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.
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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)
