ZTE Axon 7 Review: The phone which broke our music test... | Pocketnow
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2016
- The ZTE Axon is an absolute monster looking at the specs. From the Qualcomm 820, to the 64GB of built in storage, there are precious few compromises one might make in picking this phone over more expensive options. The most exciting development might just be the headphone audio, which completely broke how we test playback quality. You'll have to see it to believe it. Here's our full review of this $400 beast.
Axon 7 Real Camera Review • ZTE Axon 7 Real Camera...
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ZTE Axon 7 Review: The phone which broke our music test... | Pocketnow
• ZTE Axon 7 Review: The...
PocketNow
/ pocketnow - Наука та технологія
That level of audio analysis is something I wish more UA-cam reviews did. Great work!
Naw. We do it, so others don't have to ;-)
+JuanBagnell Rockin' a niche! Nice
+JuanBagnell exactly!
I subbed just for that reason
Most others can't.
Again, Megapickles! 😂 Gotta love it hahaha.
They are tasty!
+JuanBagnell That they are lol.
I almost accepted that I was wrong in my whole life about megapixels...lol
I seriously thought it was only me that heard that lol.
DerpyDude lol
The original Axon was really good, and it looks like ZTE had leapfrogged itself. I'm now officially a fan of the company.
This is a significant and exciting leap for the company.
Me too. I never thought the day would Come when I wanted a ZTE phone so badly, or at all. This phone is getting positive reviews everywhere and is clearly one of the best phones of 2016. Go name get one for sure, there is no reason not to
the only question is will it get updates regularly also I'm currious to where they had to make cuts at because I don't understand how they achieved this price point
ZTE is really good at updating their flagships.
+blackfear1562 ZTE just listened to the developer community and unlocked the bootloader so for me that totally makes updates irrelevant!
MEGAPICKEL!
YUM!
1:09
UPDATE: Wifi & Radio signal issue has been correct in the recent software update.
I can confirm this first hand and the signal reception is now very good quality.
Tefen M thank you!
XDA, Reddit and ZTE forums all report reception issues being poor. lower db compared to even old phones. Thank you for being the first reviewer to actually mention this, hopefully ZTE can fix it via a software update..
Yikes. Just started looking up the forums, and yeah, seems more common than just our unit...
Hey Juan, has your Axon 7 reception gotten better since Axon sent out those two software update?
ac3ofspades878 it's been fixed from what I heard
I love the great 8 megapickle quality!
Super tasty!
JuanBagnell lmao
- BTW Thanks for replying
scrolled down as soon as i heard that.
Spane Boswell same damn
Spane Boswell lol
OP3 - Best performance
Honor 8 - Best camera
Axon 7 - Best audio
Make a mixture of these phones & put into one 😌
Or pick your favorite two and still come in $80 cheaper than a Note 7...
JuanBagnell Yes exactly ideally u guys should do a comparison video by combining two of these phones against the note 7 😂
If I've to pick 1 OP3 will be my preferred choice but if I'd have to pick 2 then I'll go with the other two.
Op3 performance
Honor 8 photos
Note 7 video camera
Axon 7 audio
Note 7 screen
Op3 software
If I had a choice, I'd go OP3 and Axon 7.
I'd use the OP3 as a daily driver due to its software and also the freedom to install a custom ROM if I want to and use the Axon as my entertainment device thanks to its speakers.
And both would still be slightly cheaper than my Note7. But I still love my Note, even if it is a very pricey phone.
note 7 screen is hardly better than axon7's
Amazing phone, still using it!
axon,axoff
HA!
Very accurate review. I have been using Axon 7 for past 2 months after ditching my Samsung S7 and this phone is just SICK. It's a flagship with mid-range price and audio something I have never experienced on a phone before. The camera is not all that but I personally don't use camera that much.
Very good analysis with deep test and technical information. I've never seen any other YT doing that. Congrats!
best review period
:-)
+JuanBagnell hey which is better note 4 or axon 7 ?
So I'm considering buying an Axon 7, and is the bad reception issue fixed? I live in an area where getting a good LTE connection is hard, so that is a make-or-break factor for me. :/
Absolutely. People report better reception than other phones. I myself have better WiFi and 4G reception on this than my previous Moto X Play and Oneplus 2. I think it may have been a software issue in early units, since then many software updates happened, I am very happy with reception and call clarity.
Very very professional sound analysis...
I take photos and audio tests VERY seriously.
+JuanBagnell And I'm glad for this, this is why I'm watching every video you guys put out. Especially enjoying the camera reviews.
agreed!
Just had to leave a comment. Absolutely fantastic & in-depth review, just the kind ive started to expect from Pocketnow, and i have to give credit to Juan Bagnell for adding to this. Those camera reviews are THE standard now thanks to him. Keep on keeping on Juan!
I can confirm the radio reception issues. Not on Wifi as much....Wifi for me is very strong. But LTE on ATT is lacking. In areas where my ZenFone 2 would have full bars, I get maybe 1-2. I can say I've had no issues with data transfer speeds or dropped calls, so maybe it's an issue with signal metering being in need of calibrating, and I've never lost service entirely, so it's a non-issue for me at the moment.
Still, when I'm used to seeing a full signal meter at the top of my phone, and it shows low signal, it's something that makes me do a double take.
Outside of that, I'm absolutely blown away by this phone and very happy with my decision to purchase it. Well done, ZTE.
Looking at it more this afternoon, it seems only the LTE bands are the issue here. The HSPDA/HSPA+ bands seem to have full signal in all the places I'd expect it.
01:09 Eight MEGA-PICKLE Selfie shooter!
Please Mr. Bagnell, follow up on that radio signal issue. I'm very interested in this phone, but that problem is a total deal breaker for me. Thank you !
As soon as we get a reply. I've gotten comments from other people that reception has been weak on their phones, but one person on T-Mo said connection was great.
+JuanBagnell there's many more that have reception issues, check XDA,zte forums or Reddit. the T-Mobile person is either lucky or wrong as I have T-Mobile and it's worse than my s4, others reporting from T-Mobile also have the issue. hope you get an answer as it's the one deal breaker with this phone.
Any follow up on this follow up? Seems even handed, lots of people with great signal and lots of people with poor signal right out of the box.
Pocketnow just wrote an article recently stating that ZTE is updating the phone to increasing signal strength. (Edit: Just looked into it. I got an update for my Axon 7 just a few hours ago and under the update, it said Radio Frequency is improved along with other things.)
Hi, and how's the reception after the update? I'm mostly settled on this phone, but the reception part is one last question that leaves the door open for other options. Is it noticeably worse than other phones? My 3 year old (or is it 4?) nexus 5 was never a champ in this division, so I can tolerate this level, but if it's worse - I might need to look for other phones. And a bonus question - I think I've read that axon7 will be a 'day dream ready' phone - is it? Was it updated to android 7.0?
thanks a lot for actually testing the in headphone audio.. i have searched every video for this kinda audio facts..will help make a choice..please include such in headphone audio for phone in future aswell
I'll make sure to stay on top of it :-)
You always do such great reviews. Thank you!
Perhaps it's because of the advances made in the last few years in the camera department that perhaps dissuades me from becoming a ZTE owner but it's certainly a unit that I'd highly recommend to all my friends who aren't as photocentric as myself.
I'm an iPhone5s user and I'm waiting to see what the iPhone7Plus is like before I decide to upgrade. I've never been at a point so close to jumping ship as now!
I feel you there. I'm still holding out hope that Apple does something big for camera tech this year.
where are all the Axon haters? I think this phone and others like the Honor 8 and OnePlus 3 are the harbingers of a new age where people don't have to give up a mortgage payment to get a great phone. this sort of thing should wake people up to how much they're being cheated with phones that cost over $650...
Yeah, I don't get the divisiveness here. None of the $400 phones are outright All Rounder killers. They each bring some compromises to the table, and excel in different areas.
+JuanBagnell this is perfectly said
well people don't want to be seen sporting a ZTE or oneplus. people are so caught up in name brand as In Apple, Samsung and LG. I just ordered my axon
Is that black bar on top and bottom of the screen part of the UI skin? How big is the actual screen size?
Juan Guzman 5.5 inches
yes those are where the sensors are located and the notification light
Hey, i bought this phone and was expecting high volume, but in Spotify it is exactly the same volume as my galaxy s7. Which is kind of low on some songs. Maybe the problem is spotify app? Im a little frustrated because i was expecting high volume
took you guys long enough!! thx for finally reviewing this one...
Excellent review Juan as always...
Never want a phone with bad wifi reception no matter how cheap or good it performs.
Not like we need to rely on communication or data services at all right?
+JuanBagnell I have come up with a plan! take the phone apart, make an acrylic case for it, and youve got good signal,😜
+JuanBagnell did ZTE to reach out to you yet regarding the signal problems hopefully they can send a maintenance update up the power level of the modem and also thay will be being Wi-Fi calling for T-Mobile
JuanBagnell Dont think i understand you or you dont understand me. But t i dont have a contract. So no data for me. Second i have a rather large house and even with wifi extender sometimes my wifi signal gets bad. THis means that a phone with bad reception my wifi signal probably will become useless. So no phone for me with a bad wifi reception.
herman stokbrood
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sarcasm
:-)
Can't wait to see review on the V20 camera!!!!!!!
Me too :-)
Me too...have a V10 and that camera is a beast
Excellent review. Good presentation style and level of detail.
Just like your honor 8 review emphasizing on the troubling bluetooth performance, thanks again for pointing out the radio signal flaws in both wifi and LTE (at least with atnt). Both bt and radio perf are huge day-to-day concern of mine over the last few phones I've experienced. While the rest of the spec crops like cpu, ram, camera, battery life, expansion, or even headphone jack are important, your reviews had won me over by little details like this.
Trying to make sure we're keeping these reviews fair and accurate. We like to mix in our personal opinions and "feels", but sometimes we have to throw numbers around too.
this shouldve been the nexus 6
Fingers crossed for a future ZTE Nexus...
+JuanBagnell IF ZTE makes a Nexus like this or better, I'm sold! I'm so SOLD!!
... The nexus 6 is nearly 2 years old.... "this shoulve been the nexus 6" is a completely stupid comment.
+Zac Kirstein
NEXUS 8-9?
The wifi and radio signal issue is really a deal breaker, I'm hoping it was a faulty phone
Hoping we get a reply to share.
Not a faulty phone, but a software issue that has already been fixed
Excellent review with a very welcoming exciting tone!
Thanks and subbed! :)
awesome phone review! one of the most detailed ones I have seen
If Apple made an equivalent of this phone, they'd most definitely price it around $1000. I'm glad the Axon 7 and OnePlus 3 are happening, it's only a matter of time before these $400 phones, and they're reputation, start to pressure flagship phone companies to price their equivalents more appropriately. Christ the 64GB iPhone 6 Plus (not 6S) still retails around $550. The 6S Plus sits at about $675. And I'm sure the 64GB 7 Plus will retail $800 like reports suggest... Good hell that's highway robbery....
Playstation Elation I'm an owner of an Oneplus One. I paid 300 € for it in 2014, half the price of Samsung S5, and the Oneplus has 1 gb more Ram.
damn you are a fortune teller
man even the mini seems louder than my Nexus 6P! 😨
I have this phone in gray heading my way! Cannot wait!!!
You guys are the first reviewers to mention the radio strength. I am glad I watched this and hope ZTE responds.
You did a better review than linus.
:-)
If you ask me I'd pick this over OP3. FYI there's 128Gb and 6GB Ram. It's really good upgrade from my m8.
The only issue might be the slightly better camera performance on the OP3, but that's not a particularly severe compromise here on the Axon.
+JuanBagnell Personally I don't really interested in camera performance in smartphone. I'd rather have the mirror less camera like a5000. Hopefully just hopefully the camera quality will be improved by software though. Although even when post to instagram regular person won't notice the difference between these two. Hahaha
What did you think about the notification "clock icon" you have to press every time you want to see notifications on the lock screen in the upper left corner? I noticed you didn't bring it up in the review regarding the Mifavor UI.
+21 Degrassi Street What do you mean make a 4K phone ? The OP3 already records in 4K..
one plus 3 software is more excited and stock Android..plus with dash charging
Damn ... you naild it !!! That's a killer review !!👌🏻😎👍🏻
Awesome video just the info I was looking for since I went from the V20 to the Axon 7. I was skeptical that the Axon 7 would sound as good or better as the V20 dac. The front facing speakers makes watching videos more enjoyable without headphones.
Lol that would be a good tag line for Axon 7.. "What a time to be alive" 😂😂😂😂
Great review, I was thorn apart between this phone and Htc10 but I guess I have decided what to have👍👍👍
Happy we could help :-)
Did ZTE ever explain the Axon 7's signal issue?
ye.
www.androidpolice.com/2016/09/19/axon-7-gets-updated-improved-signal-strength-september-security-patch/
Juan, I Juan to love you, but you are just not the Juan. 🙁
Dawwwww... :-/
Can we play Juan on Juan?
;)
I'm Hispanic (Cuban) and get these all of the time. Especially when people are like "Your last name meets white in English!"
+Peter Blanco LOL
Great review!
Great review Juan!
:-)
I love that you guys played AAF videos. One of my favourite bands!!!
Thanks for the great review. I got the Axon and I had a concern with the signal reception as you pointed out here. At least on my phone I got better signal than my previous Samsung S4 on both Wi-Fi and Criket. Overall the phone is phenomenal for me cause I do a lot of multimedia and audio, video and batt. life are just awesome.Great phone and great price.
Hi, thanks for the nice review. Any response from ZTE regarding radio/antenna performance?
nice review. would've liked to see more of an audio comparison between axon 7 and htc 10.
great video, great review!
Amazing review ... One of the best 😬👍🏻👍🏻
Nice addition by having an Alien Ant Farm video in there. Great job as always Mr. MegaPickle!
Flipping LOVE Alien Ant Farm :-D
thanks for the review, did ZTE ever address the radio mgmt via software update? this is a major concern for me since i'm out in the country and don't get good coverage even in optimal conditions. thanks.
Much respect for you guys jiggling all these phone reviews.
Thank you, I've been waiting forever for this video.
Need to get that note 7...been waiting for you to review it...man this year been nuts....This and the Honor 8 combo would be awesome for everyone....if you wanted to carry 2 phones :)
Excellent review.
Juan Bagnell, I have three questions:
1. As the amp is powerful, and in succession to the video about headphones of 4 months ago, what range of impedance would you recommend for this phone? (and as I have the KZ-ATE, that you have reviewed, how do they pair with the axon 7?)
2. To your opinion, will there be any change when listening to FLACs over good MP3s (with proper headphones)? (and sorry if I'm way off and it is not even close to making good use of FLACs, I'm new in the audio department).
3. Closely enough to the topic - what headphones below $150 would you recommend? (in general).
Thanks!
Nice coverage of the Wifi and cell reception
Great review! Two questions, though. At 1:10, available ROM is 46.63 GB from the original 64 GB? Is that what comes out of the box? Can you change the color of the notification lights as with OnePlus 3?
Another good review. I ordered this and am waiting till Sept but kind of bummed to hear about the antenna strength... I struggle as it is with devices on wifi but also on cell service. Hmm. Hopefully they can boost this or something
Nice review. Really pushing me to get one but the radio performance is rather a large flaw. Could it be the internal layout of the antenna affected by the metal case? Not sure but I hope this can be fixed.
Hi Juan Carlos Bagnell !!Your die-hard fan here !!It was really fun to look up Ventura Freeway and Encino Reservoir where you usually shoot Real Camera Reviews !! I also looked up your beautiful house (Don't ask me how did I know your address)#Tarzana, CA
Juan kills the review game. what an awesome review. all the info without any bloat. I hope pocket now treats you well. don't got to John at Techno Buffalo if he offers you a job . it seems he dose that when a really good reviewer arrives on the seen. this goes Captain two Phones as well.
We doing just fine right now on PN. Stay tuned :-)
I wish you guys would make signal comparisons on all your reviews! It's very helpful for those of us that live on the fringe of a cell tower!
It's a bit subjective, as we all live in different areas, but it is something I'm hoping we can pay more attention to relative to devices people are familiar with.
Finally reviews that test radio performance. My phone needs to be connected to be able to do most anything, so I can't understand why testing the phones radio connection performance is nearly unheard of.
Great review, as always!
I have a question, I'm considering the LG V20 for its Quad-Dac. How does the Axon 7 compares to the V20, and which should be an "audiophile" grade phone.
Thank you! :)
Thank you. I primarily stream radio through IHeartRadio, but I have a hard time hearing the phone app when talking on the phone. Does this unit do well when having a phone conversation you hold up to your ear and on speakerphone?
Juan bro, you nailed this review. nice one.
:-)
Have you had a chance to retest after the update that "fixed" the RF issues?
I am thinking to buy, but am worried that the reception issues are hardware design related.
I love my Axon. Didnt notice the wifi or something being slow but sometimes I have performance issues after unlocked it. It doesn't give feedback if the fingerprint sensor worked and the screen freezes until I can use it again
My ATT signal strength is similar to what you have in the video, I will have to do a comparison with a different phone at home this evening (nexus 5x) to see how it compares when in the same spot. I am really digging my Axon 7 so far.
Damn, now I'm inclined to get this phone. I've watched a lot of Axon 7 reviews for the audio, but this yours is closest to a fair review. Terrific review again Juan 👍👍 I'm off to the camera review
Sweet Video! I haven't experienced any serious radio issues being on a GSM network, but my network's data is extremely slow, but call quality is great and sticks for the most part. Not sure if my phone is at issue for not receiving calls though... sends me a text saying i missed a call when it didn't even ring, although I think that is my network...
in the 3rd low light pic was that in Carlsbad CA? if so I stayed in one of those condos
I was about to buy the Alcatel Idol 4S on the night of the pre-orders but as I was waiting for the site to open, I started searching up phones in the $400 price range. and I hadn't even heard of the Axon 7 until that night and took a chance and pre-ordered it instead. Wow am I glad that I chose this over there idol 4s. Hands 👇 the best phone for value!!
It's a monster. Very few compromises.
Huh, pretty coincidental that I'm upgrading from my broken HTC One M8 to the Axon 7. Can't wait for mine to come in on the 28th.
Ha ha. 'what a time to be alive' so funny man I know exactly who you were referring to)) thanks for the great review! Want this phone so much but in the UK they don't sell it arghhhhhh
juan. i was just curious how the audio loudness performs after the updates. the date of this review means u were on build 20 when you reviewed the phone, but i heard the b27 update in september lowered the volume. i bought the axon 7 entirely for its loudness upgrade over my s7 edge, but i can tell you right now that theres literally little to no difference in loudness between my axon 7 and s7 edge and I'm VERY disappointed. i actually find it hard to believe that this broke loudness tests as it can't even beat my s7 edge in loudness. could you please comment on how it performs after the updates?
Ive been looking to switch up and you guys make it easier for me to choose. Im getting this phone for media and sound i have my back up for night shots. Lol
hey juan can you do a comparison video between the zte axon 7 and oneplus 3 i can't decide on which phone to buy.
Great Video!
:-)
It's now mid 2019 and I'm still rocking mine! Have replaced the battery and the speaker grills about a month ago. It's on Android Oreo which is an official update from ZTE. Unfortunately it is not an OTA update and you must download the file directly from the ZTE support page and save it to an mSD card (you can't save it to internal memory as it gets wiped while the update is carried out!) The speakers are still going strong, louder than my almost new Google Pixel 3 which I use for work. No more WiFi or fingerprint sensor issues since the first update (back when it was running Android M still). Now with Android Oreo they've done away with the MyFavor UI and it runs a stock Android UI. Compared with the Pixel 3, my Axon 7 is an OK phone for day-to-day use but I have recently installed Fortnite on both phones and the ZTE struggles to keep a constant 15FPS on Low settings while the Google phone only struggles on Epic settings (anything below Medium runs at constant 30FPS). Still the best $349 dollars I have ever invested on a gadget. The Pixel 3 on the other hand is going for what nowadays? $799?
are you the one who replace the battery and speaker grills ?
I've owned this phone since the release and it is BY FAR the best phone i ever had ! Only crashed twice in roughly a year of heavy use, and it was always while using messenger
Never have issu with reception and the september update should correct the situation for those who have trouble. I want to know Pocketnow your problem are noew resolve with the update or not?
I've played around with radio signal strength vs actual signal bandwidth and I found many a time that if it reports low/medium strength it can easily out perform other devices in both signal stability and bandwidth using the "same" speced hardware.
This was years ago, I used a large file usually over 4GB and used ping plotter for every half second pings.
Now I don't care as much as my router is more than good enough to cover my whole home with over 100Gbps and my internet connection is limited to ~100Mbps.
Juan bagnell. I'm looking at the Axon 7 along with the Op3 and Idol 4 for my next phone. Coming from a Galaxy note 2 would it be safe to say that the camera of the Axon 7 or any of the above mentioned devices be better at low light pics than my current note 2 even with some of the issues with the axon 7 low light pics? Not only will this be my first phone since my note 2 but an unlocked on at that. Your opinion is greatly appreciated and love your reviews. Thanks in advance.
Absolutely. We've come a long way since the Note 2, and I think you'd be well served by the Axon in that regard. The Idol is a bit trickier as I think that phone has some thermal issues if you like to shoot a lot of video.
has ZTE responded about the weak radios? can't find the article on pocketnow. thaaaanks 😘
i m still using htc m8 and want to grab zte axon in near future.real fan of music!
Dear @Pocketnow, can you do an audio comparison between ZTE Axon 7 vs LG V20 or any other phones with good DACs? Thank you for every awesome review!
I believe it is a antenna issue. I have the quartz grey and although it doesn't effect day to day or streaming I notice that on my cricket wireless sim and T-Mobile sim only 2 to 3 bars. Wifi is fine though
finally another phone with better speakers and built in audio system i have the axon pro liked it but i dropped it and half the screen doesn't light up but i still use it for music now im going for this one as i listen to a lot of music
Damn, this review's quality just took me in a time machine to about 5 years ago when people would review EVERY part of the phone
I preordered one from Newegg a few days ago. But after the problem with the wifi and radio reception, it's making cancel the order. I hope this gets fixed soon
Great review as usual. However I am left wondering how the internal sensors work since this is supposed to be the first Daydream compliant phone, sporting high quality internal sensors and low latency screen right? Of course one would have to wait until it got the Nougat upgrade but still, I wonder how well it performs as is right now.
Just using it with Cardboard currently, I can say it's very accurate and fast. GPS seems to also lock instantly and have had no issues with Maps running on this device.
compmanio36 Great to hear that. Have any words about how the screen behaves differently because of the low latency? Also, did you notice any drift? I wonder how good the QHD screen is and if the pixels are as obvious as FHD panels. Maybe it is a use case in need of 4k?
Hello!
What kind of pen are you using in your videos?
Thank you
what song was playing on the thumbnail and shown briefly during the audio test? a friend showed me and I'm trying to remember the name of the song.
@JuanBagnell Thanks for the review man! Now my question is.. Will this beat the Note 4's camera?
I think it'd be a close fight actually. I dunno. Depends a LOT on what you like to shoot.
How does the volume compare to the Oneplus 3? it is also very loud on the jack.
You compared the Axon to the OP3 so much (since it is an ovious competitor) but not in this category?!
love the reviews on Pocketnow! "Mega-pickle" at 1:09 made me laugh hard. Keep up the good work with these reviews guys. (^^,)
:-)
I really need to upgrade my HTC M8
so should i go for this or the OP3, or even the Honor 8?