ZTE Axon Pro Factory Unlocked Phone, 64 GB Phthalo Blue (U.S. Warranty)

For those who don't want to read the full review read the TL;DR below:With high-powered specs under the hood, a beautiful 2560 X 1440 display, a simple and elegant design, Android Marshmallow almost out of the box and support for almost all GSM, HSPA and LTE bands, there's a lot to be had for with this unlocked smartphone for not a lot of coin (relatively). The ZTE Axon Pro is a budget-friendly beast that you will fall in love with if you give it a chance.Pros:+ Snapdragon 810, 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage+ Support for most WCDMA/GSM carriers LTE bands (supports all of T-Mo's frequency bands FYI)+ VoLTE support for carriers that support it (Band 12 for T-Mo)+ Carrier aggregration for areas and networks that support it (Band 2/4 + Band 12 for T-Mo, CA support for AT&T also)+ Wi-Fi calling/texting (confirmed on T-Mobile)+ Simple, elegant design with a premium look and feel+ Relatively affordable compared to other flagships with comparable specs (such as Nexus 6P, OnePlus Two, etc.)+ Android Marshmallow almost out of the box (2 updates once connected to WiFi had me at 6.0)+ Great dual lens camera that actually takes good pictures+ Quick Charge feature that can take battery from 10% to 80~85% in 60 minutes+ 2 year manufacturers warranty (U.S. Model)+ Comes packaged with high-quality JBL headphones that sound great with the phone+ Capacitive touch buttons that allow full use of gorgeous 1440P displayCons:- Battery life isn't the most optimal (has gotten much better since 2 software updates to 6.0 and some settings tweaks)- Signal sometimes drops for a second when switching frequency bands and isn't always immediate to pick up new frequency; signal isn't always as strong as it should be on LTE- No double-tap to wake (could be fixed in a software update)- Only one front-facing speaker (albeit a powerful and clear sounding one)- Some bloat apps pre-installed (can be disabled, but not fully uninstalled)- No expandable storageSo I bought this phone to replace my Oneplus One 64GB phone which was getting a little long in the tooth, but the main reason it was replaced was that although the OPO supported LTE with T-Mobile and Family Mobile it didn't support many of the LTE bands. I just recently went on a road trip and during driving anytime I got out of any large city the LTE support would drop and I would go to Edge or no signal. Meanwhile, my wife who had the LG G Stylo would have full LTE coverage. Well, this was kind of a deal-breaker and so after a lot of research and going back and forth between this phone and the Huawei Nexus 6P, I finally pulled the trigger and bought this phone over the Nexus 6P. Don't get me wrong, the Nexus 6P is a beautiful phone and I have for the most part loved the Nexus devices and what they offer (unlocked phone, premium specs for an affordable price and the latest and most pure stock Android experience) but there are a couple reasons I chose this over the Nexus 6P and Oneplus Two.Specs:The ZTE Axon Pro has specs that may not be able to keep up with the flagships currently just coming out, but it goes toe-to-toe with the big boys that released this past year and still comes out holding it's own. This phone comes with a Snapdragon 810 (same as Nexus 6P and OPT), 4GB RAM (1GB more than the Nexus 6P 3GB), 64GB internal storage (for this model reviewed but also comes in 32GB flavor). While the Nexus 6P does come in all the way up to 128GB internal storage, it will cost you much more than what this 64GB model is going for as of now. It also has support for most U.S. LTE Bands (LTE bands 2/3/4/5/7/12/13/17/29/30) which should give you a variety of options of network providers and MVNOs to choose from when it comes to usability.Price/Bang for buck factor:With the above listed specs, I was able to get the 64GB Ion Gold variant for about $325 right here on Amazon with free two-day Prime shipping. In comparison the Nexus 6P is running about $550 USD here on Amazon (although I have seen it on sale on the Egg for $500 for the Gold variant previously but still have to pay shipping sometimes). Likewise the Oneplus Two has just recently been reduced to $350 for the 64GB variant, but you have to pay shipping). Anyway, you will be hard pressed to find a phone with these specs for this price and if you don't need the 64GB storage internal, you can always opt for the 32GB version which is now running for about $300 as of this writing.Performance:Since I have fired this thing up, it connected right away (although I had to manually set the APN settings to get proper data connectivity) with Family Mobile (T-Mobile MVNO). Signal has been overall clear and call quality good. Even with many apps open, this thing doesn't miss a beat. No stutters, hangs or crashes. No overheating issues that I could detect (although it did feel a little warm upon first start up, after first update no more warmness). Battery life can sometimes leave something to be desired on moderate use, but once updated to Android Marshmallow 6.0 and one change to WiFi settings (set to Turn off when Asleep), battery life has gotten much better and I can make it through the day until the evening one one charge even with some moderate use (web surfing, streaming music and some playing games). This is even if I unplug the phone off the charger the evening before instead of the morning of. Again battery still leaves something to be desired, but it can be expected somewhat due to a large 1440p display and a powerful chip powering this thing. Also, even when battery life is depleted due to heavy use it is offset by having Quick Charge feature when using the supplied wall charger. I found from testing the provided wall charger will get the phone from 10% to 80~85% within 60 minutes, dependent on the features I have turned on in the background (Wi-Fi, etc.). I neglected to mention that in my original review, but a commenter mentioned it (thanks BTW!) and I wanted to add the extra info. Close to stock Android interface and not much pre-installed bloat ensures this thing runs smooth. Driving across from Las Vegas to Utah this thing maintained overall constant connectivity and data streaming with music for most of the whole trip, although there was a brief second when switching frequencies that the phone dropped connectivity and when I had one small dead zone the phone took a while to reconnect. I don't know if this is normal or a cause for concern and if so, then I will return. The good news is there is a 2-year warranty if the phone stops working then they will repair or replace at no cost to me for extended coverage. If within 35 days of purchase it is defective, I can get a full refund which is a comfort. If within 30 days I have buyer's remorse over purchasing this phone, I can get a refund but I have to pay the cost of shipping. It's a peace of mind that helps when purchasing this device and adds value to the purchase. Unless something goes wrong with it, I don't see myself returning it.Design:The Axon ZTE Pro has a premium look and feel that is comparable to the Nexus 6P. It has a slightly raised glass finish on the front and grill design on the top ear piece area and down on the single speaker (which is actually quite powerful sounding). The back has simple lines and design with an Axon logo. It comes in 3 colors, which is a Gold (my model), Blue (although it's very dark colored) and a Silver. I probably would have chose the Pthalo Blue or Silver if they'd been in stock, but the gold is actually quite nice to look at once you see it. The rear has dual lens camera that works actually really well and has a fast shutter speed. I was able to get some really good pics with it and my inner shutterbug started to come out while I was down on the Vegas strip. Still hard to catch one of my sons in motion, but he's like a humming bird with how fast he moves. There is also a dual flash on the back, but I haven't had to use it in auto mode. The biggest shame is covering this thing in the hybrid armor case I purchased for this kind of covered up the neat design of the phone. Lots of internal storage for taking pictures and downloading music, but bear in mind there isn't any expandable storage which is one reason I bought the 64GB variant. If you save most of your stuff to the cloud the limitation of storage isn't much of an issue.Well, this review is getting longer than I expected and it's getting late but just to wrap up, this is a budget flagship that will go toe-to-toe with the best of them and comes out in the top three or so devices. If you give it a chance, you will find there's a great phone to be had here for not a lot of coin. It makes a few compromises (no fingerprint scanner, no expandable storage, etc.) but if none of those are deal breakers than give it a try and you won't be sorry. I am glad I pulled the trigger on this phone and would recommend the same to a friend or someone else I know. I hope this phone and this company (ZTE) get a lot more attention and credit for what they've done here: a solid flagship phone at an affordable price with timely software updates, making a great daily driver.UPDATE 3/9/16:So after a week of use and a little more in-depth testing, a couple updates to some of the issues I was experiencing (or thought I was experiencing) and a weird random issue that happened today. First, regarding the belief that I was getting weak LTE signal compared to my wife's LG G Stylo (T-Mobile branded phone) on T-Mobiles network as comparing the cell phone signal status bar would show 1-2 bars on my LTE signal whereas hers would show 3-4 bars (of full bars). After doing some in depth testing/comparison within the native settings and within a free app called LTE Discovery (great app BTW), I found my signal strength was just as strong if not a little stronger than my wife's LG G Stylo. Upon refreshing network on both phones, my phone ranged from -107 to -104 dbm (lower is better) while my wife's phone was -107 to -106 dbm. As I said before, my data reception has been good as well as call quality data.Second, as time has gone on since the Android 6.0 and after turning Wi-Fi to turn off in sleep mode in the settings, my battery life has gotten even better and a full charge will last me not only all day but ~24 hours with light-moderate use and until the evening when using heavily or playing games. Light-moderate use includes web browsing, streaming music and watching Youtube videos. When playing intensive games during heavy use the battery goes much faster, but that's to be expected.Last random issue that just came up was what I thought was initially a malfunction, turned out to be after some research and reading the instruction manual was due to a dedicated camera button (that I was unaware of) being unexpectedly turned on while on the road due to my protective case and the phone mount where it was gripping said case. So if you are going to mount the phone in a phone clip keep the area clear where the dedicated camera button is (bottom right button below power button). As I use this phone more, I am really coming to like it even more! If it had external SD (can't complain with 64GB internal storage though) and double-tap to wake (can be fixed with update ZTE!) this would be the perfect phone!UPDATES 2 & 3 3/24/16: After some lengthy road trips and torture testing, with constant screen awake, Google Maps running with GPS location on, and streaming music over LTE data I average over 3.5+ hours total screen-on time. If I charge it the evening before and take off charger around 8PM, battery will last me until 4-5 PM (towards end of work day) on a single charge with web browsing, music streaming, etc.After recently switching to T-Mobile post-paid, I can confirm personally VoLTE is working on voice calls! I made a couple calls while on 4G LTE and signal remained on 4G LTE while calling and during voice call whereas before on Walmart Family Mobile, it would switch to HSPA+ during call and then back to 4G LTE afterwards (this also leads me to believe T-Mo is at least testing Band 12 in my area). Also, if you aren't a tech geek like me and don't know why you should care, let me just say calls on VoLTE are super clear and sound amazing! They also come thru louder as well as clearer. I was calling someone from outside and the person was inside a building and it sounded like I was right next to the person. Also, tried Wi-Fi calling and texting and even on a mediocre hotel Wi-Fi hot-spot call quality sounded pretty good. Texts can be sent on Wi-Fi as well. This was not supported on Family Mobile, but is on T-Mo postpaid so keep that in mind. As I use this phone more, I keep finding new features and things that make owning this phone even more awesome. Also if you are on T-Mobile post-paid and are looking for an affordable flagship phone that takes advantage of all the advantages the carrier provides (Band 12 extended range LTE, VoLTE support, CA Band support, Wi-Fi calling/texting, etc.) getting this phone is a no-brainer!NOTE: Screenshot I uploaded was only edited to remove the personal information of the phone number, but this is an actual screenshot from my ZTE Axon Pro while on a voice call showing still on 4G LTE. Again, if VoLTE wasn't active it will switch to 4G (HSPA+) signal.

I really adore this phone.The 4gb of RAM make much more of a difference than I expected.The display is sharp and VERY bright. The first day I considered returning it after the first 2 charges it needed - BUT THEN, as I looked into the running processes (and the Axon task manager) killed the unwanted apps and suddenly- THE BATTERY LASTED MUCH LONGER and the phone was MUCH COOLER. I will list the pros and cons.Pro:1. The size is large enough but not too large.2. The battery laats a full day (plus some)3. Clearest call quality I have used (oneplus,iPhone,galaxy)4. The antennas are amazing! (Family trip we had 1 fire phone, 2/iphones 1 blackberry- the bb had lte voice only- the others 1 bar 2 g and Axon 3 bars lte voice +data = my calls didn't drop like everyone else)5. Feels very well built.6. Zte passport replacement (a feature I usually buy from others - free with Axon)7. BEST SOUND REPRODUCTION I have experienced on a phone.8.Included earbuds are the best I have gotten bundled with a music product.9.4GB RAM makes this blazing FAST.Cons:1.Runs very hot the first day of use. (ZTE should be clear on this in info)2. Battery was also dismal on first day of use (another point ZTE forgot to mention)3.Not as customizable as I would hope. (Software update could change that)4.Only 32 GB (non expandable) being the only option. (Being cloud based it isn't a deal breaker but other choices would have been great) Overall, I can recommend this phone without reservation. Zte has made a QUALITY PRODUCT (designed in USA).

$320 for this phone was an absolute steal.Let's break this phone down part by part.1. Build: You can NOT take the back cover off in order to expand storage. The SIM tray is located on the side of the phone. However, the aluminum body of this phone makes this phone incredibly sturdy in the hand. The Gorilla Glass on the front is very smooth around the edges as the side of the phone connects to the front. This gives the phone a very luxurious feel. Overall Build Score: 9/10 (-1 for its non-serviceable design)2. Storage: This phone comes in a cheaper 32GB model, as well as a more reasonable 64GB model. 32GB may be enough for most people, but this phone is clearly designed for a more particular audience in mind. This is where the 64GB model is more reasonable. I currently have all the updates as well as over 32GB of music on this phone, and still have 25+ GBs left. With the 32GB option, I would be in a bit of trouble. Now that they offer a 64GB option, however, the score for this phone is bumped up a bit. Overall Storage Score: 7.5/10 (would be higher with expandable storage option)3. Display: This phone sports a 5.5 inch display with a CGS-based LCD panel, operating at a native resolution of 2560x1440. I must say, this phone literally "shines." The display alone proves that this phone is a flagship device. This may not be Super-AMOLED, but with this quality, it really doesn't need to be. Colors are absolutely beautiful, and playing 1440p videos from Youtube shows how beautiful this display truly is. The touch sensitivity is spot on and the viewing angles are astonishing. Overall Display Score: 9/10 (It COULD be Super-AMOLED, but doesn't need to be at this price)4. Hardware: This phone packs a beast of a processor (the 8-core Snapdragon 810) with the Adreno 430 GPU. This phone can, and will, run anything you throw at it with ease. Surprisingly, this thing doesn't overheat like most devices sporting this chipset. At first it gets considerably warm, but never to the point of worry. Surprisingly, it got better over time with updates. I can manage to play an intensive game on it for a considerable amount of time before it even begins to warm up, and when it does heat up, it seems to stabilize and remain at a constant temperature. I am not sure what ZTE did to help alleviate the overheating issue, but it works.Furthermore, this phone packs a massive 4GBs of DDR3 RAM. Any tech enthusiast will appreciate this feature, especially those that multitask, as this phone does so with ease. Overall Hardware Score: 10/10 (This device is already overkill in the hardware department)5. Battery: This phone sports a rather average 3000mAH battery. For the Snapdragon 810 running within this, I would have liked a larger battery. However, this phone can get you through the day with average use. On the plus side, this phone features Quick Charge 2.0, and I must say that it charges incredibly (and I emphasize that) fast. Overall Battery Score: 7/10 (It could be better given the high-end hardware, but is made up for in extremely fast charging time)6. Speaker: This phone features a pretty impressive front-facing speaker. It does NOT have stereo speakers, so do not let the mesh design fool you. Regardless, for the one speaker it does have, it sounds good, and can get loud. That's about all I can say for this category. Overall Speaker Score: 8/10 (stereo speakers would have been nice with this design)7. Primary Camera: This phone packs an impressive dual-lense rear camera, the primary lense being 13MP, capable of taking very high-res photos (and believe me, they look spectacular). The focus on this camera is pretty good, and the speed at which the camera operates is fantastic. Low light photos could be better, however, although still not nearly the worst. The camera features a special bokeh mode as a result of its secondary (although somewhat gimmicky) OmniVision 2MP lense located above the main 13MP lense. The bokeh mode is a lot of fun to mess around with, and with some practice, you can pull off some professional-looking photos. The manual mode offers a TON of adjustable settings to toy around with to help capture that perfect shot when you have the time. Otherwise, the auto mode does an extremely good job at taking quick photos on its own. As a side note, the adjustable dual-LED flash works great as a flashlight, and can be extremely bright. Overall Primary Camera Score: 9/10 (There are a few flagships that give this camera competition, but those phones cost 2-3 times as much)8. Front Camera: The front-facing camera comes in at an impressive 8MPs. However, this number sounds more impressive on paper than it actually turns out to be in practice. In day to day use, the "selfie" camera (as many will call it) is average. It is by no means terrible, but it isn't quite the best put in a phone as of right now. However, it certainly gets the job done, and can pull off some decent photos in good lighting conditions. Overall Front Camera Score: 7/10 (It takes decent photos, but does not match the specs of the rest of the phone in practice)9. Video: Yes, I am separating the video capture from the primary camera. I have seen, time and again, lacking video on phones that take decent pictures. This is simply not the case here. This phone is capable of taking very crisp 4K videos at 30FPS without a hitch. Run it in 720p, and you can capture video at 120FPS. That framerate leaves room for a feature that is becoming more common in flagship phones: slow motion capture. And boy does this phone capture slow motion well. Many phones, even flagships, feature slo-mo capture, but have a little lag in the final output. That is not the case at all here. Jump in the camera, and you are ready to take a smooth video at 120FPS to be processed in slo-mo for your enjoyment, and it looks buttery smooth, easily competing with the likes of the newest iPhones (something that can't be said for most devices in this category). You can also take pictures while capturing video, which is a nice touch. Overall Video Score: 9/10 (It can always be better)10. Software: This phone runs Android 5.1.1 out of the box, but within two updates, offers an upgrade to Android 6.0. So far, I have had nothing but a wonderful and smooth time with this OS... no hitches, no glitches, nothing. It was a seamless transition. I advise anyone that buys this phone to upgrade to Android 6.0 the moment they boot up the phone and connect to WiFi. Bloatware was kept to a minimum, and the 2 or 3 gimmicky apps they include can easily be disabled right from the start. What we are left with is a near-stock Android experience, ensuring that the 8-core processor and 4GB of RAM is ever more overkill than it needs to be. This has been the smoothest Android experience I have ever had. Overall Software Score: 10/10 (Finally, a company follows the trend that makes the Nexus/Moto series so successful, but with overkill hardware to top it off)11. Audio (Input): This phone features an impressive AK4490 DAC, used to help your headphones pull off a more dynamic sound. As such, this phone is an extremely good music player. The included JBL E13 earbuds are the best I have ever seen shipped with a mobile device, period. In fact, I prefer them over my $40 SoundMagic E10 earbuds, which are pretty good on their own. I can definitely see why these earbuds retail at $50. JBL has been in the audio business for quite some time, and as an audiophile, I can confirm that it shows in the stock earbuds.Regardless, marketing the DAC as "32-bit" capable is gimmicky at best, as literally no one will be able to hear the signal-to-noise ratio difference between that and their standard 24-bit playback. Bit-depth does not necessarily mean better audio resolution/accuracy. Where this thing really shines is in its ability to amplify your headphones. It is clear that this is the absolute best sounding smartphone ever developed from a DAC standpoint. The dynamic range, from an objective standpoint, wipes the floor with other flagships, and there is solid science behind this claim. The THD (total harmonic distortion) is also lower than the other flagships. Literally no phone competes in the audio/DAC category. Overall Input Audio Score: 10/10 (There is no phone that competes, period)Summary: Who is this phone for? Everyone that wants a flagship phone that doesn't want to jump in on the latest hype of the likes of Samsung or Apple. Do I recommend this phone? It is impossible for me to not recommend this phone. You must absolutely buy this phone if you have the money. It makes you wonder why other flagships cost so much.And yes, the Moto X finally has tough competition that isn't from OnePlus.