ZTE Axon 40 Ultra review

Competition

The Axon 40 Ultra's one-of-a-kind take on a camera system comes with certain advantages over the mainstream approach, and the fact that it mostly delivers on its promises makes it a solid option for anyone looking for a camera-centric smartphone. The wide global availability and a very reasonable $799/€829/£709 price point make it all the more compelling (even if that's for a basic 8GB/128GB version).

The Xiaomi 12 Pro retails for about that much in Europe and has a few advantages. Among those is the thoroughly superior display and much faster charging (with support for wireless, too), though the Axon does win for endurance on a single charge. A competent cameraphone itself, the Xiaomi may have the upper hand in the dark, but it's strapped for reach - its tele is only slightly longer than the Axon's main camera. Meanwhile, MIUI is arguably a lot more polished than MyOS too. We'd say the Xiaomi is the more complete smartphone, but we'd go Axon for picture-taking. That dilemma is also easily resolved in some places by the 12 Pro's somewhat limited availability - you won't be getting it in the US, for example.

The Motorola Edge 30 Pro is more of a globetrotter, though if you're in the US, you might know it as the Edge+ 2022. Its price varies wildly from region to region, then from retailer to retailer - we're looking at numbers ranging from €670 (12GB/256GB) to $1000 (8GB/512GB). The Moto is no match for the Axon's imaging prowess, lacking a telephoto camera altogether and not really impressing with what it does have. Camera aside, the rest of the objectively measurable bits are toss-ups, so the Moto makes little sense in the US against the ZTE. In Europe, on the other hand, it takes some more thought, though the ZTE is the easy recommendation if you're into photography.

We may not be in love with the OnePlus 10 Pro, but it's available globally, and it does come to mind as a potential Axon rival, even though it runs a cool $100/€100 pricier. It takes a few narrow wins - slightly nicer display, a bit more battery life, quicker charging (again, with wireless being an option, too). It sort of comes close to the Axon in camera versatility, though we still think the ZTE offers more to the photography-inclined type.

Xiaomi 12 Pro • Motorola Edge 30 Pro • OnePlus 10 Pro

Of the current crop of high-end phones, we can think of a few more that can compete with the Axon for camera chops. But the thing is, they tend to run in the €1100 ballpark, and that makes comparisons not quite as fair, though we'll mention them real quick.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra is an obvious camera behemoth that you can find the world over - a couple of teles going all the way to 10x zoom, a huge main camera, Samsung processing which you may love or be used to, and all that in addition to a way superior overall package.

Then there's the vivo X80 Pro, itself with dual teles if not quite as far-reaching as the Galaxy's. One of our more recent camera favorites, it's also better-specced than the ZTE in the non-camera areas. It's still in a 'Coming soon' state in Europe, however, and you better forget about it if you're in North America.

That brings us to the Honor Magic4 Pro, which you could get in Mexico, which does count as North America, as well as Europe and the Middle East - a lot of the areas the Axon is available. It wowed us with a camera, and its telephoto is a pretty exact match for the ZTE's reach at 90mm. But that price, though.

vivo X80 Pro • Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G • Honor Magic4 Pro

Verdict

Another year, another Axon Ultra is challenging the established ways of doing smartphone cameras. The signs were there last year, but we may have overlooked them - now, ZTE has abandoned caution and has gone for a 35mm primary camera. And we can't say we're not fans.

35mm smartphone cameras from the early days were limited, but there were no ultrawides back then - today, there's always the zoom-out button for when stepping back isn't possible. And the Axon's main camera, thanks to its unusual specs, opens up possibilities you don't get anywhere else or not to that extent - mostly in real, actual lens blur, but also perspective.

The Axon's other two cameras are properly good too, especially during the day, but not too shabby in the dark either. It's only in certain aspects of video recording that we saw missteps, but judging by the rate of updates we've been getting, they should be addressed sooner rather than later. There'll be no fix for the under-display selfie camera whose biggest virtue is its invisibility - certainly not its image quality.

The Axon isn't flawless, that much is certain. It's missing some features a flagship must have, like an IP rating. Its display is also not up to proper top-tier standards. And for all its high performance, perhaps it's a little too lax with letting its chipset run unthrottled into unpleasant temperatures.

But it's the camera that is why the Axon 40 Ultra exists, and it's special enough blind you to the phone's shortcomings. The competitive price doesn't hurt either.

Pros

• Standout rear design, minimal bezels, under-display selfie camera makes for a clean display.
• Above average battery life for the class.
• Compact 65W PowerDelivery charger, fast for a non-proprietary solution.
• Unique camera setup - the primary 35mm unit offers a different view on the world, the other two complement it nicely.
• Generally great image and video quality.

Cons

• No IP rating for dust and water protection.
• Display colors are off by default, peak brightness is lower than on competitors.
• No high refresh rate in gaming.
• Prone to severe overheating.
• Selfies are barely usable.
• Video recording has some issues to iron out.