Meizu Watch M1 nods to Apple Watch Ultra, but costs less than €40

Five years after its first smartwatch, the Asian manufacturer tries again but opts for a quiet launch. Meizu Watch M1 has been announced in China and arrives with a decidedly inspired design: the aesthetics nod to Apple Watch Ultra, but costs only a tiny fraction of Cupertino’s rugged premium.

Meizu Watch M1 is the new budget wearable with a stylish design (and a super affordable price)

The first Meizu Watch was announced in 2021: square design, Snapdragon chip, eSIM support and Flyme For Watch. In short, a flagship solution with the Chinese brand tried to compete with the big names in the wearables space (such as OPPO, Huawei, but also Apple and Samsung.

In 2026 here comes the Meizu Watch M1, this time with a different target. The new wearable from the company opts for the budget tier and debuts in China at only 299 yuan, about €40 at the current exchange rate. Despite its budget nature, the device arrives with a sporty and stylish look – clearly inspired by the Apple Watch Ultra series.

Just like Cupertino’s rugged solution, Watch M1 adopts a squared design while the right side houses a step that hosts the rotating crown, the microphone and a flush button. Clearly the similarities are limited to the appearance: the materials remain those of a classic mid-range watch, so don’t expect rugged aspirations and a titanium case.

The new Meizu wearable offers a large display with curved edges, a 2.01″ AMOLED panel with a resolution of 502 x 410 pixels, a maximum brightness of 1,000 nits and a 2.5D protective glass.

The accessory supports Bluetooth calling and features over 100 sports modes, some with the usual automatic recognition. For the rest of the package it is fairly standard, with health monitoring features (which add nothing truly new or particularly notable in this price range).

The case is IP68 rated while in terms of autonomy, you can expect up to 3/5 days of use depending on usage – with 15 days in standby. The battery is a 300 mAh unit and charging occurs via magnetic pins. At the moment Meizu Watch M1 is expected in China in the coming days, but there are no details yet on global release.

Meizu in recent years: from smartphones to AI

We should note that the Chinese manufacturer is going through turbulent times: after the acquisition of the automotive giant Geely, Meizu has begun actively focusing on automotive, software and AI. Initially there was talk of a pause for the smartphone business and yet in 2025 we witnessed several launches, such as the flagship Meizu 22 and as many as 5 smartphones for Global markets.

Anyway in February the setback arrived: the development of Meizu 23 has been suspended, hardware development has effectively been paused and a new era focused on AI and software was announced.