Remember Meizu, the promising competitor to Xiaomi? The Chinese smartphone maker backed by Alibaba is back – in a way – as it was acquired by the founder of Geely, China’s largest private car maker and parent company of Volvo.
China’s smartphone industry is famous for its competitiveness. Founded in 2003, Meizu manufactures affordable and fashionable Android-based smartphones, which has allowed it to gain memorable moments at home and abroad. Recently, the Chinese phone maker’s market share was marginal – 1% in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to the market research firm. the interview.
But the company is now taking another shot in the name of Xingji Technology, a smartphone company launched by Geely founder and CEO Eric Li last September, acquired A controlling stake of 79.09% of it.
Meizu will continue to operate as an “independent brand” after the strategic investment. Its founder Huang Zhang, also known as Jack Wong, will participate as a “product strategy consultant” for the brand.
This association joins a group of phone and vehicle makers working closely together and betting on a future in which vehicle control and telephone operating systems will be more integrated. Last March, Xiaomi set up an electric vehicle manufacturing subsidiary and pledged to spend $10 billion on new business in the coming years.
In a highly homogeneous consumer device market, Meizu and Xingji aim to build a “multi-device, scenario-less, and immersive” digital experience. Xingji was founded with a focus on premium smartphones, mixed reality, and wearables.
It’s hard to be so excited about a new phone brand at once The global economy is slowing down. Worldwide smartphone shipments are expected to decline 3.5% this year, According to market researcher IDC. There is great competition. Next Nothing phoneLed by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, it pledges to be different with fresh designs and affordability, but its success will hinge on actual implementation.
Xingji plans to launch its first phone model by 2023 and sell 3 million units in the first year, according to Reuters mentioned earlier. Dealing with premium phone pioneers like Apple and Huawei, as well as ambitious players like Oppo, wouldn’t be a huge feat.
