The Axon goes for $330, while the Axon Pro gets a price drop to $400 for the 32GB version. You’ll pay $450 for the 64GB model, which isn’t bad — especially seeing as that was the original price for the 32GB Axon Pro when it launched in July.
Even more impressive is that this pricing is contract free, which means that you won’t be tied down to any carrier commitments. These unlocked devices are compatible with both AT&T and T-Mobile.
High-end design
A lot of manufacturers can pack decent specs into plastic housing, but few offer phones made with high-quality materials like aluminum at such an amazing price. All varieties of the Axon phone get the same metal casing and glass front panel. You will also notice that the speaker grills are quite unique with a cool pattern of triangles. The design continues on the back of the device near the camera lens.
ZTE also added an iPhone-like white circle at the front of the device to act as a home button. To the left and right are capacitive buttons for going back and accessing recent apps.
Strong specs on both Axon and Axon Pro
ZTE went all out in the specs department, especially in the Pro version. Both the Axon and the Pro feature a 5.5-inch display, but the Axon sports a TFT LCD display with a resolution of 1080p (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), while the Axon Pro gets an upgrade to a CGS (Continuous Grain Silicon) TFT LCD display with a Quad HD resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels.
The other main differences between the two phones are the processor and RAM. The Axon is powered by a 2.0GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chip and has 2GB of RAM. On the other hand, the Axon Pro features the newer octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, clocked at the same 2.0 GHz, along with a whopping 4GB of RAM. The Axon is only offered with 32GB of internal storage, while the Axon Pro now comes in 32GB and 64GB varieties.
ZTE opted to use the same cameras on both phones. At the rear, you will find a dual-lens system featuring 13-megapixel and 2-megapixel lenses along with dual LED flash. The front gets a generous 8-megapixel lens that will be perfect for selfies.
Both models also get high-quality sound reproduction from both the front-facing speakers and the microphone jack. ZTE will also include JBL E13 in-ear headphones in the box, which is a nice touch.
The rest of the specs for both devices are pretty much identical and include Gorilla Glass 3, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac 2.4 GHz/ 5 GHz, LTE Cat 4 (Axon) or LTE Cat 6 (Axon Pro), 3,000mAh battery with Quick Charge 2.0, and Android 5.1.1.
Available online only
The ZTE Axon and Axon Pro are both currently available on ZTE’s website, as well as other online retailers such as Amazon, Newegg, and eBay.
If you opt to buy your new phone directly from ZTE, you can pay the total amount up front or you can opt for ZTE’s new lease-to-own payment plan. Customers who are credit qualified can choose from payment terms ranging from 6 to 24 months. Once the device is paid off, it’s yours to keep, but you can also trade it in towards another newer device.
Finally, Axon Passport 1.0 gives you a two-year warranty, which includes incidentals, free shipping, 30-day buyer’s remorse returns, and easy upgrades.
