Introduction
ZTE is back in the cheap and cheerful flagship race with the Axon 7. The company has its aim set up high, and we can't help but see the OnePlus 3 as a locked target.
The thing is, the Axon 7 has a potential to aim for the stars of the show - the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 7. Not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination, but ZTE has managed to bring almost every conceivable high-end smartphone feature in the book in a bill that fits nearly all budgets. And who doesn't love that?
The result is nothing short of amazing - both visually and internally. On the exterior, there's the aluminum unibody design with a slim profile and narrow bezels. Taking a tour of the inside reveals a very fast chipset, ample battery, and a promising camera setup.
You'd think that this didn't go well by ZTE's accountants, but somehow it all added up to a price that's half what the industry's Goliaths go for.
Here's a short list of what else the ZTE Axon 7 packs.
Key features
- 5.5" AMOLED display of 2560x1440 pixels resolution, 538ppi (Corning Gorilla Glass 4)
- Full metal unibody design with stereo speakers (Dolby Atmos)
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset, quad-core Kryo CPU; Adreno 530 GPU
- 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage
- Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with MiFavor UI 4.0
- 20MP camera with a LED flash, f/1.8 aperture, OIS, PDAF+ contrast detection; 4K video recording
- 8MP front-facing camera with f/2.2 aperture, 1080p video
- 3,250mAh Li-Po battery with Quick Charge 3.0 (50% in 30 minutes)
- Hybrid DualSIM/microSD card slot (up to 128GB)
- Cat. 7 LTE (300/150Mbps); dual-band Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct; Bluetooth 4.2 LE; NFC; GPS/GLONASS; USB Type-C
- Available in Ion Gold, Quartz Gray
Main disadvantages
- Non-removable battery
- Hybrid DualSIM/microSD card slot limits options on the dual-SIM model
- Lacks water-resistance
- No backlight on the front-facing buttons
- No FM Radio
It's hard to spot any major compromises here. It's quite obvious that the ZTE Axon 7 targets people who listen to lots of music and watch videos regularly. Especially judging by the front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos enhancement which are rare to come by.
The Snapdragon 820 is mighty quick and while there are phones with 6GB of RAM, the Axon 7's 4GB are quite enough, too.
We all agree that everything looks dandy on the surface, right? Right. But what we're going to explore now is whether the ZTE has managed to give the Axon 7 that X-factor, which would make it from an excellent offering to a must-have device.
Unboxing the ZTE Axon 7
The Axon 7 ships in a very stylish box, which is at the same time looking modest. However, that's far from what ZTE has included inside.
In addition to the phone, you get the Quick Charge 3.0 power adapter (3A - 5.0V / 2A - 9.0V), USB Type-C cable, and premium headphones with a design inspired by the Apple EarPods. Lifting the manual on the left unfolds a USB Type-C to microUSB adapter, SIM slot ejector tool tucked in a rubber keychain, and at the bottom of it all, there's a silicone case.
The retail package is generous
ZTE Axon 7 360-degree spin
The ZTE Axon 7 measures 151.7 x 75 x 7.9 mm and weighs 175 grams - narrower and shorter than the OnePlus 3, but quite heavier as well.
Design and build quality
The Axon 7 follows the design foundation laid by the original ZTE Axon, which came out back in October last year. Back then, we admired the breath of fresh air exuded by the company, and now we're glad to see this design evolve.
The evolution is marked with a big dose of maturity, as the flamboyant design elements from the Axon 7's predecessor are gone now. No more triangle cutouts, dual-tone accents or an excellent blue paint job are present.
Whether that's a good or a bad thing is a matter of taste, and as far as our goes, we like the result. Both the original Axon and this new one have a character of their own, which works equally well. Kudos for ZTE for pulling off both an outlandish and a stylish design equally well.
The Axon 7 looks and feels premium, and that's paramount. The aluminum unibody design takes care of that, while the subtle lines and well laid out hardware leaves you with the rightful impression that ZTE has given this phone a plethora of attention in the design process.
The front of the phone houses the dual stereo speaker setup with a subtle dot pattern. Squished in between them and the display are two narrow black lines: the bottom features capacitive navigation buttons, while the top one has only the notification LED light. It could've easily been in one of the holes of the speaker holes, but that'd have mixed the balance of the phone.
Handling the ZTE Axon 7
Sadly, the aluminum unibody of the Axon 7 proves to be slippery more often than not. The rounded sides of the phone don't help much with the handling, especially in conjunction with the slim profile. The included silicone case improves this, though.
Controls
Above the 5.5" QHD display, there's an 8MP selfie snapper and below it is a couple of sensors (they're hard to see sitting on that black line).
The top of the Axon 7
Below the display, there are the aforementioned capacitive keys. For some reason, ZTE hasn't managed to light them up, so they are hard to use in the dark. Quite a bummer, really.
The capacitive keys are never to be lit
The left side is where the hybrid card slot is. It can accommodate two nano-SIM cards, or you can swap the second one for a microSD card. Sure, it limits the options, but at least you have options, right?
The volume rocker and the power key, both made of metal, are on the right. They're pleasantly clicky, too.
The left side � the hybrid slot � the right side � the power key and volume rocker
The top houses the audio jack and the second mic, while the bottom has the USB Type-C port and the primary mic.
The top side � the audio jack � the bottom � the bottom has the mic and USB Type-C port
Around the back we find the more grown-up design approach ZTE took with the Axon 7, compared to its predecessor. The 20MP camera has a noticeable bump - it's not a big deal when the phone lies on its back, and is somewhat tolerable when you start tapping the screen in that position.
What's on the back
The fingerprint sensor is right below the camera, and it's of the "always-on" variety so it would wake and unlock the phone even when the screen is turned off. The reader is accurate and it unlocks the phone lightning fast.
Display
The ZTE Axon 7 is flaunting a 5.5" AMOLED panel with a QHD resolution (1440 x 2560 pixels). With a pixel density of 538ppi and a 2.5D glass that very subtly goes to the edges of the phone, it's a gorgeous display to look at.
We measured the brightness of the display and it peaks at 352 nits, which isn't bright by today's standards. There are competitors out there which max out at 500 nits and beyond in bright conditions. Minimum brightness is 4.4 nits so it it should go easy on the eyes when you use the phone in a dark place.
As for color reproduction accuracy, there are various screen modes to choose from, and the "colorful" one is, surprisingly, has the smallest devation of average DeltaE of 8. That's better than avrage but not among the best. The screen effects don't improve the color accuracy much, and neither do cool/warm modes.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | ||
| 0.00 | 352 | 8 | |
| 0.00 | 433 | 8 | |
| 0.00 | 392 | 8 | |
| 0.00 | 610 | 8 | |
| 0.00 | 408 | 8 | |
| 0.43 | 475 | 1097 | |
| 0.59 | 628 | 1064 | |
| 0.00 | 372 | 8 | |
| 0.00 | 425 | 8 | |
| 0.00 | 536 | 8 | |
| 0.38 | 439 | 1158 | |
| 0.00 | 373 | 8 | |
| 0:00 | 684 | 8 | |
You'll have absolutely no problems using the Axon 7 outside, even in bright sunlight. The phone's sunlight contrast ratio is among the best around, in spite of the relatively low maximum brightness.
Sunlight contrast ratio
- Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
4.615 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
4.439 - OnePlus 3
4.424 - Samsung Galaxy S7
4.376 - HTC One A9
4.274 - Samsung Galaxy Note7
4.247 - Samsung Galaxy A3
4.241 - ZTE Axon 7
4.154 - Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
4.124 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
4.09 - Huawei Nexus 6P
4.019 - OnePlus X
3.983 - Vivo Xplay5 Elite
3.983 - Oppo R7s
3.964 - Apple iPhone 7
3.964 - Huawei P9 Plus
3.956 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
3.918 - Samsung Galaxy C5
3.911 - Samsung Galaxy C7
3.896 - Samsung Galaxy A5
3.895 - Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
3.879 - Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
3.873 - Samsung Galaxy A8
3.859 - Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
3.817 - Motorola Moto X (2014)
3.816 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
3.802 - LG V20 Max auto
3.798 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
3.798 - Sony Xperia XZ
3.795 - Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
3.789 - Apple iPhone 6s
3.783 - Meizu Pro 5
3.781 - Microsoft Lumia 650
3.772 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.756 - Oppo F1 Plus
3.709 - Vivo X5Pro
3.706 - Sony Xperia X Compact
3.694 - Apple iPhone SE
3.681 - Samsung Galaxy A7
3.679 - Meizu PRO 6
3.659 - BlackBerry Priv
3.645 - Apple iPhone 7 Plus
3.588 - Apple iPhone 6s Plus
3.53 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
3.523 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
3.523 - Acer Jade Primo
3.521 - Microsoft Lumia 950
3.512 - Oppo R7 Plus
3.499 - nubia Z11
3.466 - Samsung Galaxy J7
3.422 - Meizu MX5
3.416 - LG V20
3.402 - Oppo R7
3.32 - Samsung Galaxy J2
3.235 - Sony Xperia X Performance
3.234 - Motorola Moto X Play
3.222 - Huawei P9
3.195 - Lenovo Vibe Shot
3.113 - Motorola Moto X Force
3.105 - LG Nexus 5X
3.092 - Huawei Mate S
3.073 - Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
3.065 - Apple iPhone 6 Plus
3.023 - Sony Xperia X
2.989 - Samsung Galaxy Note
2.97 - Huawei Mate 8
2.949 - Xiaomi Redmi 3S
2.913 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
2.906 - LG G5
2.905 - HTC One S
2.901 - Sony Xperia Z5
2.876 - Microsoft Lumia 550
2.851 - Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
2.803 - Sony Xperia Z5 compact
2.784 - LG V10
2.744 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
2.735 - Sony Xperia M5
2.69 - Huawei P9 Lite
2.679 - Vivo V3Max
2.659 - Xiaomi Mi 4i
2.641 - Sony Xperia XA
2.609 - Xiaomi Mi 4c
2.574 - LeEco Le Max 2
2.567 - Microsoft Lumia 640
2.563 - Lenovo Moto G4
2.544 - Oppo F1
2.528 - Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
2.525 - Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
2.506 - Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
2.503 - Oppo F1s
2.481 - Motorola Moto G
2.477 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
2.473 - Huawei G8
2.471 - Huawei nova
2.467 - Sony Xperia Z
2.462 - Lenovo Vibe K5
2.459 - Huawei Honor 7
2.406 - Sony Xperia E5
2.386 - ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
2.382 - Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
2.378 - HTC 10
2.378 - Huawei nova plus
2.329 - HTC One E9+
2.305 - Alcatel One Touch Hero
2.272 - Apple iPhone 4S
2.269 - Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
2.254 - Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
2.253 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
2.249 - Sony Xperia C4 Dual
2.235 - Xiaomi Mi Note
2.234 - Motorola Moto G (2014)
2.233 - LG Nexus 5
2.228 - Huawei P8
2.196 - Huawei Honor 6
2.169 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
2.166 - OnePlus Two
2.165 - HTC One X
2.158 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
2.145 - LG Aka
2.145 - Archos 50 Diamond
2.134 - Xiaomi Redmi Note
2.119 - Acer Liquid X2
2.084 - Huawei P8lite
2.078 - Moto G 3rd gen max manual
2.026 - Xiaomi Mi Max
1.996 - Sony Xperia E4g
1.972 - OnePlus One
1.961 - Meizu m3 note
1.923 - Meizu m2 note
1.892 - BlackBerry Leap
1.892 - HTC Butterfly
1.873 - ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
1.759 - Sony Xperia U
1.758 - Asus Zenfone Selfie
1.68 - Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
1.675 - ZTE Nubia Z9
1.659 - Jolla Jolla
1.605 - Motorola Moto E
1.545 - Sony Xperia M
1.473 - HTC Desire C
1.3 - Sony Xperia C
1.283 - Meizu MX
1.221 - Sony Xperia E
1.215
Battery life
The ZTE Axon 7 features a 3250mAh Li-Po battery, which is a bit larger than the one found in the OnePlus 3 (3000mAh). Axon 7's battery features Qualcomm's Quick Charge 3.0 tech, which allows you to fill the battery up to 50% in 30 minutes.
Naturally, we put Axon 7's battery through its paces in our Endurance rating and the result is a rating of 70 hours (66 hours with the two SIM card slots filled in). That's slightly better than the OnePlus 3's result of 66 hours.
ZTE boasts the phone to last 16 hours of talk time and our test confirms this. And to take the comparison with the OnePlus 3 a step further, the Axon 7 manages to beat it in the web browsing test by a comfortable margin of 3 hours. In video playback, however, the Axon 7 lasts 2 hours and 30 minutes less.
ZTE has equipped the Axon 7 with a plethora of battery saving feature. For starters, you have the "Smart power-save" option, which adjusts the CPU frequency according to usage scenarios. When the juice goes below 15%, the "ultra power saving mode" kick is. It makes the screen go black and white and disables Mobile data, Bluetooth and GPS, reduces brightness and enables faster sleep mode.
Elaborate Power Usage app
The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
Connectivity
The Axon 7 is properly equipped in terms of connectivity. The radio support includes up to four 2G bands, five 3G bands, and a slew of 4G bands. The LTE connectivity is Cat.7 which means up to 300Mbps downlink and up to 150Mbps uplink.
It comes with a hybrid nano-SIM/microSD slot. The secondary card can only hook to 2G networks while the primary one gets the full set of cellular connectivity.
There's a full set of a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi standards on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot and DLNA media sharing on supported TVs and PCs.
The GPS support includes A-GPS and GLONASS. Sadly, there isn't an FM radio present.
A 3.5mm jack provides the standard audio connectivity option. There is the new USB Type-C connector for charging and data connections. Mind you, it defaults to charge-only every single time you connect it to a PC, and you have to manually switch the mode from the notification area if you want to do something else.
MiFavor 4.0 on top of Malvavisco
That's Marshmallow in Spanish, if you're wondering, but we digress. ZTE's custom launcher doesn't change the Android looks as much as some of the other Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi or Huawei. In fact, with MiFavor 4.0, the Axon 7 reminds us of the latest Sony offerings in term of user experience.
That's because ZTE has slightly skinned the vanilla Android experience without messing too much about additional functionality. There's no split-screen view baked in (that's left for the Nubia brand) or a custom task switcher, for example.
That's not to say that using the MiFavor 4.0 UI isn't a nice experience, right on the contrary. However, there are slight frustrations, which take away from the otherwise okay feel of the launcher.
Let's start with the lockscreen. It's a typical Android affair with shortcuts to the dialer and camera, but for some reason there's absolutely no way to see pending notifications. For that to happen, you have to tap on the bell icon on the top left corner - it's quite frustrating, as waking the phone is often just about checking up on the new notifications and you have to go through an extra step to check them out.
The lockscreen requires an additional step to check notifications
When you get past the lockscreen, you see a standard Android homescreen with a few customizable shortcuts docked at the bottom and visible on all panes. A pinch on the homescreen triggers the familiar menu for managing the launcher's look, widgets and apps.
The homescreen � Opening a folder � Customizing the launcher
You can change the look of the icons, control the blurriness of the background and change the effect of the swipe animation between homescreens. There are also predefined themes accessible from the Settings menu, but you can't download additional ones as for all we know, there is no Theme store.
Limited theme options
The notification area is unchanged from stock Android. You can move the toggles around or mass clear any pending notifications.
Standard notification area
The Task switcher is also unchanged from stock Marshmallow. What's custom is the Mi-Pop shortcut button, which sits on top of the rest of the UI. Giving it a slight nudge would reveal custom shortcuts to different actions - going Home or Back, viewing Recent apps or even taking a screenshot.
The default Task swicther � Mi-Pop shortcut button
The Settings menu is slightly customized by ZTE to offer some better organized options. There are also some interesting customizations like custom Gestures and motions setting. It allows you to answer a call by just lifting the phone and placing it to your ear or declining one by flipping the phone over. Features like that have been around for years on other phones but it's nice to have them here too.
The Settings menu � Gestures and
Overall, the UI feels well made, but lacks the customization options that we've become accustomed to, especially from Chinese phone makers. We have some minor grudges with the MiFavor 4 UI, but overall it works just fine on a daily basis.
Performance
The ZTE Axon 7 is powered by a Snapdragon 820 chipset, which is pretty much as good as a mobile chipset for Android gets these days and to find it in a device in this price range is rather amazing. As a result, the Axon 7 is capable of stepping up to the ring of the big 2016 flagships.
It only seems natural to pit the Axon 7 against the likes of the OnePlus 3, Huawei Honor 8 and even the big dogs from Samsung, LG and HTC.
We kick things off with GeekBench 4 and AnTuTu, which is a compound benchmark. Sadly for ZTE, it turns out that the Axon 7 isn't as feisty as the rest of the Snapdragon 820 crop. The gap in the results isn't worrying though, and we are inclined to think that poor software optimization is to blame.
In the CPU-based GeekBench tests, especially the multi-core one, the Axon 7 is left in the dust of the Galaxy S7 and the Kirin chip found in the Huawei Honor 8.
GeekBench 4 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Huawei Honor 8
5447 - Samsung Galaxy S7
5245 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
4456 - Lenovo Moto Z Droid
4130 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon)
4128 - OnePlus 3
4045 - ZTE Axon 7
3990 - LG V20
3890 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
3885
GeekBench 4 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Samsung Galaxy S7
1854 - Huawei Honor 8
1720 - OnePlus 3
1719 - ZTE Axon 7
1702 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon)
1696 - Lenovo Moto Z Droid
1694 - LG V20
1590 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
1551 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
1546
AnTuTu 6
Higher is better
- HTC 10
154031 - Lenovo Moto Z Droid
151619 - OnePlus 3
141764 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon)
132849 - Samsung Galaxy S7
132084 - ZTE Axon 7
129926 - LG V20
101167 - Huawei Honor 8
94892 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
85162 - Alcatel IDOL 4S
82744 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
77442 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
35134
Moving on to graphics, the Adreno 530 inside the Snapdragon 820 is a definite powerhouse by current standards. The QHD resolution of the Axon 7's 5.5" panel doesn't seem to be much of a hurdle for the GPU. Sadly, the slight, but notable, performance handicap we saw in the CPU department is present in GPU tests as well.
Our review unit didn't exhibit any signs of overheating during the tests, so the culprit is definitely not thermal throttling.
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- Lenovo Moto Z Droid
32 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon)
32 - ZTE Axon 7
31 - HTC 10
31 - OnePlus 3
31 - Samsung Galaxy S7
28 - Huawei Honor 8
10 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
9.5 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
9.5 - Alcatel IDOL 4S
9.3 - Huawei Mate S
3
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3
30 - Lenovo Moto Z Droid
18 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon)
16 - ZTE Axon 7
15 - Samsung Galaxy S7
15 - HTC 10
15 - Huawei Honor 8
11 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
9.5 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
9.4 - Alcatel IDOL 4S
5.1 - Huawei Mate S
3.4
GFX 3.1 Car scene (offscreen)
Higher is better
- Lenovo Moto Z Droid
19 - OnePlus 3
18 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon)
18 - HTC 10
18 - ZTE Axon 7
15 - Samsung Galaxy S7
15 - Huawei Honor 8
6.3 - Alcatel IDOL 4S
5.6 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
5.4 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
5.4
GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3
18 - ZTE Axon 7
16 - Lenovo Moto Z Droid
12 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon)
10 - HTC 10
9.9 - Samsung Galaxy S7
7.9 - Huawei Honor 8
6.9 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
5.4 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
5.4 - Alcatel IDOL 4S
3.4
Basemark OS II
Higher is better
- Lenovo Moto Z Droid
2698 - OnePlus 3
2677 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon)
2045 - Huawei Honor 8
2029 - Samsung Galaxy S7
2004 - HTC 10
1965 - ZTE Axon 7
1889 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
1648 - Alcatel IDOL 4S
1575 - Huawei Mate S
981
Basemark X
Higher is better
- Lenovo Moto Z Droid
36322 - OnePlus 3
32715 - Samsung Galaxy S7
32345 - ZTE Axon 7
32243 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon)
32160 - HTC 10
28882 - Huawei Honor 8
16592 - Alcatel IDOL 4S
14651 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
13666 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
12190 - Huawei Mate S
5368 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
5210
Basemark OS 2.0
Higher is better
- Lenovo Moto Z Droid
2690 - OnePlus 3
2365 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon)
2352 - ZTE Axon 7
2346 - Samsung Galaxy S7
2128 - Huawei Honor 8
2099 - HTC 10
1839 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
1728 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
1696 - Alcatel IDOL 4S
1647 - Huawei Mate S
914
Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal
Higher is better
- Samsung Galaxy S7
732 - Lenovo Moto Z Droid
648 - OnePlus 3
625 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon)
624 - ZTE Axon 7
606 - Huawei Honor 8
345 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
287 - Alcatel IDOL 4S
244
All in all, the performance offered by the Axon 7's hardware is spectacular, although not trailblazing. It's a well spec'd phone, which is let down by poor utilization of its resources. On a positive note, it's still plenty fast and responsive. You won't have any troubles or hiccups using the Axon 7, even under heavy loads.
Telephony
The Axon 7 offers very good sound quality during phone calls and the dual-mic setup works well, too. The SIM card manager in the settings is also decent enough to give you some control over the SIM cards in the phone.
The Dialer app is untouched from vanilla Android
The Dialer itself is pretty basic and reminds us of the stock Android one. It includes the phone app and a shortcut to a list of contacts and groups.
As you know by now,the ZTE Axon 7 features dual front-facing speakers and it's impressively loud. So loud, in fact, that it secures its place among the top performers in recent times. These speakers are certainly one of the defining features of this phone.
Even the LG V20 isn't a match for the Axon 7's speaker prowess. The phone is also Dolby Atmos certified and a special option in the notification shade toggles the mode on. Having it on alters the sound to sound subjectively richer and more surround-like. We found it perfect for watching movies, but it's not ideal for listening to music, at least not all of the time.
| Speakerphone test | Voice, dB | Ringing | Overall score | |
| 66.2 | 64.8 | 66.8 | Below Average | |
| 66.0 | 65.8 | 66.6 | Below Average | |
| 68.1 | 71.8 | 69.4 | Good | |
| 70.0 | 69.1 | 71.8 | Good | |
| 62.4 | 71.0 | 77.8 | Good | |
| 68.7 | 70.9 | 73.5 | Good | |
| 68.2 | 68.6 | 80.9 | Good | |
| 66.4 | 72.2 | 84.1 | Very Good |
Be warned, though, that those speakers are a double-edged sword, as notifications and ringtones are so loud that at a certain point the become nagging.
Messaging and text input
Messaging is handled by a rather plain messaging app, which doesn't have a lot of options. A notable one is the ability to back up your SMS messages. You can also customize the look of the text bubbles and font size.
The Messaging app
The Google Keyboard is at the forefront of the typing experience and it's a good choice by ZTE. Google's Keyboard has matured well over the last six months and offers plenty of options for customization and Swype-like functionality.
Still, power users who type a lot on their smartphones will be better off with third-party alternatives like SwiftKey.
Other Apps
You get a neat folder full of Google's own Android goodies. This includes Chrome, Gmail, Maps, YouTube, Drive, Play Music, Hangouts, Photos and the Google app itself.
Standard Google Apps package
Beyond that, you also get a nifty compass, a recorder, a calculator, and a flashlight. There is also a ruler, a loudness meter, a protractor, and a plumb line. They're all packed in a Toolkit app.
The Toolkit app offers rich options
ZTE ships its own Browser in addition to Google Chrome. It's very well made and offers a ton of features. You can capture a full page screenshot, download stuff using the download manager and scan QR codes for quick access to websites.
ZTE's custom Browser nice
Gallery
The image gallery is also pretty straightforward. You get a Photos tab with a timeline of all your shots and a Gallery one, for organizing things. The gallery has some fun editing options that allow you to create collages from multiple images or apply filters, stickers and more.
Simple gallery � Editing options
Hidden behind the three-dot menu on the top right is a GIF and Collage maker. The former is pretty straightforward and allows you to make custom GIF animations from up to 50 photos.
GIF Maker
Music player
The Music player app offers the basic functionality and lacks features like automatic lyrics fetching or album art downloading. Nevertheless, its neatly designed user interface allows for easy navigation.
Music player app
The player's setting's menu offers a sleep timer and a shortcut to the phone's Dolby Atmos settings menu. There, you have different profiles for different occasions - music, gaming, video and voice. There are also two custom profiles for you to fine tune.
Dolby Atmos settings
Video player
The video player is quite basic. It doesn't offer a lot of options except cropping a video and enabling the playback of the next one upon finishing the last. Nevertheless, it gets the job done and if you need more functionality, you could always download a third-party alternative.
The video player is quite basic
Audio starts off bright, gets mediocre with headphones
The ZTE Axon 7 delivered perfect clarity with an active external amplifier. The ZTE flagship has no weak points to its performance and had an output among the loudest around.
Unfortunately, degradation with headphones was quite pronounced with stereo crosstalk plummeting, volume levels dropping to just above average and some intermodulation distortion creeping in. Frequency response got a little shaky too, so it�s really not a performance worth writing home about.
And now here go the results so you can do your comparison.
| Test | Frequency response | Noise level | Dynamic range | THD | IMD + Noise | Stereo crosstalk |
| +0.06, -0.10 | -92.4 | 92.3 | 0.0015 | 0.0093 | -80.9 | |
| +0.03, -0.11 | -92.3 | 92.3 | 0.0011 | 0.012 | -77.0 | |
| +0.10, -0.04 | -93.1 | 93.1 | 0.0015 | 0.0098 | -80.5 | |
| +0.10, -0.03 | -93.1 | 93.0 | 0.0013 | 0.015 | -76.8 | |
| LG V20 | +0.01, -0.03 | -93.0 | 93.1 | 0.0036 | 0.0075 | -93.7 |
| LG V20 (headphones attached) | +0.04, -0.09 | -92.4 | 92.4 | 0.051 | 0.105 | -57.5 |
| +0.01, -0.03 | -97.8 | 99.1 | 0.0054 | 0.0087 | -97.3 | |
| +0.02, -0.09 | -97.3 | 97.9 | 0.015 | 0.078 | -81.3 |
ZTE Axon 7 frequency response
You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.
Camera
The Axon 7 features a 20MP snapper with the very popular Samsung Isocell 16:9 ratio sensor with f/1.8 aperture. The frontal lens is made of sapphire to prevent scratches and there's OIS as well as on-sensor phase detection autofocus.
The camera interface is very well laid out. On the right side you have a large, iOS-like shutter button with shortcuts to Live photos and different filter effects. On the left side, there's the button to toggle the 8MP front-facing camera, the Settings menu and the HDR (Auto) toggle.
The camera interface is intuitive and well laid out
The Settings menu doesn't offer a lot of options. In fact, you can choose only the resolution, shutter tone, geo-tagging and anti-banding optimization.
This is where the Manual mode comes into play. Turn it on, and you have access to a plethora of settings including shutter speed, ISO, exposure, white balance and depth of focus. Under Manual mode, there's an updated Settings menu which holds metering, composition, gradienter and histogram options.
The photos produced by the camera are with good dynamic range, although the camera tends to favor exposing the shadows, leaving some of the bright areas a little overexposed. There's a lot of detail and the photos are very sharp.
Contrast is also great with saturated colors. White balance is on point, too.
ZTE Axon 7 camera samples
The HDR photos have very subtle difference compared to the non-HDR ones. Mainly, they just bring back some of the highlight detail.
HDR off � HDR On � HDR off � HDR On
The 8MP front-facing camera captures great, very detailed 8MP selfies. And its wide angle lens captures more in the frame, which is always welcome.
8MP selfie samples
Things go downhill when you shoot panoramas. We wouldn't rely on it as the samples are short on detail and the stitching is poor.
Panoramas
We pitted the Axon 7 against the OnePlus 3 and the Huawei Honor 8 in our photo compare tool so you can compare their camera performance directly.
ZTE Axon 7 vs OnePlus 3 vs Huawei Honor 8 in our Photo quality comparison tool
4K video recorder
The ZTE Axon 7 records video at 4K UHD (30 FPS), but 1080p modes are available as well (at 30/60fps). You can shoot slow motion videos at a max resolution of 720p HD (240fps).
Anyway, the 2160p videos are captured at 42Mbps bitrate and have rock solid 30fps. The audio is stereo captured at 96KBps bitrate.
Video camera interface
The video quality is very high and offers very accurate, albeit a bit oversaturated colors. There's plenty of detail and dynamic range, while the audio is rich in detail.
1080p videos are also good, but not as good as the 4K ones. Still, you're in for plenty of detail and great contrast.
You can also download the 4K@30fps (10s, 52MB) and the 1080p video (10s, 25MB) samples taken straight off the ZTE Axon 7.
And here's the 240fps slow-motion video show with the Axon 7.
Finally, the Axon 7 enters our Video quality comparison tool against the OnePlus 3 and LG Nexus 5X in both 4K and 1080p video quality.
ZTE Axon 7 vs OnePlus 3 vs LG Nexus 5X in our Video quality comparison tool
Conclusion
The ZTE Axon 7 is the company's knight in shining armor that's meant to take US shores by storm. We've got good news for you ZTE: you're on the right track with the Axon 7. However, success isn't guaranteed, and that's a bummer considering how great of a product you've put together.
The Axon 7 is built meticulously, and it's got all the right ingredients when it comes to hardware. The aluminum unibody, the sleek looks and the right color choices. The hardware inside is flagship-grade as well, whereas the price is nothing short of reasonable.
And then there are the awesome front stereo speakers. Their Dolby Atmos software is the cherry on top of the cake, and they're great to have even if you are not likely to blast them at full force with your ringtone or notifications sounds.
As we started in the introduction, the Axon 7 needs to have this X factor to draw customers in - especially considering the uneven battle between ZTE's brand against more established competitors.
And ZTE is headed in the right direction. The price tag is just right, and the feature set is exemplary. Here's, in short, what we discovered about the Axon 7 during our time with it.
ZTE Axon 7 key test findings
- Build quality is excellent, and we like the metal unibody a lot. The phone's slim profile makes it very pocket-friendly and quite a looker, too. One thing to keep in mind is that it can be slippery at times.
- The display is great, although it's a bit dim compared to the competition with a maximum of 352nits. You also get decently accurate color reproduction combined with contrasty colors thanks to the AMOLED nature of the screen panel.
- Battery life is very good with an endurance rating of 70h, beating the OnePlus 3 by four hours.
- MiFavor 4.0 is a good effort of keeping a light skin on top of Android 6.0 Marshmallow, but lacks deep customization and has some minor annoyances.
- The Snapdragon 820 chipset offers stellar performance. It runs cool, and there is no apparent overheating or performance throttling but competing phones with the same chipset are faster in synthetic benchmarks.
- Audio output starts off great but degrades with headphones. The speaker loudness is very good, and the sound quality is awesome. We said it before - the speakers are one of the defining features of this phone.
- Camera photos are great, with plenty of resolved detail, high dynamic range, and excellent colors and contrast. HDR mode isn't quite ambitious, but still gets the job done of restoring the highlights in tough light conditions.
- Excellent 4K and Full HD videos with lots of detail and good contrast. 240fps slow-motion mode at 720p.
With that it mind, let's see how the Axon 7 stands in the crowded smartphone market by checking out its direct competitors.
Let's start with the OnePlus 3 - a rival for the Axon 7, which we've mentioned throughout the review, and for a good reason. It too has a very fast chipset, excellent camera and build quality. However, its 1080p display lacks the resolution of the Axon 7's, and you don't get stereo speakers. The lower resolution doesn't even translate into battery life benefits as the Axon 7 is better in this respect.
OnePlus 3
We often compared the Axon 7 to the Honor 8 throughout this review, but the truth is that the only thing these two phones share is their price and market availability. The Honor 8 by Huawei is noticeably slower regarding performance, and even though it's a looker, it's made of plastic, which is hardly a match to the metal build of the Axon 7.
Huawei Honor 8
The LG G5, although released back in April, is also a great competitor with familiar specs: Snapdragon 820, 16MP snapper and 5.3" QHD display. Now that six months since its release have passed, you can get it at a similar price to the Axon 7 and enjoy the benefits of the removable battery as well as one of the best cameras in the business as proven by our recent camera shootout.
LG G5
The ZTE Axon 7 isn't a perfect phone, but a perfect phone is quite hard to come by, even today as we're nearing the end of 2016. The Axon 7 has its shortcomings, but they're quite agreeable when you consider the phone's price of USD $400. What's more, you can easily check it out in brick-in-mortar stores across the US like BestBuy or Walmart unlike the other mentioned Chinese brands, which only sell their products online. In other words, giving this phone a consideration is certainly a must if you're in search of a solid all-around device. It almost reminds us of a Swiss army knife - it's as versatile, it does a great job in almost all departments with some exceptions and it's ready to be your trusty companion for quite some time ahead.
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