Both companies are under the umbrella of Geely, making the joint venture a natural fit. The collaboration enables Polestar to provide a smartphone that's built from scratch to function in harmony with its cars.
“Where you have an opportunity to link these two worlds, without any border … then you can really have a seamless transition,” Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath told CNBC.
Ingenlath expressed frustration with the existing connected car technology, pointing out that even receiving SMS messages on the car's system is a challenge. To counter this, both the smartphone and Polestar 4 in China will operate on Meizu’s FlyMe OS, as opposed to the Google OS used in Europe and the U.S.
Polestar 4
“It’s not just good enough to bring a great European design to China, you have to be very, very special about what you offer to the market when it comes to software,” said Ingenlath.
The upcoming phone is described by Ingenlath as a "premium" product, designed to parallel the luxury standards of Polestar vehicles, which he sees as rivals to BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche. This is a level up for Meizu, usually known as a mid-range smartphone brand.
However, Polestar isn't the only automaker diving into this tech blend. China's Nio intends to launch its own smartphone in September, beating Polestar to market. Nonetheless, Polestar aims to be among the pioneers by introducing the smartphone along with the Polestar 4, scheduled to hit the market later this year.
Source: CNBC
