The End of an Era: How Meizu, a 17-Year Rival to Xiaomi, Fell in 2026
Who would have thought that the first smartphone brand to be crushed by rising memory prices would be Meizu?
On February 25, 2026, Jiemian News reported that Meizu's smartphone business has effectively ceased operations and will be officially delisted in March. The company's Flyme Auto in-car system business will operate independently, and while the "Meizu" brand will remain within the Geely ecosystem, its offline after-sales services will be discontinued, shifting entirely to mail-in repairs. However, sources within Meizu have indicated that the rumors of the smartphone business's exit are a mix of truth and speculation, with an official announcement yet to be made.
In reality, Meizu had already hinted at the immense pressure on its phone business during a fan event in January. At this meeting, a new device that never made it to production, the Meizu 22 Air, was showcased, its cancellation attributed to supply chain pressures. The much-anticipated flagship Meizu 23 series has also been effectively shelved.
The Dream Began with the M8, as Meizu Only Made the Most Special Phones
In 2009, Meizu launched the M8. In an era dominated by feature phones and copycat devices, the M8 was the first Chinese smartphone many had seen that was "as exquisite as an iPhone." This marked a turning point. The Meizu M9, launched in 2011, introduced the minimalist Flyme UI, influencing the entire market. That same year, Xiaomi entered the scene, pitting its extreme value-for-money strategy against Meizu's focus on a unique, experience-driven approach. In 2012, the Meizu MX2 daringly replaced Android's three navigation keys with the innovative "SmartBar," a concept that was ahead of its time but struggled with app compatibility and was eventually abandoned. This commitment to innovation didn't translate to sales; by the end of 2012, Xiaomi had shipped 7.19 million units to Meizu's 1 million.
As the market exploded and consumer focus shifted to price-performance ratios, Meizu's refined but pricier MX3 felt the pressure. Realizing that being a niche, exquisite brand was unsustainable, Meizu launched the Meilan (Blue Charm) sub-brand in late 2014 to compete directly with Xiaomi's Redmi. The strategy worked. In 2015, Meizu's shipments surpassed 20 million, and it secured a $590 million investment from Alibaba. However, this success led to a chaotic "sea of phones" strategy in 2016, with over a dozen models launched, blurring brand identity. The first major stumble came in 2017 with the Meizu PRO 7, a phone with a unique rear secondary screen. Despite its bold design, it was widely criticized for the screen's limited utility and its mid-range MediaTek chip in a flagship-priced device.
Slow Iteration, Meizu Enters 'Retirement'
By 2018, Meizu tried to regroup. Founder Jack Wong returned to personally design the Meizu 15 and 16 series, which marked a return to Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon chips after years of patent disputes. However, the following year, Meizu made the critical decision to shut down its Meilan sub-brand. While this was meant to unify the Meizu brand identity, it cut off a massive user base and revenue stream that had kept the company afloat. In the 5G era, the Meizu 17 and 18 series struggled to compete. While they maintained Meizu's signature design and smooth performance, they fell significantly behind competitors in camera technology, a key purchasing factor for consumers.
In June 2022, with its market share plummeting to just 0.1%, Meizu was acquired by Xingji Times, a company under the automotive giant Geely. The acquisition was primarily for Meizu's talented Flyme Auto team to develop in-car infotainment systems, not to save the struggling phone business. Under Geely, the Meizu 20 series was released in 2023, but it failed to make a significant impact. In a move that now seems prophetic, Meizu later announced it would stop releasing traditional smartphones to focus on "AI Terminals." The long-delayed Meizu 22, pushed from 2024 to 2025, never saw the light of day, leaving loyal fans disheartened.
The Curtain Falls on an Era
Meizu's history is one of a brand that was consistently innovative and fiercely independent. However, this was also its downfall. Founder Jack Wong's early refusal of outside investment limited production capacity. His philosophy was always to build "the best phone I can imagine," not necessarily "the phone everyone wants to buy." This purist approach, shared by other fallen "small and beautiful" brands like Smartisan, ultimately couldn't compete with market-driven giants. Strategic missteps, including the fallout with Alibaba after receiving its investment, prolonged patent battles with Qualcomm, and the fatal decision to axe the Meilan sub-brand, all contributed to its slow decline. Perhaps Meizu was both unlucky and a fortunate survivor of a brutal industry consolidation. While other unique brands fell much earlier, Meizu managed to weather several storms. In the end, its most enduring legacy may not be its phones, but the "Flyme Auto" logo on a car's dashboard—a final reminder of the "small factory from Zhuhai" that dared to be different.
