In a March 1 livestream, Meizu China CMO Wan Zhiqiang told customers that the company’s next-generation handset, the Meizu 23, has been developed but will not be released to the market. He said existing models — the Meizu 22, Meizu Note 16 series and the Lucky 08 — remain on sale with no planned price increases, while the Meizu 22 1TB edition and the ‘return flight’ edition are nearly sold out through official channels.
Wan also set expectations for the software roadmap: Flyme, Meizu’s Android-derived OS, will no longer receive large-scale version updates but will continue to get basic maintenance. The comments followed a February 27 strategic announcement from the group that paused domestic self-directed hardware R&D for new phones, pledged talks with third-party hardware partners, and declared a formal pivot toward AI-driven software built around an open Flyme ecosystem.
The transformation has been accompanied by inventory shifts and heavy public scrutiny. Meizu’s own flagship stores on some platforms show phones as sold out or listed as restocking, while third-party sellers continue to list devices. Meanwhile Meizu’s AR glasses brand, StarV, is already on sale on Tmall and is reportedly seeking independent financing or a potential sale, underlining the company’s shift toward non-phone hardware and software monetisation.
The company framed the move as commercial necessity: sharply rising memory prices and intense domestic smartphone competition, the statement said, made normal commercialisation of a next-generation handset untenable. Meizu, acquired by Geely’s Star Era in 2022, has also sought to reassure stakeholders by denying bankruptcy rumours and warning it will pursue legal action against false reporting and online speculation.
Meizu’s announcement should be read against a longer history. Founded in 2003 and once a household name in China’s MP3 and early smartphone markets, Meizu peaked in the mid-2010s with tens of millions of annual shipments and a loyal “small and beautiful” brand identity. Since Geely’s 2022 majority acquisition, the firm has publicly pursued synergies between phones and car software; Flyme Auto reportedly passed 2.26 million car installs in 2025 and the group is targeting higher in-car penetration with Geely and other automakers.
For users and partners the immediate consequence is uncertainty about future phones and platform commitments. Existing models will still be sold while official channels finish stock, but the decision to halt new in-house phone R&D and curtail Flyme upgrades elevates questions about long-term platform support, developer engagement and the preservation of brand value in a market tilting toward consolidation and AI-first strategies.