ZTE’s Axon 7 is another Chinese flagship that brings the goods

ZTE is no stranger to powerful, aesthetically pleasing smartphones – look at the Nubia Z9 for proof.

But the Chinese company is putting the mobile industry on alert with its latest handset, the Axon 7, which was revealed yesterday.

For starters, the Axon 7 looks like an HTC One thanks to that aluminium design, complete with antenna strips on the back and front-facing speakers on the front. In a rather interesting move, the company teamed up with BMW subsidiary Designworks to design the handset.

The device is very competitive in the power department, delivering a flagship-quality Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. However, ZTE is also working on a premium model, which ups the RAM count to 6GB and delivers 128GB of expandable storage.

As for display tech, you’ve got a 5.5-inch 2560×1440 screen, keeping it on par with the likes of the Galaxy S7, LG G5 and HTC 10.

The screen and chipset is ideal for VR, right? So we’re glad to hear that the phone is Daydream-ready. In other words, expect Google’s VR services to perform well on the handset.

The Chinese firm has also announced a VR headset at the Axon 7 event, dubbed ZTE VR, which will retail for RMB518 (R1227 as a straight conversion).

What else does the Axon 7 offer?

Camera technology is usually the main sticking point for brands with high-end aspirations, but ZTE seems to have a solid grip on things. There’s a 20MP F1.8 main camera and 8MP selfie shooter combination here. The main camera seems like a beast too, offering optical image stabilisation and recording in 4K, 1080p/60FPS, 720p/240FPS and even 480p/300FPS.

ZTE is hyping the Axon 7’s audio credentials as well, revealing “Hi Fi” recording and output.

A powerful phone is nothing without a decent battery, so what’s the Axon 7 packing? Well, the phone has a 3140mAh battery, with ZTE promising a full charge in 100 minutes (or 50% in 30 minutes) thanks to Quick Charge 3.0 tech.

Otherwise, a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C connectivity and dual-SIM support round out the phone’s features.

The Axon 7 will be available in three variants, with the basic and standard versions retailing for RMB2899 (R6872) and RMB3299 (R7821) respectively. The premium model, which packs 6GB of RAM, has a RMB4099 (R9716) price tag.