ZTE Axon 7 Mini Delivers Well-Designed Handset for Affordable Price

In an attempt to take on the likes of Apple and Samsung, ZTE is launching the Axon 7 Mini, a smartphone that comes with several notable features but is priced at just under $300.

If the ZTE Axon 7 Mini looks familiar, there’s a good reason for that. The device’s design was modeled after the bigger and more expensive Axon 7, one of ZTE’s most powerful smartphones. Like the more expensive alternative, the Axon 7 Mini has a big screen on the front, hardly any bezel above and below its display and a metal finish. Although the price is relatively low, the ZTE Axon 7 Mini still manages a look of luxury.

Since this is a cheap smartphone, it’s perhaps no surprise it doesn’t come with groundbreaking performance. The smartphone ships with an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor and the Adreno 405 GPU. Users also will get 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. That should suffice for standard apps, but programs that require more resources for sophisticated features might bog down the Axon 7 Mini.

It’s still uncommon to find a fingerprint sensor in such a cheap device, but the Axon 7 Mini is bucking that trend. In a somewhat surprising move, ZTE announced that the Axon 7 Mini will come with a fingerprint sensor on the back that will be used to unlock the Android software it runs on, as well as facilitate mobile payments. It’s an unexpected, but welcome, inclusion.

The ZTE Axon 7 Mini ships with a 2,705mAh battery, a sizable cell for a cheap device. With such a big battery, ZTE says the handset can last for up to 15 hours during continuous talk time and 270 hours on standby. Better yet, its battery can regain 50 percent of its life after just 30 minutes of charging.

The ZTE Axon 7 Mini comes with a 5.2-inch screen. According to ZTE, the display is based on AMOLED technology and delivers full HD resolution. It might not be the best-looking screen on the market, but it should suffice for anyone looking to do basic things on the handset such as play games or watch videos.

ZTE has invested in audio quality with the Axon 7 Mini. According to the company, the smartphone will ship with Dolby ATMOS digital surround sound support and features dual stereo speakers to deliver an appealing audio experience. In addition, the Axon 7 Mini has HiFi audio support for better-sounding music and voice quality.

Unlike a growing number of high-end devices hitting the market, the Axon 7 Mini doesn’t come with dual rear-facing cameras. However, its single rear-facing lens should capture solid shots. The sensor comes with 16 megapixels and can capture video in full HD. The front-facing camera, with its 8 megapixels and wide-angle lens, should work just fine for selfie-seekers.

Like the Axon 7, the Axon 7 Mini comes with the customer’s choice of dual-SIM or microSD card support. The device comes with a larger SIM tray that holds a SIM on one side. On the other side, users can choose whether to bundle a microSD card up to 128GB in size or a second SIM for global travel. It’s a simple feature that might get overlooked, but for anyone traveling globally, it’s a must-have.

ZTE is offering its Passport 2.0 warranty option with the Axon 7 Mini, which gives users 30 days to try out the smartphone and offers exchanges if they want to upgrade to another device. More importantly, it offers a full two-year warranty, replacement assistance if the phone is irreparably harmed and unlimited out-of-warranty repairs. It’s one of the most highly regarded warranties in the mobile market.

ZTE is selling the Axon 7 Mini unlocked for just $299.98. The device can be run on just about any carrier, including those on GSM and CDMA networks run by AT&T and Verizon, respectively. The Axon 7 Mini, in other words, is one of the cheapest smartphones on the market that still comes with high-end features. For that reason, its value argument is awfully strong.