Yesterday, Chinese automaker NIO officially confirmed its intention to launch an own-brand smartphone later this month, which would allow owners of NIO electric vehicles to more tightly integrate a mobile device into a proprietary ecosystem. As it turns out, Polestar is poised to launch its smartphone this December, just behind NIO.
Image source: Polestar
At the same time, as explained in an interview CNBC Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said the company will begin deliveries of the latest Polestar 4 electric vehicles to the Chinese market. Note that the Polestar brand is owned by the Chinese holding company Geely along with its Swedish sister carmaker Volvo Cars, but has not previously shipped Polestar products to the Chinese market. Following the launch of the Polestar 4 in China, the brand will bring the Polestar 3 electric crossover to the local market.
According to Polestar boss, the ultimate goal of releasing smartphones under this brand is to provide seamless user experience for EV owners. In the current implementation status, users still have problems with the display of SMS text messages on the display of the vehicle’s multimedia system. Polestar will try to solve these problems through deeper mutual integration of smartphone and electric vehicle.
Polestar’s partner in releasing a branded smartphone will be the Chinese company Meizu, with which it has had a joint venture since June this year. Meizu is known for its mid-range smartphones, so developing a premium device for Polestar will be a bit of a challenge for this automaker partner. Meizu is also developing an operating system for the on-board PCs of Polestar electric vehicles, so it cannot be ruled out that the brand’s smartphone will also use FlyMe or Meizu’s related software platform.
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