Introduction
ZTE has been branching out its mobile business quite a bit lately. Experimenting with various concepts, like the nubia Red Magic, just to see what sticks. Still, one family has been notably missing from the Chinese manufacturer's lineup for quite some time.
The Axon brand has a history of housing interesting high-end and often conceptual devices, like the folding dual-display Axon M or the Axon 7, with its amazing Dolby Atmos stereo speaker setup. Well, Axon is finally back with another flagship offering - the Axon 9 Pro. Just like its siblings, it too does not disappoint in the innovation and exciting tech front.
ZTE Axon 9 Pro at a glance
- Body: Glass back; IP68 waterproof
- Display: 6.21" AMOLED, 1,080 x 2,248px, 18.7:9 aspect ratio, 402ppi, HDR10
- Rear camera: Primary 12MP, f/1.75 aperture, 1.4µm pixels, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS; Secondary 20MP, f/2.0 fixed-focus; 130° wide-angle
- Front camera: 20MP, fixed focus
- OS/Software: Stock Android 8.1 Oreo
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845: octa-core CPU (4x2.7GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4x1.7GHz Kryo 385 Silver), Adreno 630 GPU
- Memory: 6GB of RAM; 128GB of storage; microSD card slots (up to 256GB)
- Battery: 4,000mAh (sealed); QuickCharge 4.0; Qi wireless charging
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0; NFC; USB-C
- Misc: Stereo speakers (Dolby Atmos); fingerprint reader; RGB sensor
A large AMOLED display, backed up by proprietary display hardware, large 4,000 mAh battery, impressive dual-camera setup, Snapdragon 845 chipset, IP68 rating, Wireless charging, stereo Atmos speakers and even a clean AOSP ROM, on paper the Axon 9 Pro is an amazingly decked-out offer.
ZTE is not holding back with this one. Unfortunately, in 2018 this kind of specs sheet comes at a hefty price. With an MSRP of around EUR 650, the days of Axon 7's competitive pricing are clearly history. Still, does the Axon 9 Pro have what it takes to justify the price? Join us on the following pages to find out.
The Axon 9 Pro looks unassuming enough. That is to say, for a 2018 handset. Put it next to its closest predecessor (say, the Axon 7s) and the extent of just how much the new all-display design trend has re-shaped our devices, instantly becomes apparent.
A glass sandwich, with a metal frame as the stuffing in-between - we've seen this before, that's clear. Everything is nicely curved, with very smooth angles, including the edges of the glass panels. ZTE is not mentioning any branding for the front glass, Gorilla or otherwise, but the glass finish is rated at 7H scratch resistance. Not bad at all!
Looking at the Axon 9 Pro from the back side, we can't help but get an iPhone X vibe. Especially with the vertical camera arrangement. Still, with all the copying and "inspiration" going around in the industry today, we can't exactly be too salty about that. It's a good look. The only available color as of this unveiling is blue. The particular shade looks really well, although it is a fingerprint magnet.
ZTE Axon 9 Pro
Nothing too spectacular or strange about the controls and their placement. You get a volume rocker and power button on the right-hand side of the device. On the left - a SIM tray. The Axon 9 Pro is dual-SIM and also has support for a microSD card, up to 256GB in size.
Unfortunately, there is no 3.5mm jack anywhere in sight. There are, however, a couple of speakers. One is bottom-firing and located on the bottom bezel, next to the Type-C port. The earpiece doubles as the other. Just like the Axon 7, as we mentioned earlier, the stereo setup on the Axon 9 Pro is Dolby Atmos certified. The chambers for the speakers don't look nearly as beefy as the ones on the Axon 7, and a show floor isn't exactly the best setting to test out audio quality. So, we hope these sound at least half as good as the spectacular Axon 7 speakers.
One look at the front of the Axon 9 Pro and the iPhone vibe we talked about earlier comes rolling back in waves. The particular way the wider than most notches breaks up
Gorgeous AMOLED display
ZTE really went all out when it comes to the display on the Axon 9 Pro. It has a diameter of 6.21 inches and a rather odd 18.7:9 aspect ratio. Odd or not, 16:9 content seems to look and fit well on the panel.
Perhaps the sole potential weak point of the display is the FullHD+ resolution of 2248 x 1080 pixels. We'll be the first to admit that it doesn't look all to well amid all the other tricked-out hardware on the Axon 9 Pro's specs sheet. Still, the lower resolution does have its benefits towards battery life. Plus, we found it plenty sharp in person. Also FullHD+ might just have something to do with ZTE's proprietary Axon Vision technology, as a limitation, of sorts.
There are a few other goodies about the particular OLED panel that might just help you swallow FullHD+ easier. For instance, it is certified for HDR10 playback. Also, ZTE is boasting factory calibration for every unit, with advertised deltaE values of under 2. Sweet!
Axon Vision
And then there is Axon Vision. This has got to be the spotlight feature of the Axon 9 Pro. It might sound like some silly software optimizer, but its actually a hardware processing chip, equipped with MEMC technology (Motion Estimation, Motion Compensation). It is capable of processing up to 500 megapixels of visual data every second.
What it does, in practice, is interpolate video on a system-wide level. So, if you are playing back a video source at 24 fps or, let's say 30 fps, it will interpolate that up to 60fps "automagically". Now, to anybody that has used interpolation on a TV this might sound like a double-edged sword, since it can make things look very unnatural and artificial.
From the short time we spent with the Axon 9 Pro, we can say the interpolation works well enough. Still, the negative effects to motion are still there. Sometimes you just prefer that cinematic look instead. Hopefully, the feature can be toggled off, although this wasn't demoed at the event.
Another important part of the overall visual experience on the Axon 9 Pro is a dedicated RGB sensor. It is the thing taking up a lot of space in the display notch. Like its name suggests, it can constantly measure the surrounding light for both intensity and color, then adjust the image on screen accordingly. It promises sharper lines and better colors. Just like Axon Vision, it also works system-wide so video, browsing, games- they all can benefit from it.
Other hardware
Having a flagship Snapdragon 845 at the core of your device pretty much guarantees top-tier connectivity options as well. The Axon 9 Pro reaps all the benefits from the Qualcomm chip, including blazing fast LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi ac, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, etc. You know the drill so that we won't be getting into that.
Still, there are a few other parts of the setup that we can't exactly take for granted and deserve a mention. Like the huge 4,000 mAh battery. It should provide ample capacity to power the Axon 9 Pro, especially given the AMOLED panel. Plus, it can be charged quickly, thanks to Quick Charge 4+, as well as flexibly, thanks to Qi wireless charging support.
In the spirit of really crafting a complete flagship experience, ZTE left no stone unturned and paid special attention to the audio department as well. In addition to the Dolby Atmos speakers, the Axon 9 Pro also has two Smart power amplifiers and Pure Hi-Fi tech.
AOSP
With all the talk of picture optimization and advanced audio, one might naturally think the Axon 9 Pro will be loaded to the brim with software options, optimizers, and tweaks to match. On the contrary, ZTE is sticking to a clean Android experience. In fact, it's actually stock. Sure, it is Android 8.1 Oreo, so you won't be getting the latest and greatest Google has to offer. At least not initially.
The sole software addition ZTE seems to have made to Android is an AI-based system and runtime optimization algorithm. What it does is monitor user activity and pick up a behavioral pattern, which it then leverages to kill off unnecessary background apps and optimize running processes. We've definitely heard that before, so we'll remain a bit skeptical on the matter of magical background optimization promises that nobody can actually measure or verify.
Camera
The ZTE Axon 9 Pro's camera setup looks quite impressive on paper. It is a dual arrangement as is currently the trend. The main module is a Sony IMX363 sensor with 12MP resolution, 1.4 µm size and an impressively bright f/1.75 aperture lens in front. ZTE even went ahead and implemented OIS for smooth video. Dual Pixel autofocus is also part of the mix.
Accompanying it is a secondary 20MP snapper. It boasts an impressively wide 130-degree field of view, which is not something you see every day. It is also leveraged for portrait mode shots.
ZTE did add an extra layer of camera smarts on top here. There are a few AI-powered intelligent motion and facial recognition functions, as well as smart portrait compositions. The Axon 9 Pro is particularly good in following moving objects, using its Sports mode. It can also capture motion sequences in a single shot, a la motion photo.
Conclusion
The ZTE Axon 9 Pro will be available some time around the end of September with a retail price or about EUR 650. The phone should come out in Germany first, followed by other European markets and later on - in Asia. After the recent ZTE escapades in the US, we likely won't be seeing it Stateside any time soon, if at all.
ZTE never actually addressed the "Pro" part of the name either. Is it there just for emphasis and dramatic effect, or can we expect a regular version as well?
In any case, the Axon 9 Pro is a true 2018 flagship, by every standard. Fully decked-out and complete with at least a couple of interesting features and extras. We doubt that it will dramatically shift ZTE's current market standing in any way. But, for a small group of just the right kind of Android power users, it really does seem like the phone to beat.
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