ZTE isn’t making such a big splash at IFA 2016. Instead, it is trying to make a mini splash, and somewhat failing. The Chinese manufacturer has just unveiled the Axon 7 Mini, which is far from actually being mini at 5.2 inches. Of course, it’s still smaller than the main Axon 7, but not by much. Still, we might be able to forgive ZTE this attempt to redefine what the word “mini” means, as the Axon 7 Mini is, at least, light on the wallet as well.
Unless you put it side by side the Axon 7, you might actually mistake this for the slightly older flagship. That’s because, in terms of design, the two are pretty much identical. The only way you’ll really be able to tell that it’s the Axon 7 Mini is if you inspect its specs or, alternatively, look closer at its screen.
The smaller smartphone unsurprisingly gets mini specs. The 5.2-inch screen, for example, goes down to Full HD from the 5.5-inch 2K of the Axon 7. The processor, instead of a Snapdragon 820, is a Snapdragon 617 instead. There’s 3 GB of RAM instead of 4. While the rear camera also decreases to 16 megapixels, the front camera surprisingly remains at 8 megapixels, hinting at a strong selfie focus for the Axon 7 Mini.
You’ll be able to get this shrunken down Axon 7 with a shrunken down price, of course. Come 7th September, when sales kick off, the ZTE Axon 7 Mini will carry a price tag of 300 EUR. Though the US price has yet to be formally announced, it will most likely be around those lines as well.
The Axon 7 Mini is just the latest in a steady march of new smatphones that try to bring manufacturer’s prized features in more affordable packages, a list that includes the Moto Z Play, Huawei Nova and Nova Plus, and Sony Xperia X Compact. Of course, each OEM has a different idea of what “mini” means and it remains to be seen which definition will actually sell.
Huh. If this had come with 4GB of ram and a SD 820 I’d return my Axon 7. I’m coming from the LG G2 so 5.5″ is a little big. This would be absolutely prefect if they didn’t neuter it.