Former Meizu Design Director Criticizes Domestic Vaping Devices

In April 2018, Zhang Jia was publicly criticized and dismissed by the company after he complained about the company's Vice President and CMO Yang Zhe on Weibo. There were rumors that he would enter the electronic cigarette industry, but he neither confirmed nor denied this at the time. Until today, Zhang Jia finally clarified the matter, confirming that he will not be making electronic cigarettes. He stated: "I am not going into electronic cigarettes. For someone coming from the mobile phone industry, entering the electronic cigarette field seems like an expected choice. Some people have approached me about making electronic cigarettes, but it really doesn't suit me."

As of now, notable figures with backgrounds in the mobile phone industry, such as Smartisan Technology CEO Luo Yonghao, former Smartisan executives Peng Jinzhou and Zhu Xiaomu, and former Xiaomi executive Zhong Yufei, have publicly crossed over into the electronic cigarette field. Among them, Luo Yonghao and Peng Jinzhou co-founded the Xiaoye electronic cigarette brand, Zhu Xiaomu founded the Fulu electronic cigarette brand, and Zhong Yufei founded the Xike electronic cigarette brand.
 

Although Zhang Jia is not entering the electronic cigarette market, he seems to have a strong aversion to both cigarettes and electronic cigarettes. "I can smoke, but I smoke very little; I probably don't even finish a pack in a year, but I really hate the smell of smoke. Several times during meetings in the Meizu conference room filled with smoke, I questioned my life choices, wondering what the hell this was about," Zhang Jia complained.

Earlier, he questioned on his personal Weibo: "Isn't electronic cigarette smoke? What is it then? A lollipop? Smoking is banned indoors, but electronic cigarettes are not?" He expressed skepticism about the phenomenon of many people smoking electronic cigarettes indoors, calling it "white mist" instead of smoke, and strongly suggested that the government implement regulations to ban electronic cigarettes indoors. It is evident that Zhang Jia is really not fond of electronic cigarettes, even harboring a kind of "deep-seated hatred."

Despite confirming that he will not enter the electronic cigarette market, Zhang Jia did not forget to criticize domestic electronic cigarettes. "From a hardware perspective, I researched various products and feel that the electronic vaporization devices (referring to electronic cigarettes here) made in China are a bit silly. The only one that truly impressed me was the Korean LIL—I took a puff and had a moment of transcendence, embodying both the classic feel of a pipe and the technological essence of the younger generation." he said.

I don't know if saying this is foolish or bad. Doesn't he know that in both work and life, one should always be mindful of their words? Has he forgotten the pain after healing the scars? At this point, the wood has been cut, and the words spoken can never be taken back. Regardless, as the saying goes, "too much talk leads to mistakes," Zhang Jia has offended domestic electronic cigarette manufacturers and blocked his own path in the electronic cigarette world. One must ask, will there still be opportunities for him in the electronic cigarette industry in the future?

Of course, aside from all this, I still agree with some of Zhang Jia's viewpoints. He believes that after leaving Meizu, he did not join another mobile phone company. Although this is a reasonable direction, life is both long and short. He thinks it is more important to do different things in different places rather than the same thing in different places. Moreover, the mobile phone industry has become a very terrifying market, where the underlying message when mentioning competitors is often "we will crush you" (as Zhou Hongyi puts it). Although the competition in the industry has been fierce in recent years, most of it has been low-level repetitive construction, and products have evolved to their limits, with little left to change.

Finally, I wish Zhang Jia has finally found a new starting point in life, and may it be as you said—whatever can be imagined by man, someone can achieve it.