ZTE Axon 7 Review: Affordable Flagship Greatness

[Mike Andronico]

The ZTE Axon 7 punches well above its weight, delivering fast performance, a feature-rich camera and a stunning design for just $399.

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[Nezrit]

You have former and latter backwards.

 

[Niknud]

You mention the speakers being mixed because it doesn't offer amazing bass. Can you suggest a phone that does offer front-facing hi-fi stereo speakers with good bass? Thanks.

 

[Sublimation77]

Your review is mostly on point, but the strongest thing about the axon 7 is the speakers, your not going to get a lot of bass out of a smartphone unfortunately. But the speakers of the axon 7 blow away the htc one m9, which is significantly better then iPhone 6s. Not trying to sound like a dick but... you either got a defective unit or need to get your ears checked man. The audio is phenomenal, I have a 5.1 surround setup in my living room, bedroom, and my car has top of the line pioneer with amp for highs and amp for my 12" subwoofer. And with that being said, this phone sounds AMAZING, even compared to cheap standalone speakers, there is simply NO COMPARISON to any other US smartphone. I've been using my axon 7 to play Lukas Graham while I game on my PC instead of using my 5.1 system. I'm not saying the phone sounds better then that, but it is 100% acceptable for vocal driven music.

 

[OrdinaryGeek]

I'm quite disappointed to see that the screen brightness on the Axon 7 is so low. Outdoor visibility in direct sunlight is an important criteria for me. This coupled with the unlit navigation keys are enough to make me reconsider this phone (I currently have one on preorder). I'm beginning to think I might be better served by a (significantly more expensive, and loaded with bloatware) S7 or S7 Edge. Oh, and the others who commented here are correct: You did mix up the terms "former" and "latter" at the end of your review, and I don't think you're being fair to the Axon 7's speakers. It is a PHONE, after all. Not a standalone Bluetooth speaker. At that size, you're really not going to get much bass. I'm not sure what you were expecting. You should compare the sound to the Idol 4s, the Nexus 6p, the Moto X Pure, the HTC 10 or M9. I mean you did mention that you didn't hear much difference between the Axon 7's speakers and your iPhone, so there's that, I guess. But as far as bass goes, can you name us a phone that delivers the bass response you expect from its built-in speaker(s)?