ZTE Axon 7 goes official with up to 6GB RAM, Snapdragon 820 chip and 2K screen, costs just $450

ZTE has just unveiled the next phone in its series of high performance, affordable, flagship-beating smartphones; the ZTE Axon 7. Like last year’s Axon, this year’s model seeks to offer a competitive experience at a price which undercuts similar smartphones from big-name manufacturers, and it might succeed at just $450 USD.

This year’s Axon model has an all-metal casing which curves towards the edges to ensure a very comfortable in-hand feel, while the internals boast specs you’d expect to find in the best smartphones around. As an aside, the phone’s look was partly created by BMW’s Designworks, a company known for creating all kinds of designs; from cars to bobsleds and even computer accessories.

The front boasts a pair of awesome, loud stereo speakers which may even rival HTC’s old BoomSound speakers for volume and audio quality. There’s also a QHD resolution 5.5-inch AMOLED screen, which was built in with Google’s recently announced Daydream VR in mind. ZTE will launch a VR headset alongside the Axon 7.

Front firing speakers aren’t the only audio-related highlights of the Axon 7. Inside, the phone has two dedicated AKM HiFi audio chipsets, Dolby Atmos software and supports DAC audio quality. In short: Your music will sound awesome, whether it’s coming through the front speakers or through your favorite headphones.

Camera-wise, we’re looking at a 20MP snapper on the back with built in OIS (optical image stabilization) and f/1.8 aperture with 4K (30fps) video shooting capabilities. For the slow-mo fans among you, you’ll be glad to know there’s also 240fps slow-motion capture.

Inside, the regular model features a Snapdragon 820 chip — Qualcomm’s current flagship processor — which is clocked at 2.2GHz and paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. What’s more, you can expand the storage up to 128GB using a MicroSD card. As you’d expect, there’s also a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.

There will be an even more powerful version released at some point featuring a huge 6GB RAM and 128GB storage as well as a pressure-sensitive touchscreen, like the 3D Touch feature on the iPhone 6s/6s Plus. This version will be a little pricier though, at $640.

We don’t know exactly when the Axon 7 will hit the market, but when it does it’ll be available through ZTE’s online store, Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, eBay and Newegg, and will be sold with a free 2-year warranty.