On the last day of November, Meizu took advantage of the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 to bring its annual flagship new machine, the Meizu 21. Not long ago, Lei Technology also made a review of this product, and it is a mobile phone with obvious advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, the Meizu 21 currently has only one model, which is not divided into medium and large cups like other brands. For those who want a super flagship, the Meizu 21 seems a bit "pro" enough.
Source: Produced by Lei Technology).
However, there have been recent revelations about the Meizu 21 Pro on the Internet, which is good news for Meizu friends who want a more extreme configuration and experience. The screen of the Meizu 21 is not strong enough? 2K screen is coming! The charging power of Meizu 21 is not high enough, and the 100-watt fast charging is coming!
Could it be that the Meizu 21 is just a "small test", and the Meizu 21 Pro is the big move?
Regarding the Meizu 21 Pro, let's first take a look at the most certain revelations. A few days ago, digital blogger @李angang ah posted that Meizu 21 Pro has entered the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Meizu has entered the network with two new mobile phones, models M481Q and M481. If nothing else, they will all be Meizu 21 Pro series models.
Li Ang Ang Ah revealed the basic configuration of the Meizu 21 Pro: 2K screen straight screen, telephoto lens, 100-watt fast charging, support for wireless charging and ultrasonic fingerprint, and new glass material.
Source: Weibo).
And at the end of November, on the eve of the release of Meizu 21, the well-known news blogger @Digital Chat Station ** the configuration of Meizu's new machine next year: new scheme ultrasonic fingerprint, 2K screen, periscope lens, 100-watt wired flash charging and 50W wireless fast charging.
Source: Weibo).
These two revelations can be corresponding, and it can be seen that compared with Meizu 21, Meizu 21 Pro's main upgrades have three aspects: a higher resolution screen, stronger photography and higher fast charging power.
Previously in the Meizu 21 review, we summarized the three main drawbacks of this phone:The screen resolution is low, the number of shots is large, and the fast charging power is low. Now, the Meizu 21 Pro has made up for these shortcomings, and the configuration in all aspects has kept up with the pace of mainstream flagships. In addition, the appearance of the Meizu 21 and the ultrasonic fingerprint recognition left a good impression on us. The Meizu 21 Pro is likely to continue these two advantages, and the overall competitiveness will be greatly improved.
Source: Lei Technology).
In addition, according to IT House, Wan Zhiqiang, assistant vice president of Meizu Technology, @一匹老万在回应网友询问时称 that Meizu 21 Pro is still planning the time, and there is no exact release time, but he revealed that the price of Meizu 21 Pro may be at the price of 6000 yuan. The first sale price of Meizu 21 is 3299 yuan, if the price of Meizu 21 Pro is almost doubled, then it must be supported by more luxurious hardware stacking and selling points.
Source: Weibo).
Judging from the existing leaked information, unilaterally, the Meizu 21 Pro is a bucket-type flagship with a very comprehensive configuration, which is more attractive than the Meizu 21. However, there are many new flagship products that have been released and will be released on the market recently, and the Meizu 21 Pro has a lot of opponents at all, and it is not easy to stand out from so many competitors.
In fact, on the Meizu 21 model, Meizu has been aware of this problem and racked its brains to try to create a differentiated selling point. On the eve of the release of Meizu 21, Meizu's warm-up marketing was very intensive, and every once a while a promotional poster was made around a selling point, which immediately filled the topic and attracted countless eyeballs.
Looking back now, the Meizu 21 is really more differentiated selling points mainly as follows:
1. The extremely narrow frame with equal width on all four sides is indeed very powerful, and with the white frame, it is full of visual impact;
2. Ultrasonic fingerprint, compared with the fingerprint under the short-throw screen that some manufacturers have been using, the experience is indeed much better;
Monthly warranty, this service is aimed at 1 yuan advance booking users, which is used to delineate potential users in advance.
Let's analyze them one by one, the extremely narrow bezel does continue Meizu's previous product design genes, and impress users with excellent appearance, Meizu 21 has really done a good job in this regard.
As for ultrasonic fingerprints, it has also been the standard configuration of Meizu mobile phones for a long time, and the same manufacturers are Samsung, iQOO, OnePlus, etc., which are generally from Qualcomm's solutions. In other words, ultrasonic fingerprint is the best technology, and the experience is better than that of short-throw fingerprint, but the disadvantage is that the cost is much higher. In addition to Meizu, the new flagship phone that is also currently using ultrasonic fingerprint has the iQOO 12 Pro, but its ** is much higher than that of the Meizu 21.
Source: Meizu official).
In this way, on the flagship new product at the price of 3000 yuan, the ultrasonic fingerprint of Meizu 21 has indeed formed a differentiated advantage. However, if the Meizu 21 Pro comes to the 6000 yuan price, then this advantage will be weakened. Recent revelations show that the Xiaomi 14 Ultra will use an ultrasonic fingerprint solution, which may bring a similar unlocking experience to the Meizu 21 series. For flagships with higher prices, manufacturers are naturally willing to give higher configurations.
As for the 36-month ultra-long warranty, it can be regarded as a marketing ploy to make money, and Meizu will overdraft some of its future after-sales costs to attract existing potential users. For users, a longer warranty period will naturally bring better use protection. It's just that Xiaolei personally believes that this kind of first-class method is difficult to implement for a long time. Meizu limited this benefit to some pre-booked user groups, which itself is also controlling costs. Similarly, Meizu launched a "three-zero" mobile phone, that is, zero advertising, zero pre-installation, and zero push, I have to say that this measure was very popular with users at the time, but it was difficult to continue in the follow-up, and Meizu had to quietly cancel this policy.
Source: Meizu).
Of course, Meizu can cover the cost of the Meizu 21 and Meizu 21 Pro ultra-long after-sales through higher pricing to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. However, in this way, the cost of extended warranty will be passed on to users, and the attractiveness will be greatly reduced.
In the current mobile phone market, especially in the flagship market, the competition between products is very fierce, and the involution direction of major brands is basically hardware stacking and function enhancement. Hardware stacking is easy to understand, that is, using hardware with higher cost and stronger configuration, such as higher-specification camera modules, screens with higher comprehensive quality, and materials with higher reliability. Theoretically, Meizu can increase the cost to achieve the goal in this regard, just like the Meizu 21 uses ultrasonic fingerprints.
However, in terms of functional enhancements, simple stacking may not achieve the desired effect. For example, mobile phone manufacturers are rolling images, which are closely related to hardware specifications on the one hand, but on the other hand, they are also closely related to the manufacturer's technology accumulation and algorithm tuning. This requires manufacturers to make long-term and continuous investment in a certain function or technology, behind which is a huge financial and labor cost. The difference between head and non-head brand products is often reflected here.
Therefore, as a non-head brand, Meizu can show differentiation in the Meizu 21 pro, which may mainly reflect the uniqueness of the exterior design, the ingenuity of some functions, and some innovations in the software system. And Meizu still has a long way to go to return to the first echelon from a small and beautiful country and start anew.
Looking back on the development history of smartphones, Meizu is an important brand that cannot be avoided. Countless people still remember the sensation caused by the release of the M8 back then, and many Meizu friends still talk about the innovative features such as mback, small circle, and picture screen on Meizu mobile phones. It is no exaggeration to say that Meizu is the pioneer of domestic smartphones, and Flyme is the Whampoa Military Academy that cultivates customized UI talents.
It's just that in round after round of fierce competition, Meizu failed to break through. With the departure of the Three Musketeers of Meizu and the retirement of Huang Zhang, Meizu's mobile phone business is facing another choice. The good news is that after the completion of the integration with Xingji Group, Meizu mobile phones have gained new opportunities. Meizu has received more power to come in, and the mobile phone business has survived. At the same time, the advantages of the flyme system can be extended to the car machine, looking for opportunities in the wave of automotive intelligence.
As for the Meizu 21 and the Meizu 21 Pro that are still on the way, they may not be the top flagship products on the market, but we can see the continuation of Meizu genes in the details. And, in today's highly homogeneous mobile phone industry, this attempt to create its own uniqueness is always worth commending.