ZTE Axon 10 Pro gets US release: Company takes advantage of Huawei P30’s woes
ZTE is stepping back into the US market with its latest flagship for the first time since the country weighed it down with sanctions in 2017.
The Axon 10 Pro has a big 6.47-inch AMOLED display, a triple-lens rear camera with facial recognition capabilities and an in-display fingerprint scanner. The lenses include a 48-megapixel main sensor, a 20-megapixel wide lens and an 8-megapixel telephoto lens. The smartphone comes ready with 256GB on expandable storage, a choice of eight or 12GB of RAM and a 4,000 mAh battery.
We tested out the ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G at MWC and deemed it “full of promise”, though the smartphone brand still hasn’t confirmed a release date for the UK market.
Related: Hands on: ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G Review
ZTE was briefly banned from working with US brands a few years back after the company shipped US-made parts to Iran and North Korea and rewarded executives involved in the deals with bonuses. Luckily for ZTE, the company was able to retain ties with companies like Qualcomm (who supply its processors) by striking a deal with President Trump that involved a payout of over one billion dollars to the US government.
Now ZTE is back and it’s kitted out with Qualcomm’s US-owned Snapdragon 855 octa-core processor.
Related: ZTE beats Huawei in race to release the first 5G phone in China
“Smartphones are getting more expensive – it’s a universal trend – and at ZTE we remain committed to providing consumers with cutting-edge innovation and the features they want most, while remaining extremely affordable”, said ZTE USA CEO, Brad Li. “Making the Axon 10 Pro available to our U.S. consumers delivers on that brand promise and commitment”.
The ZTE Axon 10 Pro is available now from ZTE’s US site and from several retailers. The 8GB version costs $549, while the 12GB version will set you back $599.