ZTE is ready to compete in premium smartphone market with AXON

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

The coming of the ZTE AXON will be welcomed by  Canadian consumers who are tired of having to pay exorbitant prices to have the latest software or a premium built-product with all the latest bells and whistles. 

There's a shift afoot in the North American smartphone industry. As veteran flagship makers like Samsung, LG and HTC struggle to provide products with ample differentiation in the premium smartphone space, we're starting to see some of the first affordable flagship efforts from new players like ZTE.

The ZTE AXON is the first premium-range offering in North America by ZTE and it strives to bring users all their most desired features, cutting edge design, premium materials and formidable camera technology at half the cost of various established flagship smarpthone brands.

ZTE has enjoyed a presence in Canada and the US, mostly as a provider of entry-level and pre-paid market handsets, mobile hotspots and cheap Android devices. The AXON is the company's most ambitious device and one whose feature sets reads like a wish list from existing smartphone users. 

“With 44% of Canadian smartphones running Google’s Android platform, the Canadian market is an increasingly important one for ZTE’s global success,” said Lixin Cheng, chairman and CEO of ZTE North America.

We start with a solid glass and aluminum body featuring antimicrobial gorilla glass on the 5.5" IPS display with 1920x1080 resolution and 401 pixels per inch. Powered by a 2.3 GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, the AXON  has a dual-lens 13 megapixel plus a second 2 megapixel camera which can shoot 4K video. What's more, ZTE says they have a arge f/1.8 aperture that spans to f/1.0 helps produce quality images in low-light settings. 

A generous 8 megapixel front-facing camera features 88 degree wide angle lens and also records 1080p HD video. A Hi-Fi Audio chipset promise great audio playback and a large 3000 mAh battery with Quick Charge 2.0 capability promises all-day battery and super-fast charging when needed.

The ZTE AXON runs Android Lollipop 5.1.1, and while we don't know if and when ZTE will make upgrades available. ZTE AXON is exclusive to Fido customers for $0 on a two-year premium plan term (Fido’s Smart or Max Plans), $100 on a two-year standard plan term or $400 without a contract. ZTE spokespersons said the company is looking into making the device available through other means, but for now, Fido is the only carrier that has it.

The coming of the ZTE AXON will be welcomed by  Canadian consumers who are tired of having to pay exorbitant prices to have the latest software or a premium built-product with all the latest bells and whistles.