A crowdfunding campaign by Meizu for its Zero holeless phone failed to reach its target, with the manufacturer apparently claiming it was primarily a marketing effort in the first place.
The Chinese company started touting Zero earlier this year [1], with the device using wireless data charging and transmission, eSIM and virtual buttons to deliver a body without any ports or holes in the body. It was not alone, with rival Vivo also showcasing something similar [2], although it described its device as a concept.
In February, Meizu launched a crowdfunding campaign [3] to raise $100,000 to bring the device to market. It closed with just $46,000 raised, which means it will get none of the cash having failed to reach its target.
On Meizu’s Chinese support forums, a poster who is reported to be CEO Jack Wong said the crowdfunding campaign had been “carried out by the marketing department”, and that it “never intended to mass-produce this project”.
He did not clarify what would have happened if Meizu had actually hit the $100,000 goal.
South China Morning Post, which used a prototype, stated Meizu had manufactured a dozen units as part of its development work. And its finding was that, in many cases, the innovations are “simply unpolished and need improving before being practical”.
[1] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/devices/news-devices/meizu-touts-holeless-smartphone/[2] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/devices/news-devices/vivo-to-showcase-high-tech-smartphone-at-mwc/
[3] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/devices/news-devices/meizu-plans-to-crowdfund-holeless-smartphone/
