A little more than a month ago, Meizu unveiled Zero, a smartphone intentionally designed to be port-less in order to accommodate for a “gapless” design. A week after, and the brand put the phone up on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo. Unfortunately, the phone failed to reach its target, garnering only 45% of its US$100000 (~RM409000).
When asked about Zero and the failed crowdfunding, Jack Wong, CEO of Meizu, gave a surprisingly blunt reply on the matter. Saying that the crowdfunding project was a “failed marketing stunt”, and that it was just his brand’s “marketing team messing about”.
According to Wong, the Zero was merely a development project from Meizu’s R&D department, and that the brand never really had any intentions of mass-producing the phone. Unsurprisingly, the reactions to Wong’s statement were less than favourable. Some even lambasting the man for being so blunt.
Had the phone reached the production stage, the Zero would’ve had a 5.99-inch AMOLED display, and IP68 rating that allows it to take a dip in water at a maximum depth of 2 meters. Specs-wise, it would’ve been powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC and charged wirelessly via a special 18W Super Wireless charger. Made specifically for the phone.
Besides Meizu Zero now being nothing more than a pipe dream, one other fact is certain. Meizu is less likely to gain any momentum in crowdfunding any future smartphone endeavours, especially after a stunt like this.
(Source: Meizu via Engadget, Hot Hardware)
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