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Screw iphone/S7, Axon 7 is where its at (1440p, SD820, 4gb ram, hifi audio, $400)

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J

Jeffrey

Member
zte-axon-7-1.jpg

zte-axon-7-2.jpg


So this is ZTE's (chinese company you probably seen budget phones at your carriers) second attempt at a premium flagship phone for global, and it kinda nails it. It's a phone that's been getting a lot of buzz in the android OT ( a few people including me picked it up) and other communities, and for good reason.

-beautiful 5.5" 1440p AMOLED,
-snapdragon 820,
-4gb ram,
- 6.0.1 marshmallow.
-dual loud front facing speakers and up there with the best audio hardware in any smartphone..
- headphone jack!
-fingerprint sensor
-nfc
-first Daydream VR certified phone (headset will be out when Nougat is out).
-2 year limited warranty with unlimited accidental repairs with a deductible.
-64gb storage, with expandable SD card storage (or can be used as dual sim).
-quickcharge 3.0

http://www.gsmarena.com/zte_axon_7-8067.php


For $400 unlocked.



There are a few nags,

- the customization to the ROM is more miss than hit.
- stock dpi is way too high. (can easily be tweaked with adb).
-128gb/ 6gb ram version not available to buy internationally (yet).
- camera isn't great at low light,
- no unlocked bootloader atm (they say they are working on it, but no ZTE phone has had it before).
- no waterproof
- not as bright as samsung's screens.
- capacitive buttons are bunched together and aren't backlit. (no option for on screen buttons)
- no 60fps playback on youtube (need to wait for them to whitelist this phone to allow that).


Issues are pretty minor, this really is the first big competitor to Oneplus in the low price premium flagship market, Oneplus 3 still has advantages (6gb ram, unlocked bootloader, faster updates), but overall, Axon 7 has taken the crown for best flagship phone for the money, while smoking pretty much every phone out there in audio.


Some reviews:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kjl7HDc0REI

https://www.engadget.com/2016/07/30/zte-axon-7-review/#/

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/zte-axon-7,review-3815.html

http://www.androidcentral.com/zte-axon-7?utm_medium=slider&utm_campaign=navigation&utm_source=ac

http://www.androidauthority.com/zte-axon-7-review-704039/

http://www.pcmag.com/review/346194/zte-axon-7


They've blown through their initial stock and its kinda iffy on when more are shipping, but seems like early Sept is what reps are saying?

It's available at amazon,b&h, newegg (preorder gets you some free monster headphones), bestbuy. I'm reading its up on Amazon Germany for eu folks.

Unless you are waiting for the new Nexus (gonna be htc this year though... ), or just love apple that much, just... $400. Jeesh.

I've been Apple for my personal phone all these years, but getting the axon 7 after spending $850 on the disappointing iphone 6+. It's really hard to go back to Apple.
 
F

Fezan

Member
Chinese phones are getting better day by day. Of you don't use phone as a symbol status and just want bang for bucks nothing beat Chinese phones
 
C

CBTech

Member
How does this compare to the One Plus 3? I've been seriously considering the One Plus 3 so I'd like to know how this stacks up since they are the same price.
 
R

rashbeep

Banned
I'm just about on my last legs with my HTC One, and I really don't know where to go from there. Been frustrated with the device and the OS.
 
M

mackattk

Member
blame space said:
this shit is like made out of pure gold.. will this work on verizon??
Click to expand...

Yeah, from what I have seen, it does. Just pop the SIM in and you should be good to go.
.
I have had mine for about a week. Haven't had any trouble with it. Been really smooth. The sound quality has been great - the speakers sound a lot better than my Note 3, as well as the headphone jack. I can hear a big difference between the two.
 
H

Hoo-doo

Banned
This thing looks kinda bad.

And when are people going to realize that phones are more than just the summation of their specs/parts.
 
T

tzare

Member
how is battery life vs oneplus3? and camera?

I hope camera while not as good as samsung's S7 one, it should be , at least, s6 level.
 
N

norm9

Member
Battery life is my main concern. If it's comparable to my note 4, I might be in the market when mine conks out.

Noobcraft said:
Call me paranoid but I don't trust a Chinese company with my fingerprint/all my personal information
Click to expand...

All your personal info is already out there.
 
DOWN

DOWN

Banned
Ugly speaker grills and specs don't say a thing about what kind of support and user experience you are buying into
 
A

ahoyhoy

Unconfirmed Member
Will definitely read up on this. Have been waiting for a possible replacement for my S5.

How are the cases for this thing?
 
M

mackattk

Member
ahoyhoy said:
Will definitely read up on this. Have been waiting for a possible replacement for my S5.

How are the cases for this thing?
Click to expand...

It comes with a clear TPU case, screen protector, headphones, cable and QC3 charger. The case isn't the the best, but it will hold me over until more come out. The case selection is incredibly sparse right now.
 
K

kami_sama

Member
It has great specs and audio for the price, but it's a shame that it's bootloader is locked and they don't plan to unlock it. Until then, the OP3 is a better option.
 
andythinkpad

andythinkpad

Member
I wish all the China phone/tablet/laptop makers hadn't put their stupid logos in the back of the gadgets.

A brandless polished aluminum gadget would look so much better.
 
A

ahoyhoy

Unconfirmed Member
Google is telling me this does not work on CDMA carriers. OP should really list thst as a snag.
 
J

Jeffrey

Member
Vyer said:
support?
Click to expand...

DOWN said:
Ugly speaker grills and specs don't say a thing about what kind of support and user experience you are buying into
Click to expand...


There support seems as good as the warranty stuff you pay extra for.

https://www.zteusa.com/passport/

There updates are about as frequent as other android manufacturers. User experience is mostly stock android, I just installed Nova launcher asap.


Supermanisdead said:
im usually using headphones for anything that i need quality sound for. otherwise, bottom speakers are perfectly fine for me. imo, one plus x is probably the most beautiful phone since iphone 4.
Click to expand...

well, this phone does have a decent DAC so your headphones will sound better than your average phones.



Hoo-doo said:
This thing looks kinda bad.

And when are people going to realize that phones are more than just the summation of their specs/parts.
Click to expand...

It... kinda is? Well there is the OS, but its mostly stock anyways. Install google now launcher if you want.

reviews are positive, gaf impressions are positive, what else you need?
 
J

Jeffrey

Member
kami_sama said:
It has great specs and audio for the price, but it's a shame that it's bootloader is locked and they don't plan to unlock it. Until then, the OP3 is a better option.
Click to expand...


ahoyhoy said:
Google is telling me this does not work on CDMA carriers. OP should really list thst as a snag.
Click to expand...

reviews and users have said it works fine on verizon with a sim swap.

233725d1470003760t-does-axon-7-work-verizon-2554.jpg



I've not found any success/failure stories about it on Sprint.


DouglasteR said:
All good all good.

But where to (securely and easily) buy one ?
Click to expand...

Amazon, B&H, newegg, bestbuy has it available for preorder.
 
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