ZTE just confirmed that its Axon 30 Android phone is coming to the U.S. later this year — featuring under-display camera technology and a retail price of $499. If there's one smartphone trend that's quickly picking up steam, it's the under-display camera. After years of notches and hole-punch cutouts taking up precious display real-estate, companies are now hiding cameras underneath the screen itself. It's already showing up in mainstream releases despite being bleeding-edge technology — such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3.
The ZTE name may not carry the same weight in North America as Apple or Samsung, but the company has been behind some of the more interesting Android gadgets in recent memory. The company's Red Magic 6 is one of the better gaming smartphones available in 2021, the ZTE Nubia Watch featured one of the most outlandish smartwatch designs ever seen, and last year's Axon 20 was the first smartphone to ship with an under-display camera. These experimental products don't always pay off, but that doesn't stop ZTE from pushing forward with them.
As the name suggests, the Axon 30 is a successor to the Axon 20. It was released at the beginning of the month in China, but at the time, ZTE hadn't confirmed availability outside of its home country. Thankfully, the phone is soon headed to a bunch of additional markets — including the United States. The Axon 30 will be available in the U.S. starting September 9 for a surprisingly low price of just $499. In other areas around the globe, the Axon 30 will cost €499 and £429.
Why The Axon 30 Could Be A Steal For $499
The ZTE Axon 30 may look like any other Android phone at first, but the star of the show is that 16MP under-display selfie camera. ZTE claims that the Axon 30's camera tech is a substantial improvement over the Axon 20. There are improvements to the driver circuits, ZTE's selfie algorithm, better transparent materials, and a pixel density up to 400 ppi for the display portion covering the camera — making ZTE the "first in the world" to have an under-display camera with that sharp of a resolution. As innovative as the Axon 20 was, its under-display camera tech clearly had a ways to go. If the Axon 30 has truly made it less visible, it could rival under-display cameras found on much more expensive phones like the Z Fold 3.
Outside of the under-display camera, the rest of the Axon 30 sounds like a solid package. There's a 6.92-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, Qualcomm Snapdragon 870G processor, and a quad-camera system on the back. Here, the Axon 30 touts a 64MP primary camera, 8MP ultra-wide camera, 5MP macro camera, and 2MP depth camera. Other specs include a respectable 4,200 mAh battery, 55W fast charging, an in-screen fingerprint sensor, and expandable storage.
For that $499 asking price, the Axon 30 ships with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. If folks step up to the $599 model, those specs are increased to 12GB and 256GB, respectively. It remains to be seen how the Axon 30 holds up in day-to-day use, but at least on paper, it could very well be a sleeper hit Android phone for 2021. The specs are solid, the design is striking, and the improvements to the under-display camera sound mighty impressive. If all of that comes together to create a good user experience, the Axon 30 may be one of the better ways to spend $499 this year.
Source: ZTE