ZTE has unveiled two new Android devices powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chips. One is the company’s latest flagship smartphone (which makes the choice of a year-old processor interesting), while the other is a premium tablet (where the use of that same chip makes it one of the most powerful Android tablets around).
The ZTE Axon 50 Ultra smartphone and ZTE Axon Pad 5G tablet should be available soon in China. It’s unclear if or when we’ll see them in other countries.
The Axon 50 Ultra features a 6.67 inch, 2400 x 1800 pixel curved AMOLED display with a 144 Hz refresh rate, LPDDR5X memory, UFS 3.1 storage, DTS:X audio, a 5,000 mAh battery, and 80W fast charging support.
It has a 64MP Sony IMX787 primary camera, a 50MP telephoto lens for 3X Zoom, and a 50MP ultrawide camera.
But the phone’s stand-out feature might be that it’s ZTE’s first device to jump on the satellite communications bandwagon. The company says customers will be able to use it for 2-way messaging using the BeiDou satellite system, allowing them to send and receive text messages when they’re out of range of terrestrial cellular or WiFi networks.
The Axon Pad 5G doesn’t have satellite capabilities, but the 12.1 inch tablet does support WiFi and 5G cellular networks.
It has a 2560 x 1600 pixel IPS LCD display with a 120 Hz refresh rate, a 10,000 mAh battery with support for 80W fast charging, and support for optional accessories including a digital pen and detachable keyboard.
The tablet measures 6.5mm (0.26 inches) thick and weighs 605 grams (1.3 pounds). ZTE hasn’t revealed pricing or availability details yet.
I wonder if the two way satellite communication will be of any use to people using grey importers. Is the service included (maybe for a limited time?)? Can they communicate with anyone or only others on the service?
Anyways, it’ll be interesting what happens with this and the import market.