the announcement confirms this shift. Meizu said that its Flyme Auto system, specifically designed for smart cockpits, has surpassed 2.26 million installations in vehicles in 2025, ranking first domestically.
The company anticipates that its collaboration with Geely Group alone will reach 3 million units in 2026, while it is also actively pursuing partnerships with multiple international automakers.
Meizu also refuted recent rumors about the company undergoing bankruptcy restructuring. It emphasized that existing users' after-sales and system update services remain unaffected. Meanwhile, peripheral businesses including its overseas smartphone operations, AI glasses, and the Pandaer fashion brand will transition to independent market-oriented operations.
By pressing the pause button on its in-house developed smartphone hardware, Meizu aims to escape capital-intensive, low-margin hardware competition. It will concentrate resources on transforming its Flyme operating system into a foundational software platform spanning smartphones, AI devices, and smart vehicles.
