February 18, 2024, may be a day to be remembered by the entire digital industry. On that morning when the weather was still chilly, Meizu, the company that once created China's first smartphone, officially announced the cessation of its smartphone project and fully committed to AI. The news caused a stir, with some feeling surprised, some nostalgic, and many others... completely indifferent. It has to be said that after the major reshuffling of the smartphone industry from 2018 to 2020, the industry's landscape has been essentially set. Meizu's decision to change tracks and start anew is understandable, and for true fans and supporters of Meizu, this is not necessarily bad news. However, Meizu remains the same Meizu, the one that can sacrifice everything in pursuit of "beauty." Even after announcing the cessation of the smartphone project, it still insists on delivering the promised Meizu 21 Pro, completing the full stop of Meizu smartphones in a perfect and satisfactory manner.

This is a "counterintuitive" phone.

Just as the core competitiveness of new car manufacturers is refrigerators, color TVs, and large sofas, the flagship smartphone market in 2024 also has a "standard answer": the packaging must be entirely black with gold-foil product names; the camera module may not be impressive, but the camera deco design must challenge the limits of geometric shapes; the overall feel of the device may not be good, but the width must be capable of encouraging human palms to evolve in reverse towards apes; the exterior color scheme may not be appealing, but the naming must explore the boundaries of Chinese language literature... In short, the first requirement for a 2024 flagship smartphone is to make it clear at a glance that "I am expensive."

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In the case of the Meizu 21 Pro, the aforementioned "formulas" no longer exist: the packaging box features a light and high-end cement gray color, combined with a textured skin-like coating, allowing you to experience the difference between this phone and other flagships from the moment you hold it; the vertically arranged, left-aligned camera may elicit a "just this?" from those used to other flagships, but a slight adjustment in angle reveals that this is probably the most straightforward and enduring design among current flagships; the 21:9 screen ratio creates a good feel for one-handed grip, achieving a 6.8-inch screen display with a 6.1-inch width; the solid color frosted glass back cover not only maintains the same appearance under different lighting conditions but also subtly enhances the grip feel of this not-so-light flagship phone. All signs indicate that the "standard answer" for flagship phones does not apply to this Meizu.

So, does the Meizu 21 Pro, which does not conform to mainstream flagships, qualify as a "flagship"? To answer this question, we cannot avoid discussing the price. The starting price of 4999 is only comparable to other companies' larger cup flagships, and it is obviously neither fair nor realistic to expect it to compete with other companies' top-tier flagships. However, when compared within Meizu's own system, the 21 Pro remains the strongest Meizu phone: the addition of telephoto is a much-anticipated upgrade, the inclusion of Titan Glass 2.0 gives Meizu fans the right not to use screen protectors, the return of wireless charging is a long-awaited change for Meizu fans, and there is no need to worry about performance, with 12GB of RAM starting and the power of the 8gen3 ensuring that even in the next AI era, Meizu fans' 21 Pro will remain fresh and up-to-date.

In the details, it's still Meizu.

"This is very Meizu" is a phrase often mentioned in the mobile phone circle. A brand that can be used as an adjective to describe a detail maniac is definitely not relying on slogans. In the latest 21 Pro, we can still see many Meizu-style persistences. The M back interaction and small window mode, which are Meizu's traditional strengths, naturally need no further mention. The 0916 vibration motor remains the strongest in Android. As for how user-friendly Flyme is, the resounding title of "the Whampoa Military Academy of the mobile phone industry" can answer all questions. What is truly touching is the correct and difficult adherence: unlike most Android phones, the Meizu 21 Pro will default to running at 2K 120 high resolution and frame rate after the first boot, which is more straightforward compared to other competitors' common practice of using default 1080 resolution to save power; the equal-width screen borders cannot produce the promotional effect of the thinnest part being only xx millimeters, but they ensure the user's long-term visual experience to the greatest extent; wide-area ultrasonic fingerprints are expensive, so much so that other competitors may even replace them with the cheapest short-focus fingerprints, but Meizu still stubbornly believes that the high-frequency interaction requirement of unlocking should not be influenced by cost. This indifference to promotional selling points and enthusiasm for user experience is probably the reason why Meizu still has a large number of fans even today.

AI, possibly the beginning of the next dream.

At the 21 Pro launch event, Meizu also introduced its subsequent development direction: "Open AI Terminal." In simple terms, it is to provide computing power to AI developers, allowing developers to provide services for users, with hardware playing the role of computing support and interaction entry. For Meizu, this is the third entrepreneurship after music players and smartphones, and it is the best opportunity for Meizu to return to its peak. I have no doubt about Meizu's vision and determination to change, and I will not worry about Meizu encountering new troubles due to a lack of support. After all, in the myriad of industries changed by AI, Geely Group, which is closely related to Star Meizu, is also among them. Nowadays, the car AI large model has successfully influenced some consumers' purchasing decisions. Meizu, which already has a comprehensive plan for people, cars, and homes, entering the AI field may have just begun to bring surprises to the industry.