ZTE has always focused on offering various smartphones and phablets marketed under the Zmax brand with interesting features for its customers.
The latest to be made available in this series is the very recent launch of the Zmax Pro in July 2016. There is no news as yet to when the device will be released and available through offline channels though there is all possibility of an August release. However, interested customers can go ahead and start booking online preorders. With a lot of exciting attributes up its sleeve, this phablet is undoubtedly all set to target people who want large screen gadgets on a shoestring budget. One of the key attractions is the presence of a fingerprint sensor with copper accents on the reverse that you will usually not find on budget handsets. These accents find their place around the side power and volume control buttons too.
As of date, there is no news about the overall size of the phablet and how bulky it will turn out to be. Yet, there are unofficial talks going around that the weight will be close to 148g. A sneak peek into the leaked images show that the Zmax Pro is bound to be really sleek making it an easy fit in both your hand and pocket. Like other budget handsets, it sports a plastic body that is blue in color with a shimmery matte finish. This finish does a good job in giving the device a classy and elegant look without rendering a cheap feel to the handset. And for a plastic back, the gadget has a really sturdy construction.
Talking about the screen size, the Pro phablet offers a really big screen of size 6 inches. The IPS LCD screen has a pixel resolution of 1920 x 1080 and a pixel density of close to 367ppi. The 2.5D arc glass display is further protected from scratches by the inclusion of Corning Gorilla Glass. While the big size makes gaming, reading, browsing and movie watching memorable; the LCD screen provides the added benefit of wide viewing angles.
Cameras are also quite decent in this very affordable handset. On the rear is a 13MP PDAF snapper with 4128 x 3096 resolution and an LED flash. Some key highlights of this primary camera are face beauty, self-timer, gesture shots and 1080p video recording @ 30 fps apart from other standard functionalities. Like the side buttons and the finger print sensor, it has copper accents surrounding it giving it an aesthetic look. At the front, the secondary 5MP shooter does not support flash but delivers good quality selfies and video calls.
The manufacturer has done a good job with respect to the hardware and software setup. The device houses 2GB RAM and 32GB internal memory that can be increased further to 128GB as the upper limit. On the chipset and processors front, the Zmax Pro is integrated with a MSM8952 chipset, a 64-bit octa core Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor ticking at 1.5GHz and an Adreno 405 graphics processor. And if these hardware features are not enough, the device supports dual SIM usage if you do not opt for a memory card. For the operating system, the phablet runs the recent Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the boxcoupled with the manufacturer’s own MiFavor UI for customization based on user preferences.
The Zmax Pro uses a Li-ion 3,400 mAh replaceable or removable battery that is more powerful than the previous Zmax offering, and supports the quick and USB Type-C charging options.But, it is worth bearing in mind that the phablet opts to support the older USB 2.0 interface. The highlight is that you get more than one day of uninterrupted talk time when the handset is fully charged. When it comes to connectivity, there are quite a few alternatives for the user to take his or her pick. The phablet allows for microUSB, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n, Direct and dual band), GPS (with A-GPS support), EDGE and GPRS options. According to unofficial sources, you will also be able to avail NFC connectivity to help you make cashless payments. But, at the time of writing this article, this fact has not yet been confirmed.
Interestingly, the budget Zmax Pro was launched immediately after the manufacturer’s foray into the high-end market with its Axon 7 handset that was made available directly to its customers.