Is Meizu's mobile phone business heading towards the end?
On January 9, 2007, an American in all black introduced a smartphone - iPhone passionately in San Francisco. This all - touchscreen product emerged suddenly, bringing quite a shock to all feature phone manufacturers around the world.
Two years later, in 2009, a person from Guangdong launched the first domestic smartphone, leading most well - known manufacturers at that time by a significant margin. It sold 100,000 units within two months.
The protagonists of the two stories are Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, and Huang Zhang, the founder of Meizu. However, in the end, Meizu, which once reached the top of the industry like Apple, is now reported to completely stop its mobile phone business.
Recently, some self - proclaimed Meizu employees have made revelations on some social platforms. The revelations include information such as "stop making mobile phones and lay off all employees", "departments unrelated to the wind - down will leave in March", and "employees with stocks should talk to HR".
Although this is not the first time that Meizu has been rumored to have internal adjustments recently, the situation revealed by this revelation is obviously more serious.
Image source: Meizu Mobile's official WeChat public account
Although many in the market believed that this independent mobile phone brand might eventually disappear when Meizu was acquired by Geely in 2022.
However, in the three years after the acquisition, Meizu tried to find a way out by implementing high - end strategies, expanding overseas, and focusing on AI, which still made some fans hold out hope for Meizu.
However, currently, the domestic mobile phone market is facing difficulties in technological breakthroughs, severe homogenization, and continuously increasing raw material costs. The survival space for small manufacturers like Meizu is becoming increasingly limited, and Geely, its backer, can hardly provide more support for Meizu in the mobile phone market.
From the perspective of the group, it may be imperative to cut a business with poor sales and low influence.
Has Meizu's mobile phone become "a tear of the times"?
"Is Meizu's mobile phone going to disappear?" This question seems to have been hovering over Meizu in recent years.
Since the beginning of this year, there have been frequent reports about Meizu's internal adjustments in the market, and several pieces of information indicate that the company is experiencing severe turmoil.
According to Lei Technology, at the beginning of this year, some users revealed in a QQ channel that Meizu was dismissing its outsourcing team, and the remaining staff in Meizu would have difficulty supporting the continued R & D of the Meizu 23 project after the outsourcing team left.
In February, some self - proclaimed Meizu employees revealed on social platforms that Meizu had issued an unprecedented 15 - day long holiday internally, presumably to force employees to use up their annual leave, which also triggered a series of speculations on the Internet.
Image source: Meizu Technology's official Weibo
On the one hand, there are frequent reports of internal turmoil in Meizu's mobile phone business. On the other hand, the entire mobile phone industry is facing a more severe market situation.
In January this year, Counterpoint Research released a report stating that the sales volume of the Chinese mobile phone market plummeted by 23% year - on - year, almost setting the tone for the Chinese mobile phone market for the whole year.
Behind the sharp drop in sales is not only the decline in market demand but also the pressure on manufacturers from the increase in supply chain costs.
Since 2025, the demand for AI servers has exploded, forcing storage giants to prioritize production capacity for more profitable AI - specific memory, resulting in a significant increase in storage prices. Counterpoint Research predicts that storage prices will rise by 40% - 50% quarter - on - quarter in the first quarter of 2026 and another 20% in the second quarter.
The increase in supply chain costs has compressed the profit margins of some mobile phone brands with insufficient high - end capabilities and made them more passive in pricing. In mid - January, several media reported that brands such as Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, and Transsion had lowered their order volumes for mobile phones in 2026 by 10% - 20%.
Just at this time, there are again revelations from what seem to be Meizu employees, which have reignited the discussion about Meizu's mobile phone business.
Currently, a screenshot of what seems to be a revelation from a Meizu insider is widely circulated in the market. According to Leifeng.com, the employee released five pieces of information about the company's business adjustment:
First, the mobile phone business will be completely terminated, and the relevant teams will be laid off as a whole. The highly anticipated Meizu 23 series has also actually stopped.
Second, the Flyme Auto in - car system business will operate independently, taken over by a person surnamed Peng, and will be deeply integrated into Geely's intelligent vehicle layout.
Third, regarding the specific adjustment plan, it is mentioned that large - scale personnel optimization is about to begin. Departments unrelated to the wind - down of the mobile phone business are expected to complete the adjustment by March. The compensation will be N + 1, and some employees can transfer internally.
For employees holding company shares, they need to communicate with HR separately about the subsequent handling plan.
In addition, although the mobile phone business will be completely terminated, the Meizu brand will not disappear and will continue to be retained within the Geely system. Relevant businesses will be taken over by other Geely subsidiaries in the future.
The above five revelations all indicate that Meizu is making cuts to its smartphone business that it has been operating for nearly 20 years. Considering the previous rumors in the market, if these revelations are true, it means that this "small and beautiful" mobile phone brand is about to come to an end in 2026.
Currently, Xingji Meizu has not officially responded to the above rumors. According to Leifeng.com, Meizu's customer service responded that "no relevant notice has been received".
36Kr also tried to ask some self - proclaimed Meizu employees, and they revealed some information.
Among them, a former Meizu employee who was once active on the Internet told us, "I've said all I can. Just wait for Meizu's official notice." Another user who previously revealed Meizu's long holiday posted after the rumors spread, saying, "Don't spread rumors. Meizu is still on holiday, and it has not announced the suspension of the mobile phone business."
The user also revealed in the post that Meizu will resume work on February 26. The current online news about the suspension of the mobile phone business cannot be verified. He also said, "However, on Chinese New Year's Eve last week, it was the first time that Meizu's internal executives did not send red envelopes in the Feishu group (it was the DingTalk group before the acquisition), and the group has been muted."
"Wait a few more days, and things will probably become clear," he said in the post.
In addition to Meizu employees, some Meizu fans are also waiting for the official news. They are more concerned about whether the news that "the Meizu 23 series has actually stopped" is true. "I'm currently using a Meizu 20 and waiting for this year's Meizu 23..." a consumer who claims to be a Meizu user commented on a social platform.
Public information shows that Huang Zhipan, the CEO of Xingji Meizu Group, replied to a netizen's comment on a Weibo post in September 2025, saying, "The Meizu 23 has been approved for development and will be launched in the middle of next year (2026)."
Image source: Huang Zhipan's personal Weibo
Now, the CEO's Weibo posts have stopped at that time, and his long - term silence has made Meizu's current situation even more unclear.
Since being acquired by Geely, Meizu's mobile phone has been struggling to survive
Many people attribute the beginning of Meizu's "decline" to the time when it was acquired by Geely. However, Meizu's decline was already evident before the acquisition.
Looking back at Geely's acquisition of Meizu Technology in July 2022, Geely was actually seen as Meizu's lifesaver. The combination of the two was also interpreted as a key move for Geely to integrate the mobile phone and intelligent cockpit deeply.
Meizu, after being acquired by Geely, has made many attempts in recent years, almost making an exploration every year.
Geely planned to "test the waters" in the high - end mobile phone market as early as 2021. Following this idea, Meizu launched its first flagship model, the Meizu 20 series, in the second year after the acquisition, with a pricing range of 2,999 yuan to 8,499 yuan, aiming for the mid - to - high - end market.
At that time, Meizu had high hopes and made significant investments.
Huang Zhipan, the then president of Meizu's mobile phone division, revealed in an interview at that time, "In the next three years, Meizu will only focus on mid - to - high - end mobile phones." He also explained that the new phones use the best materials, have the highest - quality craftsmanship, and the strictest software requirements in history. Meizu also offers a 36 - month warranty, two months longer than the average mobile phone replacement cycle in China at that time.
Huang Zhipan, CEO of Xingji Meizu Group. Image source: Meizu Mobile's official WeChat public account
As expected by the industry when the acquisition was completed, Meizu planned a "vehicle - phone linkage" experience layout in its offline channels.
Huang Zhipan said that in 2023, 400 offline service centers would be established first, including 90 to 120 experience stores. For example, the upcoming flagship store in Wuhan covers an area of 800 square meters and showcases various products such as in - car systems, cars, mobile phones, and XR devices. In the next three years, 1,000 such stores will be built.
However, considering Meizu's position in the smartphone market at that time, it was difficult for it to support Geely's grand plans.
Around 2022, although different research institutions had different data on the market shares of various manufacturers, domestic first - tier manufacturers such as vivo, Honor, Apple, OPPO, and Xiaomi all had a market share of over 10%. According to TechInsights' data tracking, Meizu's shipment volume in the domestic market in 2022 accounted for less than 1%.
With a market that needs to be expanded, offline channels that need to be improved, and a brand influence that needs to be enhanced, Meizu lacked the foundation to produce high - end products. Although many long - time Meizu fans recognized the feel and system of the Meizu 20 and believed that Geely's backing added credibility, the performance of the Meizu 20 series was still disappointing.
According to the sales ranking of the top 20 domestic mobile phone brands in the third quarter of 2023 released by Chaodian Think Tank, Meizu ranked 12th, with a sales volume of 205,000 units in the third quarter of that year, accounting for only 0.4% of the market share.
The cold reception of the new opportunity almost announced the failure of Meizu's first battle after joining hands with Geely. In 2024, new challenges emerged for Meizu. First, the overall industry shipment volume shrank again. IDC data shows that the shipment volume of the Chinese smartphone market in 2023 was approximately 271 million units, a year - on - year decrease of 5.0%, the lowest in the past decade.
In the wave of AI, AI - enabled mobile phones have become the breakthrough point targeted by major domestic mobile phone manufacturers. In 2024, competitors such as vivo, OPPO, and Honor have all launched their self - developed large AI models and accelerated their implementation in their products.
Meizu also followed the trend and announced a strategic adjustment in February 2024, stopping the development of new traditional "smartphone" projects and investing in the development of a new generation of AI - enabled devices.
Meizu, once known for the excellent performance of its Flyme system, launched the Meizu 21 PRO, positioned as the "first open - source AI terminal", in February 2024. With the AI capabilities of the FlymeOS operating system, the Meizu 21 PRO has AI functions including an AI dynamic key, AI - assisted input, an AI photo gallery, and AI voice.
However, these AI functions in input, image, and voice are not essential for users when using mobile phones. Even today, many users still post help - seeking posts on social platforms, hoping to turn off the AI functions of Meizu phones.
Neither high - end positioning nor AI has brought a breakthrough in Meizu's mobile phone sales. The media generally reported that in 2025, Meizu's annual mobile phone sales were less than one million units, and Meizu has never appeared in the top five lists of market share compiled by various institutions.
On the one hand, Meizu's mobile phone business lacks stamina. On the other hand, after joining the Geely system, Meizu also has to spare some energy to tell the story of "vehicle - phone linkage".
Since the end of 2023, it has announced the development of the Flyme Auto system, including the Flyme Auto in - car system, Flyme Auto Core, and an open platform.
On the surface, Meizu has made more rapid progress in the automotive field than in the mobile phone field. It announced in December last year that the number of new ecological users of FlymeAuto exceeded 200,000 for the first time in November 2025, and the total sales volume of cooperating models exceeded 2.11 million. It is reported that FlymeAuto took six months to reach the second one - million mark, with the fastest - growing ecological user base.
However, this seemingly outstanding achievement actually highly depends on Geely. As can be seen from the battle report released by Meizu, whether it is Flyme Auto, Flyme Auto Inside, or Flyme Link, the cooperating models are all Geely - owned brands or related models.
Meizu Flyme Auto battle report. Image source: Meizu Mobile's official WeChat public account
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