This brand exits the smartphone market (again)

After Asus put the kibosh on its smartphone front (at least for now), another maker is apparently exiting the phone realm – Meizu.

This might feel like deja vu, since Meizu announced an exit from the smartphone business in early 2024; but some months ago released the Meizu 22, a 6.3-inch flagship with the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset inside.

Now, a new report has it that Meizu is giving up on smartphones due to "fierce competition" back at home (China). Also, the ongoing RAMpocalypse, thanks to which memory chip prices are surging, was a major factor in the decision.

What's next?

According to the current information, Meizu is only giving up on hardware, but it will continue to develop AI-based software for its Flyme operating system for cars (popular EV maker Geely partially owns Meizu).

The industry forecasts are not optimistic, as we've reported earlier. After a modest recovery in 2024 and 2025, the global electronics market could face another difficult year in 2026. Analysts expect smartphone shipments to fall again, reversing earlier forecasts for growth. Research firms say global shipments could drop by at least 2%, which would mark the first yearly decline since 2023.

A key driver behind the memory shortage is the massive demand from AI companies. Firms like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI are buying massive quantities of memory chips for data centers and AI infrastructure, leaving less supply for consumer electronics.

Lower- and mid-range device makers are expected to feel the biggest impact, which is why Meizu's plans to stop with phones are not surprising.

The general picture

What's more, data from China shows the market could be slowing even faster than expected. According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), the research arm of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, smartphone shipments in the country dropped sharply in January 2026.

Domestic 5G smartphone shipments fell about 16% year over year to 19.9 million units, while total handset sales also declined 16% to around 22.9 million units. Since China is the largest smartphone market in the world by volume, a slowdown there could have a major impact on the global industry.

Smartphones priced below $100 could see shipments drop by nearly 31% in 2026, as rising component costs and broader economic challenges squeeze already thin profit margins.

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