ZTE's new high-end Axon phone launches in the US on July 14

It looks like ZTE is getting ready to launch yet another sub-brand, following the success it's had with Nubia (mostly in Asian markets). This time around, though, the brand will be targeted at the US market, at least at first.

It's called Axon and the first Axon phone is due to be officially unveiled at an event in New York City on July 14. In the meantime, the Chinese company has put up a teaser site for the device, which gives us some information about its specs.

It will sport a whopping 4GB of RAM, for example. It will also have a dual-lens rear camera capable of recording 4K video, though stills resolution hasn't been announced yet. The dual-lens arrangement is there to enable refocusing pictures after you take them, or blurring backgrounds. Its front camera will be "smile-activated" in order to let you "step up your selfie game".

There are also claims about Hi-Fi audio playback and recording, however these aren't detailed further - except to say that we'll see twin microphones "with some of the best in noise suppression technology".

The Axon phone will be available in three color versions: Phthalo Blue, Ion Gold, and Chromium Silver. It should have a fast processor, a large battery, and near-stock Android too.

Pricing has obviously been kept quiet for now, but we could see the Axon going for around $450 unlocked. That's because there's a contest you can participate in at the microsite (see the Source link below), which lets you win an Axon. In the competition rules its approximate retail value is stated as $450. It's unclear whether the handset will be offered straight to consumers in unlocked form, or if we'll see certain carriers selling it.

ZTE has not actually officially revealed that it's behind the Axon phone, but some enterprising individuals found plenty of connections to the well known Chinese mobile device maker. The Axon website, for example, has "/zte/" in many places in its source code. Furthermore, its domain was purchased and then owned by ZTE from 2012 to 2015, when it was handed over to a company that specializes in obfuscating domain owners. We presume this was done exactly for this marketing campaign. And finally, the Axon company address is in a ZTE office.

Source | Via 1 • Via 2