Polestar 4, coming to China in December. Credit: Polestar
When it launches its new Polestar 4 electric car in China later this year, Swedish company Polestar will also release a smartphone to match.
According to CNBC, which spoke to the company's CEO Thomas Ingenlath, the phone will be branded Polestar but will actually be manufactured by Chinese smartphone maker Meizu, with whom Polestar had partnered in June (both Meizu and Polestar's parent company Volvo are owned by China's automotive company Geely).
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According to the report, Polestar isn't looking to become a big player in the smartphone market. Instead, the company sees the smartphone as a device complementary to the car, making it a logical move to launch the two together.
“Where you have an opportunity to link these two worlds, without any border ... then you can really have a seamless transition,” Ingenlath told CNBC.
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Although Meizu is primarily known for entry-level phones, Ingenlath claims that the phone will be a "premium" device.
There are specific reasons why Polestar wants to do this in China, however. In other markets, the company's cars rely on a version of Google's Android for infotainment. As Google's Android isn't available in China, using Meizu's operating system — both for the phone and the car — makes sense as it would give owners a similar user experience.
Long-term, Polestar might be positioning for a rumored Apple car, which (if it ever happens) would surely be tightly integrated with the iPhone.
The Polestar 4 is an electric SUV with four door and coupe styling. It was unveiled in April this year in Shanghai and it will launch in Europe and North America in 2024; in China, however, deliveries should begin in Dec. 2023.
