ZTE Axon 7 evaluate: Unimaginable hardware, dicey software program

ZTE’s second designed-in-America flagship hits all the best notes.

ZTE impressed lots of people, together with me, with its Axon and Axon Pro flagships in 2015. Accessible, stand-out designs met top quality construct supplies, nice efficiency, a give attention to audio high quality, and spectacular cameras. They even ran what amounted to an approximation of inventory Android.

The Chinese language firm’s follow-up takes various cues from its predecessors, whereas enhancing a number of elements of the hardware to raised compete with 2016 rivals just like the OnePlus 3.

The underside line

The ZTE Axon 7 is a powerful mix of high-end hardware and principally unblemished Android 6.zero.1-based software program that skimps on little to get to its $399 worth level.

Width	Peak	Thickness
	5.97 in 151.7mm
2.9 in 75mm		zero.31 in 7.9mm

• Show:
  • 5.5-inch Quad HD
  • AMOLED Show
  • 2560×1440 decision (538ppi)
• Digital camera:
  • 20MP, ƒ/1.5 lens, OIS,
  • 8MP entrance digital camera, ƒ/2.2 lens, OIS
• Battery:
  • 3250 mAh capability
  • Fast Cost three.zero
• Chips:
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
  • Quad-core 2.2GHz
  • 4GB RAM
  • 64GB inner storage
  • microSD slot with adoptable storage

About this assessment

I (Daniel Bader) am reviewing the Axon 7 after spending every week with it in Toronto, on the Bell community, and in New York, on T-Cellular. Throughout that point, the telephone ran Android 6.zero.1 Marshmallow with construct A2017UV1.zero.0B18, safety patch Might 1, 2016. No updates have been issued throughout my testing interval.

ZTE Axon 7 Hardware

I’m really impressed by the Axon 7. As somebody who prefers smaller telephones, its compact physique, which occurs to accommodate a superb 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED show, is certainly one of its signature options.

How ZTE managed that’s by decreasing the dimensions of the bezels above and under the show, and by minimizing the world crammed by the capacitive buttons. Like many current Android telephones, the navigation buttons are capacitive, however these contact targets are very, very small. And whereas their features may be reversed in software program — both dot might be assigned both “again” or “recents” — they don’t seem to be backlit, which may make it very troublesome to find the proper space in a darkened room. Come on, ZTE, you are higher than this.

More: ZTE Axon 7 specs

Utilizing the telephone jogged my memory how accustomed I’ve turn into to utilizing, say, the Galaxy S7’s bodily house button to orient my thumb, and the way that is not attainable on one thing just like the Axon 7. In contrast to the OnePlus three, there isn’t a choice to allow on-screen buttons, and the Axon 7 saves very important front-of-phone actual property by putting the fingerprint sensor on the telephone’s again, beneath the 20 megapixel rear digital camera sensor.

Whereas I acquired the gold model of the telephone, each colours — Ion Gold and Quartz Grey — are comprised of unibody aluminum that curves across the shallow sides. Although it impresses not more than the OnePlus three did for its worth, it is clear that the funding ZTE has made in its manufacturing, and the collaboration with BMW’s Designworks staff, has paid off.

Round again, the 20MP rear digital camera sits on the prime of a symmetrical strip of hardware, flanked by a fingerprint sensor under and a flash within the center. That fingerprint sensor is not any higher than lots of its rivals, however having transitioned from various units with front-facing varieties, I nonetheless discover myself preferring it on the again whereas the telephone is in a pocket, however getting annoyed when it’s sitting on a desk.

It is clear that the funding ZTE has made in its manufacturing, and the collaboration with BMW’s Designworks group, has paid off.

Fortunately, the Axon 7’s 3250 mAh battery is sweet sufficient to carry up for an honest day’s utilization. Whereas the telephone does not help wi-fi charging as a consequence of its metallic again, it helps Fast Cost three.zero, and good points about 50% in 30 minutes — a quantity that we already take as a right, however continues to be astonishing. Furthermore, the Axon 7, at 7.9mm skinny, has bigger battery than most telephones in its class, and positively higher uptime than many units we have lately reviewed.

Whereas we sometimes draw back from performing artificial battery benchmarks, I am going to say this: after utilizing the Axon 7 for 2 weeks as my main system, I solely as soon as needed to cost it for a couple of minutes noon, largely from an abundance of warning. Each different day it simply lasted from the time I awoke till I went to mattress. And I rise up early and go to mattress late.

Lastly, there’s the audio aspect of issues. Few telephones have nice audio system, and even much less have ample hardware to push high-resistance headphones. The Axon 7 has each. The legacy of what the corporate calls Hello-Fi audio started with the unique Axon, which noticed, along with a devoted Digital-to-Analog converter (DAC) a secondary audio codec used to reinforce audio recording, notably with video. Whereas the typical individual is not going to note an enormous distinction in headphone output high quality between the Axon 7 and, say, a Galaxy S7 or iPhone 6s, ZTE has included some very high-quality elements from AKM, an organization that sells its audio conversion gear primarily to very producers of very costly audiophile gear.

Few telephones have nice audio system, and even much less have ample hardware to push high-resistance headphones. The Axon 7 has each.

Points of the telephone’s sound, from a really low signal-to-noise ratio to extraordinarily correct (for a telephone) audio enter when recording video, will probably go unappreciated by the overwhelming majority of customers — however to those that care, this telephone is a dream.

What will be observed instantly is the strong sound from the twin front-facing audio system, that are powered by a relatively large amplifier. Keep in mind HTC BoomSound? Consider this as ZTE BoomierSound.

ZTE Axon 7 Software program

ZTE’s software program, whereas nonetheless mired by translation points that may hopefully be cleaned up in a future construct, is impressively restrained for a Chinese language producer. Even the inventory launcher — humorously referred to as Inventory Android — is freed from that sort of have an effect on that People have extensively rejected from corporations like Xiaomi and Huawei.

However there are remnants of a extra playful and experimental aspect inside the settings, comparable to the power to unlock the telephone together with your voice. That is proper, ZTE is all-in on voice actions, permitting you to launch apps and even unlock the telephone with a voice command. The issue is not the concepts, although, however the implementation: like so many proprietary voice-based providers, the function not often works, and when it does it’s a must to enunciate the phrases with the precision of a radio announcer. After a number of makes an attempt at getting the function to work, I turned it off and promptly forgot about it.

Then there is a function referred to as Mi-Pop, which surfaces a set of digital navigation keys within the vein of a chat head — by default, it is a again button, however holding down on it reveals a full set of again, house, and multitasking choices that try and ameliorate the truth that the bodily residence buttons are static. I am positive through the years you’ve got seen iPhone customers resorting to the on-screen residence button accessed via the iOS accessibility menu, and that is comparable, although barely extra full-featured. After a number of moments of opaqueness, the Mi-Pop overlay turns translucent, ready for yet one more enter.

The truth that Mi-Pop replaces the essential choice of including on-screen navigation buttons irks me to no finish.

This is the factor: I perceive that ZTE is making an attempt one thing new (properly, a brand new tackle one thing previous), however the truth that Mi-Pop replaces the essential choice of including on-screen navigation buttons irks me to no finish. Particularly since, unusually, the mannequin we dealt with in our preview did have on-screen buttons. I am not asking ZTE to verify to the business, but when you are going to throw the kitchen sink at an issue, at the very least ensure that the plumbing is put in appropriately. As a function, Mi-Pop is buggy and poorly animated, and requires a secondary swipe to open the menu that reveals the remaining Residence and Recents menu buttons. Like so most of the Axon 7’s “value-added” options, Mi-Pop is a good suggestion carried out poorly.

The excellent news is that neither voice unlock nor Mi-Pop nor Dolby Atmos — a properly branded however horrible equalizer app that comes bundled with the telephone — are essential to benefit from the close-to-stock software program expertise. ZTE did not mess with the Settings nor the notification shade, and apart from a number of quirks with the lock display, there’s little to complain about. The telephone runs like a dream — with a Snapdragon 820 and 4GB of RAM one would hope so — and since it’s so compact I discovered myself utilizing it with one hand with no main issues. That’s, solely after I inserted the ultra-slippery metallic physique into the clear TPU case that comes within the field.

The telephone runs like a dream and since it’s so compact I discovered myself utilizing it with one hand with no main issues.

ZTE did see match to incorporate some helpful gestures with the Axon 7. A 3-finger pinch shortly takes a screenshot, whereas a robust shake of the telephone whereas idling on the lock display prompts the flashlight.

DeviantArt junkies (or followers of moody wallpapers normally) will even recognize the on-by-default biking of lock display backgrounds every time the telephone is turned on. A lot of the pictures are over-the-top HDR depictions of in style vacationer places such because the Eiffel Tower or Arizona’s Coyote Buttes rock formation, however I started to sit up for seeing what was going to seem subsequent on the occasional time I did not use the fingerprint sensor to skip the lock display altogether.

ZTE Axon Cameras

Eschewing its predecessor’s second sensor used for depth augmentation, the Axon 7 comes with a bevy of digital camera options all its personal. The 20MP Samsung ISOCELL sensor is comparable in high quality to what you’d discover on any mainstream flagship system at present. The sensor measures 1/2.6-inch and sports activities pixels of 1.12-microns in diameter, just like that of the LG G5. The f/1.eight lens seems to be sharp within the center with a touch of distortion on the corners whereas permitting for spectacular and true depth of area.

In apply, the Axon 7 is able to some magnificent photographs. The daylight pictures seem color-true and free of serious noise, by means of chromatic aberrations are widespread in scenes with high-contrast topics transposed on a brilliant sky. The lens is ready to focus almost as near a topic because the Galaxy S7, our macro chief, and one of many best-performing telephone cameras available on the market.

As with all telephones, the much less mild out there to the sensor, the extra grainy and fewer spectacular the photograph. That’s very true right here, even with optical picture stabilization enjoying an essential position in retaining the shutter open so long as attainable with out introducing movement blur. The issue is the dimensions of the pixels; most telephones are shifting in the direction of sensors with fewer however bigger pixels. The Axon 7 bucks that development by specializing in decision and element. Consequently, low-light pictures — even these taken with ample indoor mild — emerge yellow and splotchy, with a scarcity of effective element. It is also value noting that the sensor is definitely 16:9 by default, a blunder Samsung corrected this yr with the Galaxy S7.

The 8MP front-facing digital camera is sweet, and options loads of methods to show one’s pores and skin “lovely,” which by telephone maker requirements means tender and synthetic. Nonetheless, regardless of a few-second delay in opening the app the digital camera app itself is properly designed, with an auto mode that’s straightforward to make use of and a guide mode that options all of the granular settings a photographer like me would care about. And since the Snapdragon 820 is a lot quicker than the Axon’s Snapdragon 801, 4K video seize is clean at 30 fps and lacks the judder we have come to anticipate from unsteady hand motion. It is no Galaxy S7, however it’s shut.

Sadly, ZTE determined to crib from the fallacious firm inside its digital camera app; not solely did it blatantly steal the iPhone’s stay filters, however it additionally coopted Apple’s Stay Photographs function right down to the identify. Activating LIVE Photograph (sic) captures a brief 1080p video clip saved in .mp4 format that may be performed alongside the static photograph, however, like Apple’s personal faltering format it (although enjoyable) solutions a query that no one requested.

Odds and ends

This telephone is fascinating for quite a lot of causes, least of which is the truth that it helps two SIM playing cards and a microSD slot. I used the telephone on a current journey to New York and again residence to Toronto, putting a T-Cellular SIM card within the secondary slot. Whereas the telephone is ready to area incoming calls and texts from both quantity, a single knowledge connection have to be specified (for apparent causes), and the handoff is seamless between the 2. Having no use for a dual-SIM telephone in Canada, my first expertise profiting from one was largely constructive. A few of the consumer expertise (UX) round establishing the person SIM playing cards might be improved, however these are minor criticisms.

The Axon 7 is likely one of the greatest telephone surprises I’ve had thus far in 2016.

The Axon 7 additionally sports activities a USB Sort-C port, which is turning into more and more widespread amongst Android telephones in 2016. And whereas the corporate ships a Fast Cost three.zero charger and Sort-C cable within the field, it generously supplies a micro-USB adapter for many who need to hold utilizing these older, much more ubiquitous cables. It is considered one of many good touches in a field that features a very respectable pair of headphones and the aforementioned clear TPU case.

One other good addition is the Passport 2.0 safety plan, which is included alongside each Axon 7 bought immediately from the corporate within the U.S.. As a result of the telephone is unlocked and carrier-free, it doesn’t embrace any bloatware — a bonus on prime of a two-year guarantee, straightforward guarantee exchanges, low-cost repairs and extra. It is nice that ZTE is sustaining this program, nevertheless it’s solely obtainable to consumers within the U.S., and it solely honors hardware; there isn’t any equal promise on the software program aspect. And that’s one thing to be involved about.

ZTE has an terrible popularity for holding its telephones up to date. Certainly, the Axon and Axon Professional, whereas ultimately receiving an replace to Android 6.zero earlier this yr, have every acquired just one replace, and are nonetheless on the Might 1, 2016 safety patch (which, paradoxically, is identical because the Axon 7).

Do you have to purchase it? Sure

The Axon 7 is likely one of the greatest telephone surprises I’ve had to date in 2016. Just like the OnePlus 3, it offers super worth for its $400 asking worth, and regardless of a number of software program quirks is with out main compromise.

Not solely is it splendidly compact for a 5.5-inch telephone, however it’s well-made and properly designed, replete with a superb digital camera setup and superlative sound. For those who can overcome the necessity to have the newest software program (or expeditious software program updates, for that matter), the ZTE Axon 7 is likely one of the greatest unlocked smartphones you should purchase as we speak.

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