The ZTE Axon 40 Ultra is a great phone on its own merits, even though it doesn’t have an under-display camera. The Full HD 6.8-inch display and top Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU make it a premium experience, and the phone’s build quality feels good in the hand. Plus, there is no notch or punch hole on the display, which makes it a great smartphone for watching media. ..
The Axon 40 Ultra is a phone that has been recommended to avoid taking selfies, but if you only do it once per month, it may be a good purchase. Additionally, if you don’t care about selfies, then this phone may be a good choice for you.
ZTE Axon 40 Ultra review: Design
The Axon 40 Ultra is a large and sturdy smartphone that measures 163.3 x 73.6 x 8.4mm and weighs 204g. It is similar in size and weight to the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, which means it is a good choice for people who want a large phone that is also sturdy.
The ZTE Axon 7 has a “waterfall” display, which means that it curves dramatically at the sides, just like the Samsung. This design makes it more comfortable to hold, somewhat alleviating the awkwardness of its large overall size. ..
The ZTE Axon 7 is a powerful phone with a great design. The USB-C port is handy, and the headphone jack is not so great. The camera bump is less of a dust magnet, and the phone feels smooth to the touch.
Display
The ZTE Axon 40 Ultra’s AMOLED display is great. For one, it matches the Samsung S22 Ultra in size at 6.8 inches, making it ideal for watching any kind of material. We didn’t really notice the decreased resolution of 1116 x 2480 as opposed to 1440 x 3088, though. The Axon has a screen-to-body ratio of 93%, which is outstanding considering the thin bezels at the top and bottom of the device. Even better, the 144Hz refresh rate was significantly superior to that of other smartphones we’ve used, especially when it came to social media scrolling and playing games with a high frame rate. ..
The ZTE Axon 40 Ultra is an excellent camera that excels in both bright and dim areas. It was clearly visible in bright sunlight, even when watching dark videos, thanks to its maximum brightness of 1500 nits.
The Pixel 3 XL is brighter than the Pixel 6 and has a better screen-to-body ratio. However, it’s not as bright as some of Samsung’s newer OLEDs and it can’t compete with the Pixel 6 in dimly lit areas. The waterfall show is really cool, and without a case it looks great. ..
ZTE Axon 40 Ultra Review: Sure, once you put a case on it, you won’t be able to enjoy it nearly as much. At a wedding, it was the first thing people said to us after we pulled out the camera, and it generally improves the viewing experience. You can read our article on ZTE Axon 40 Ultra review.
ZTE Axon 40 Ultra review: Software
ZTE’s MyOS 12 is a derivative of Android 12 that is installed on top of Android 12 on the Axon 40 Ultra. It is less well-known than Samsung’s OneUI or Xiaomi’s MIUI. The user interface (UI), which is typical of most Chinese brand-built Android forks, is quite crowded with big app icons and vibrant, creative backgrounds. It just depends on your preferred style of design whether this is a positive or bad.
Many people find pre-installed apps to be a nuisance because they can take up space on the phone and make it difficult to use. However, MyOS makes it easy to uninstall apps and add new ones, so there’s no need for this extra bloatware.
This phone is great for people who have trouble using tiny, intricate on-screen controls. The phone’s internal processing power makes it incredibly rapid to switch between menus and launch apps. We occasionally ran into a few bugs, such as one where notifications would only partially expand, causing the text to be cut off, but these incidents weren’t frequent enough or severe enough to make using the phone unpleasant. ..
Hardware and performance
The 40 Ultra is one of the best smartphones on the market and easily competes with other high-end phones. Its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor powers the phone well, and its benchmark results are strong. The phone performs better than most in graphics-focused GFXBench tests, but it falls short in some areas compared to more expensive phones. ..
Our phone is designed for real-world use, with no lag or stutter during our phone use. This has strong enough specifications to run smoothly for years to come, and it will handle multitasking and productivity just as well as it will gaming. As the standard configuration for the phone’s worldwide release, our review unit has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, with the option to upgrade to 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. The phone can even be upgraded in China to 16GB RAM and a massive 1TB storage, but sadly that model won’t be available everywhere.
The phone is still a marvel, even with its basic specifications. NFC, Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6E, and 5G connection are all incorporated as a matter of course. A capable in-display fingerprint scanner and even the choice of face unlock are available for security. And yes, that functions through the screen. It is the fastest one we’ve tried, however it has trouble with sunglasses.
ZTE Axon 40 Ultra review: Camera
This is a fantastic focal length to utilize while travelling. The colours were vivid, the image was clear, and they simply looked nice without any processing or filters. It captures plenty of detail with the 0.4x zoom, even in images taken with the ultrawide (16mm).
The Pixel 6 Pro’s camera array is impressive, but it falls short in some areas. For example, the telephoto lens produces excellent images in good lighting, but we weren’t particularly thrilled with the painterly quality of anything beyond the optical zoom.
The Samsung S22 Ultra digital camera array is not designed for zoom like the Samsung S22. This camera array is designed for a maximum of 40x digital zoom.
ZTE’s watermark may also be seen in the images. That is turned on by default, which is yet another illustration of poor software choices made by ZTE. We left it on for laughs so you could see how ridiculously stupid it makes pictures appear. The standout camera feature isn’t the 64MP array on the back.
This expensive phone has a camera that is much more visible than you’d like, but it produces pictures that are blurry and drab.
Battery life
The Axon 40 Ultra has a 5000mAh battery, which is what we’d anticipate from a device with such high-demanding screen specifications. However, this specification truly needs to be put to the test in the real world to see how it holds up because often just looking at the numbers doesn’t tell the whole story. The phone performed admirably in our tests, providing a good day’s worth of battery life when used both moderately and intensively. Additionally, you can check our article on ZTE Axon 40 Ultra review.
The iPhone XS and XS Max have a battery that lasts up to two hours longer than the iPhone X, but it will take longer to recharge. The phone can be recharged using the included 65W wired charger or with a conventional outlet using the USB-C connector. There is no option for wireless charging on the new iPhones. ..
ZTE Axon 40 Ultra review: Price and availability
The Axon 40 Ultra is an incredibly affordable phone that comes with a lot of features. It has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which is great for people who want to keep their phone safe. The price is also very affordable, which is great for people who want to buy the phone but don’t have a lot of money.
ZTE’s new phone, the ZTE Axon 9 Pro, is available in China but not yet in other countries. ..
Conclusion
The Axon 40 Ultra is a powerful smartphone that charges quickly and has a full-screen experience. It has rear cameras and a covert selfie camera, making it an interesting option for those who want the best of both worlds.
The Axon 40 Ultra is a high-end phone that has some weaknesses. For example, it doesn’t have an IP rating, wireless charging, or a long-term update guarantee. It costs $800 which is a high price for a phone without these features. ..
