This year has not been favorable to Chinese Android OEMs trying to make it in the United States. Huawei was effectively driven away due to “political pressure,” and now ZTE is facing a threatening ban on using US exports in its products for seven years. Over the weekend, the company officially responded to the ban.
Just yesterday it was revealed that, because of not following the terms of a court case, ZTE would be banned from using components made in the United States in its various products. Now, things may have escalated even further, with a report claiming that Google will revoke the company’s “Android license.”
ZTE may not be the biggest name in smartphones in the United States, but the Chinese company has built itself up as a regular player particularly in the budget segment. Today, though, the United States government has banned US companies from selling to the Chinese company.
The notch is a big part of smartphone design in 2018, but as with any new trend, there’s always going to be a company that takes it too far. Now, it’s looking like ZTE is planning a new smartphone with not one, but two notches in the display.
Google rarely has a large presence at big tech shows, but at CES and MWC this year the company has been pushing its various initiatives and platforms in a big way. At MWC, Android Go was front and center, and now the first smartphone with Android Go is available for sale…
Mobile World Congress generally brings us quite a lot of new smartphones, tablets, smartwatches and more all running Android. As most of the announcements have passed at this point, we thought we’d take a look at everything that’s new and what will be available in the coming year for Android One and Android Go.
Just ahead of MWC 2018, ZTE has today unveiled its latest Android smartphones. Included in that launch, we’ve got the new mid-range Blade V9 family, as well as the new Android Go-powered Tempo Go…
When ZTE unveiled its new foldable phone, the Axon M, yesterday at Duggal Greenhouse, it made some pretty grandiose claims, saying that it was “creating a new smartphone category.”
That didn’t seem entirely true to us, as we’ve seen a few similar phones in the past like the Kyocera Echo, but this latest attempt seems to be the most refined take yet on a niche design.
One trend that’s been consistent this year is the use of tall, narrow displays with minimal bezels. Devices like the LG V30, Note 8, and Essential Phone are prime examples, but one device that’s apparently foregoing this trend and opting for something different is the ZTE Axon Multy.
Last year, ZTE released the ZMax Pro, a 6-inch smartphone with budget specs that out performed its $99 price tag. This year, ZTE has announced the successor to the Zmax Pro in the Blade Z Max, which features a larger battery, a dual rear-facing camera setup, and more for just $130…
When ZTE released the ZMax Pro last year, we were very impressed with its performance and features — especially for a device as inexpensive as $99. It had some minor drawbacks — a lack of fast charging and a subpar camera, to name a couple — but it was undeniably one of the best deals around for MetroPCS customers.
The Blade X Max is essentially a refreshed version of the ZMax Pro coming soon to Cricket Wireless, bringing updated specs and minor improvements to an almost identical design. While the price is slightly higher this time around, it’s still a great prepaid option for all the same reasons as its predecessor.
Smartwatches have always been somewhat of a hard sell for average consumers. Some just plain don’t want them — they see no reason to carry and charge yet another device just for notifications that they can see by just pulling their phone out of their pocket.
Others are less put off by the concept of smartwatches, and more dissuaded by the execution of them. They don’t look as fashionable as a traditional watch, and they’re just too expensive.
While the ZTE Quartz doesn’t do anything to dispel complaints of unattractive design, it’s the most affordable smartwatch we’ve seen running Android Wear 2.0 for just $192. That low price doesn’t come without compromise … but the right user might not mind.
ZTE has been doing pretty good with its affordable phablets in the past year or so, seeing great success with the Zmax Pro and looking to have another winner with the recent Max XL. Today, the company has announced other option in the ZTE Blade X Max, coming to Cricket Wireless tomorrow for a very affordable price…
Today at MWC 2017, ZTE has unveiled two new mid-range smartphones from its Blade series ─ the Blade V8 Lite and the Blade V8 Mini. Both offer similar designs to the Blade V8 Pro which was unveiled at CES, but with lesser specifications and price points.
This week in Barcelona at MWC, ZTE is showing off a new prototype “Gigabit Phone.” It’s a device capable of reaching download speeds of up to 1Gbps, the fastest we’ve seen to date on a mobile device.
It has been a rocky start for ZTE’s crowdsourced phone, the Hawkeye. After selecting a winning team from last year’s competition where the company asked the community to submit design and feature ideas for Project CSX, ZTE unveiled the Hawkeye at CES. Unfortunately, no one was really impressed with the handset and now ZTE has completely canceled its Kickstarter campaign…
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Android Wear 2.0 is finally set to debut tomorrow, and along with it, two new smartwatches from LG. Hopefully, the new OS should push OEMs to follow LG’s lead and also release new hardware. Now, it seems ZTE is ready to make its debut with the Quartz…
Last year ZTE opened up an ambitious project, Project CSX. The goal? To create the first smartphone that was designed by the community. ZTE pitched the idea of producing a phone that was built on the ideas of its community, and now that phone, the ‘Hawkeye’ is finally on its way. The company revealed the eye-tracking, self-adhesive device at CES 2017 and it was, well, it was pretty underwhelming, and the Kickstarter totals so far reflect that. Now, ZTE is acknowledging that it made a mistake.
CES isn’t the land of smartphone announcements it once was. Rather, we really only get a few important announcements a year. This year, there were announcements of a couple of flagships, and some mid-range devices. Most of those mid-rangers were very stale and disappointing, but one did actually stand out as a decent choice, the ZTE Blade V8 Pro.
Over the course of 2016, ZTE opened up Project CSX, an opportunity for the company to flip the way smartphones are made, giving the consumer control over the device’s unique features. After a few months of submissions, the community decided that a smartphone with eye-tracking capabilities and a self-adhesive back would be one of ZTE’s next phones, and at CES 2017, the company made that a reality in the form of the “Hawkeye.”
As the company prepares to release Android Nougat for its popular Axon 7 smartphone, ZTE is opening up access to an Android Nougat beta program for one of its less expensive devices, the $99 ZTE ZMax Pro.
ZTE took to the stage at CES 2017 to announce two new devices coming to the US market. The first is a phone we’ve seen previously released in Asia, Europe, and Mexico and that is the Blade V8 Pro. The second is a device that ZTE crowdsourced called the Hawkeye. Both devices are fairly inexpensive and come unlocked — but are either of them worth your time?
ZTE’s Axon 7 is one of those Android smartphones that proves without a doubt that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a fantastic device. Priced at $399, the Axon 7 brings top-tier specs, a great build, and an excellent overall experience. Now, ZTE is launching a limited edition variant of the Axon 7 that makes the phone even better…
Earlier this year ZTE launched the ZMax Pro, a $99 Android smartphone that hit all the right notes. With a 6-inch display, decent specifications, and a fingerprint sensor, it was pretty incredible that ZTE was able to sell the phone for such a low cost.