Joining the ZTE Max XL launched at Boost Mobile earlier today is another ZTE handset, this one arriving at US Cellular. The ZTE Blade Max 3 is a phablet with a 6-inch Full HD display and massive 4,000mAh battery able to get users through an entire day without charging. The phone is modestly priced at $199, and US Cellular is offering it with an optional device payment plan for 30 months.
ZTE has unveiled a new budget-tier smartphone, the ZTE Max XL. This phone packs a ginormous 6-inch display with a Full HD resolution, and does so solidly within the budget-tier: the price sits at a modest $128 USD. Joining the huge display is a very sleek, somewhat minimalist and modern design not unlike the kind found on higher-end handsets. The phone has launched at Boost Mobile.
Reports of an inbound ZTE Quartz smartwatch surfaced back in February, and following that it leaked again in March. Now the wearable has been made official in a roundabout sort of way, appearing on T-Mobile's website as an upcoming product. Though the model is currently listed only as 'coming soon,' the T-Mobile product page does reveal the watch's various features.
You know that dual cameras are the next big thing when even "budget friendly" smartphones start sporting two cameras on their backs. And decent ones at that! ZTE sub-brand nubia has just announced the nubia Z17 mini and while its specs and design might not completely impress, for its price you are promised an acceptable, though perhaps not superb, twin 13 megapixel shooters of your own in the tradition of Huawei and Apple.
All the new Android smartphones released this year so far, including the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+, might have distracted you from one sad truth. Not all of last year's models have the joy of running Android 7.0 or 7.1.1 Nougat yet. As always, the dreaded slow-paced rollout of Android updates is keeping users from getting the latest and greatest Android version. But if you're an HTC 10 owner on Verizon's network, that painful waiting stops now. And if you own an unlocked ZTE Axon 7 Mini, it won't be long before you get your treat as well.
Android Wear is already at its second major version but ZTE has yet to actually launch its first smartwatch. Long-rumored and almost forever-delayed, that smartwatch might finally be arriving real soon. At least if you consider these leaked photos that show a retail-ready form of the ZTE Quartz. That said, if you also consider the information that came with the images, you might wonder if it was worth the wait at all.
When ZTE sub-brand nubia released the nubia N1 last year, it barely made a peep. With the less capable but supposedly more affordable nubia N1 lite, however, it is devoting some MWC 2017 space for it. Which is even more ironic considering the N1 lite is truly a “lite” version of the N1, though nubia promises that it has just enough features to be worth its cost.
Just last month, ZTE launched its popular Blade brand in the US with the Blade V8 Pro. The point of the brand was to offer some semblance of premium features at a not so premium price. At MWC 2017, the Chinese OEM is unveiling two “offshoots” of the Blade V8 line, the Blade V8 Mini and the Blade V8 Lite. Unlike the more or less generic Blade V8 Pro, these two focus their energies, not to mention their specs, on specific user groups that may have needs that another group may not want.
ZTE has cancelled its Project CSX phone Kickstarter, saying in an update on the crowdfunding website that it is ‘phasing out’ the funding campaign due to feedback from its Z-Community and through Kickstarter itself. The company goes on to say that despite phasing out the campaign, the project itself may not be over, as it is ‘reevaluating the device’ with consideration of the future.
It seems Chinese company ZTE has a new product in the pipeline, and it comes in the form of a smartwatch. Reportedly called the ZTE Quartz, this smartwatch is poised to become the company’s first Android Wear product, signaling its move into a new market. The watch was recently the source of a leak that included an alleged photo of the product, which features a sporty blue-and-black band.
ZTE is making good on its commitment to deliver a quality Android smartphone experience to the US. In addition to bringing models like the Blade V8 Pro, Axon 7 mini, and, of course, the Axon 7 itself, the Chinese OEM is now rolling out Android 7.0 Nougat to its 2016 flagship. But it isn't just the sweetness of the latest Android version that will land in users' hands. ZTE is also using the opportunity to add some value to the Axon 7 with Daydream VR support as well as free caller ID and spam blocking via Hiya.
With the perks of getting help, even funding, from the public comes the risks of increased scrutiny and sometimes even scathing criticism. Such is the lesson that ZTE is learning now after what was a smooth-flowing crowdsourced stunt turned into a crowdfunding disappointment. The Kickstarter for Hawkeye, the crowdsourced eye-tracking self-adhesive phone, seems to be beyond hope and ZTE is very likely to just cancel it. Not all hope, however, is lost because that could give way to a new Kickstarter with a higher end smartphone being offered.