ZTE Axon 7 Review - Loudest Music Flagship

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The ZTE Axon 7 multimedia smartphone can easily replace a Bluetooth speaker, an advanced audio player or a professional voice recorder.

The ZTE Axon 7 is designed to squeeze out the flagships Xiaomi, Huawei and Meizu. It has an AMOLED display with a 2K resolution, a powerful filling, a stylish appearance, a good camera and excellent sound both in the speakers and in the headphones.

Specifications

Display	AMOLED, 5, 5 ″, 2 560 × 1 440, capacitive, multitouch (10 points)
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
Graphics Accelerator	Adreno 530
RAM	4/6 GB
Built-in memory	64/128 GB
Memory card support	MicroSDHC up to 256GB (combo slot)
Operating system	Android 6.0
Connection	GSM 900/1 800 MHz; UMTS 900/2 100 MHz; LTE: 1, 2, 4, 18 (for A2017G, Band 20 is supported by European version A2017)
SIM	2 nanoSIM (combo slot), Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS)
Wireless interfaces	Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n / ac, NFC, Bluetooth 4.2
Navigation	GPS, GLONASS
Cameras	Main - 20 Mp (flash, autofocus), front - 8 Mp
Sensors	Illumination, movement, microgyroscope, fingerprint scanner
Battery	3 250 mAh, non-removable
Dimensions (edit)	151.7 × 75 × 7.9 mm
The weight	175 g

Design

The all-metal Axon, created by BMW design studio, looks fresher than most smartphones from 2016-2017, even with a bulging camera and an adjacent groove for an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner.

The general line is continued by the difference between the body and the screen: the protective glass seems to be sunk into the depths. At the bottom, on a wide frame around the display, there are touch keys. In the same frame, there are built-in sensors on top.

The size of the smartphone and the layout of the controls allow you to effectively use the Axon 7 with one hand: your thumb on the screen and your index finger on the scanner are enough.

The lower end is decorated with a modern USB Type-C and the main microphone hole. The exact same one is on the upper edge, next to the classic 3.5 mm mini-jack for headphones.

The main design element of the Axon 7 is the grilles on the front panel - the speaker holes. This solution allows you to play or watch video with stereo sound without blocking the speakers.

Sound

The speakers have become the main design element for a reason. The developers equipped the ZTE Axon 7 with two high-quality digital-to-analog converters from Asahi Kasei Microdevices with a single amplifier that drives any portable headphones.

By default, the audio stream goes through a simple but high-quality AK4961. When Hi-Fi function is activated (only works with headphones), the file is converted by the flagship AK4490 with support for audio streaming in 32 bit / 768 kHz PCM or 11.2 MHz DSD quality. The sound bypasses standard Android playback tools, so there is no resampling (lowering the sound quality before playback). Most audio smartphones cannot do this!

Both DACs deliver amazingly spacious and clear sound. Any number of instruments can be distinguished in the recording. The smartphone sounds almost like a professional monitor device, allowing the user to choose headphones and sound on their own.

In addition, the Axon 7 has support for Dolby Atmos surround sound technology. She also works as the main "enhancer" when playing from the speakers.

The ZTE Axon 7 speakers easily cope with playback at maximum volume (which is louder than Bluetooth speakers of comparable dimensions) of the most difficult material. Does not choke on classical fugues, does not wheeze from four octaves of King Diamond and easily reproduces the lower range of grind core or Hvorostovsky.

Display

Powerful sound complements the good screen. The smartphone has a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1 440 × 2 560 pixels (honest diagonal, excluding frames), occupying 72% of the front surface.

Due to the high pixel density (538 ppi) PenTile (visible grid of subpixels on AMOLED screens) and the usual color inversion are absent. Moreover, the smartphone boasts an extended color gamut exceeding the declared sRGB.

Lack of brightness: it is only 333 cd / m². For comparison: the popular Xiaomi Mi5 boasts a figure of 670 cd / m². The position is saved by the good contrast, keeping the information on the Axon 7 display readable even in bright sunlight.

The touchscreen works without problems, the mode of use with gloves is supported.

Performance

ZTE Axon 7 has three modifications: with 4/64 GB, 4/128 GB and 6/128 GB of RAM and permanent memory, respectively. All of them use the proven Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 platform with the Adreno 530 graphics accelerator. The performance headroom of this quad-core solution will be enough for a couple of years to come.

Synthetic tests show that the younger version of the Axon 7 has good performance, but not a record one. Apparently, this is due to the amount of memory and the high-resolution screen.

In real-life tasks, it is impossible to notice the Axon 7 lagging behind the flagships of the market, such as the OnePlus 3T or iPhone 7. The interface is smooth, any games and applications run at maximum graphics settings.

The permanent memory is expandable with a microSDHC card, which can be installed in place of a second SIM card. The maximum size is 256 GB.

Software and interface

Out of the box, the ZTE Axon 7 runs a proprietary add-on MiFavor UI 4.0 based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. An update to version 5.0 based on Nougat is available.

Unlike many DIY handicrafts from other Chinese manufacturers, MiFavor gives the impression of a sophisticated and seamless system.

The system menu is supplemented with many convenient functions, including a quick settings page, a proprietary gesture control system, an on-screen navigation button, a power manager with detailed resource consumption analytics.

The considered Chinese version of the device may be sold without pre-installed Google services, but this is easily fixed.

Cameras

The main camera uses a module with a resolution of 20 megapixels, f / 1.8 aperture, phase detection autofocus, optical stabilization and two-color LED flash.

In daytime conditions, the camera works like this: pulled out a smartphone - got a good shot.

In complex scenarios or for artistic photography, you can use the Advanced Mode, which allows you to customize literally everything, including exposure, shutter speed and focusing distance. You can even select photometric modes.

When shooting at night, a slow shutter speed is automatically set, the ISO increases, and graininess appears. The manual mode saves a little.

The front camera uses an 8-megapixel sensor without autofocus with strong software post-processing.

The Axon 7 features 4K video recording as well. It turns out quite well: the stabilizer copes with its purpose, you can shoot it handheld and in difficult lighting.

Wireless interfaces

Like most competitors, the ZTE Axon 7 is equipped with a combined tray for two nanoSIMs. Switching is possible directly from the shutter, it works instantly.

The Chinese version of the device with the designation A2017G does not support LTE band 20. The European A2017 does not have this drawback.

The navigation module supports GPS, GLONASS and BeiDou. Reception is excellent, a cold start takes seconds. In addition, the ZTE Axon 7 is equipped with a Bluetooth 4.2 module, Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac /, and NFC reads "Troika".

Autonomy

The Axon 7 has a 3,250 mAh non-removable lithium-ion battery. Not much, but enough.

ZTE engineers have perfectly optimized the Snapdragon 820:

• video playback (2K, Airplane mode) - 6 hours;
• video playback (HD, Airplane mode) - 10, 5 hours;
• web surfing (4G) - 7 hours;
• GPS navigator mode (4G / Wi-Fi + cellular) - 5.5 hours;
• mixed mode - 16-40 hours.

The bundled charger supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0. The smartphone charges from zero to 50% in half an hour, to 100% in 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Bottom line: advanced multimedia flagship

The Axon 7 is the best ZTE smartphone and the best audiophile smartphone on the market.

Pros:

• original design and comfortable shape;
• excellent AMOLED display;
• good autonomy;
• great sound through speakers and headphones.

Minuses:

• weak front camera;
• high price.

If we evaluate the market, the Axon 7 has few rivals among smartphones with high-quality sound. Direct competitors - LG V20 or rare in Russia Vivo Xplay 5. The more common Lenovo X3 Vibe, Meizu Pro 6 (Plus) and LG V10 sound worse.

Plus, the ZTE Axon 7 is the cheapest smartphone on the list. Gold version with coupon AXONGBS costs $ 400, in gray - $ 380.