ZTE Axon 9 Pro hands-on review

Introduction

ZTE has been branching out its mobile business quite a bit lately. Experimenting with various concepts, like the nubia Red Magic, just to see what sticks. Still, one family has been notably missing from the Chinese manufacturer's lineup for quite some time.

The Axon brand has a history of housing interesting high-end and often conceptual devices, like the folding dual-display Axon M or the Axon 7, with its amazing Dolby Atmos stereo speaker setup. Well, Axon is finally back with another flagship offering - the Axon 9 Pro. Just like its siblings, it too does not disappoint in the innovation and exciting tech front.

ZTE Axon 9 Pro at a glance

• Body: Glass back; IP68 waterproof
• Display: 6.21" AMOLED, 1,080 x 2,248px, 18.7:9 aspect ratio, 402ppi, HDR10
• Rear camera: Primary 12MP, f/1.75 aperture, 1.4µm pixels, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS; Secondary 20MP, f/2.0 fixed-focus; 130° wide-angle
• Front camera: 20MP, fixed focus
• OS/Software: Stock Android 8.1 Oreo
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845: octa-core CPU (4x2.7GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4x1.7GHz Kryo 385 Silver), Adreno 630 GPU
• Memory: 6GB of RAM; 128GB of storage; microSD card slots (up to 256GB)
• Battery: 4,000mAh (sealed); QuickCharge 4.0; Qi wireless charging
• Connectivity: Dual SIM, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0; NFC; USB-C
• Misc: Stereo speakers (Dolby Atmos); fingerprint reader; RGB sensor

A large AMOLED display, backed up by proprietary display hardware, large 4,000 mAh battery, impressive dual-camera setup, Snapdragon 845 chipset, IP68 rating, Wireless charging, stereo Atmos speakers and even a clean AOSP ROM, on paper the Axon 9 Pro is an amazingly decked-out offer.

ZTE is not holding back with this one. Unfortunately, in 2018 this kind of specs sheet comes at a hefty price. With an MSRP of around EUR 650, the days of Axon 7's competitive pricing are clearly history. Still, does the Axon 9 Pro have what it takes to justify the price? Join us on the following pages to find out.