ZTE Axon 30 Ultra review: ultra-good value
Our Verdict
The ZTE Axon thirty Ultra isn't the superlative performer in every category, but it gets plenty right to be a feasible smartphone option. And information technology'southward much cheaper than comparable phones from Samsung or Apple tree.
For
- Great value for coin
- 144Hz display
- Excellent portrait and telephoto photography
Against
- Uncomfortable design
- Poor 5G compatibility in U.S.
- Unrefined user feel
Tom's Guide Verdict
The ZTE Axon 30 Ultra isn't the summit performer in every category, simply it gets enough right to be a viable smartphone pick. And information technology's much cheaper than comparable phones from Samsung or Apple tree.
Pros
- +
Not bad value for money
- +
144Hz display
- +
First-class portrait and telephoto photography
Cons
- -
Uncomfortable design
- -
Poor 5G compatibility in U.S.
- -
Unrefined user experience
ZTE Axon 30 Ultra specs
Starting price: $749/£649
Display: 6.vii-inch FHD AMOLED (1080 10 2400)
Refresh charge per unit: 60Hz/90Hz/120Hz/144Hz, adaptive
Rear cameras: 64MP master (f/1.nine), 64MP ultrawide (f/2.2), 64MP portrait (f/ane.9), 8MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom (f/3.4)
Forepart camera: 16MP selfie
Chipset: Snapdragon 888
RAM: 8GB/12GB
Storage: 128GB/256GB
Battery: 4,600 mAh
Charging: 66W wired
Operating system: Android 11 with MyOS 11
Size: 6.36 x two.87 x 0.31 in (161.five x 73 10 viii mm)
Weight: half dozen.6 ounces (188 grams)
The ZTE Axon 30 Ultra is a pretty surprising phone. Information technology'southward not that the features are out of the ordinary — everything y'all'd expect from a flagship-course handset is here. Information technology'due south just that y'all'll exist surprised at just how capable this phone is while costing hundreds less than high-end phones from Apple tree and Samsung
The "Ultra" bluecoat has become increasingly mutual for the all-time of the best Android phones. Notwithstanding, the Axon xxx Ultra is the cheapest of these handsets while still offering excellent hardware to back information technology up. Compared to the OnePlus 9 Pro or the iPhone 12 Pro, it's a great deal, every bit I found when testing the device for my ZTE Axon 30 Ultra review
ZTE Axon 30 Ultra review: Price and availability
ZTE will sell the Axon 30 Ultra from May 27 via its web store. Although you can't get it via whatsoever carrier in the U.Due south. or U.G., it is sold unlocked in both regions.
The basic Axon thirty Ultra costs $749/£649, while the version with more RAM and storage costs $849/£739. This is incredibly cheap for an "Ultra" telephone. The iPhone 12 Pro starts at $999/£999, and the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra at $1,199/£1,149. Even the competitively-priced OnePlus nine Pro costs $969/£829 for the base model.
ZTE Axon 30 Ultra review: Design
Y'all aren't going to get many curious stares if you go around with the Axon 30 Ultra in your hand. The only distinguishing features on the back of the phone are its rectangular camera bump with four large lenses in the top left corner, a small-scale "Neovision Photography" badge attached to the crash-land, and the ZTE 5G logo on the bottom correct. For an Ultra phone, the ZTE sure doesn't shout near it.
The ZTE Axon 30 Ultra simply comes in blackness right now, which also causes the phone to blend into the groundwork. Meanwhile on the front, a key punch-pigsty notch and curved display edges give the phone a sleek symmetrical face.
In that location'due south no under-brandish photographic camera on the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra like at that place was on last year's Axon 20 5G, because ZTE has accustomed that the technology isn't good enough yet. The phone maker continues to work on under-screen cameras though, suggesting that this feature volition return in future devices.
After holding the Axon 30 for a while, I began to notice the phone has weirdly prominent side rails. They dug into my palm when holding the device with whatsoever force, and while it's not painful, I do worry that this could get abrasive afterwards using the phone long-term. At least, you tin dispense with some of the clumsiness by turning to a soft case that fits the six.36 x ii.87 x 0.31-inch phone.
ZTE Axon 30 Ultra review: Brandish
The Axon thirty Ultra's vi.7-inch display requires a modest trade-off. The screen refreshes at a 144Hz rate, higher than even the increasingly mutual 120Hz rate plant on premium Android phones. But you'll have to settle for FHD resolution, instead of the sharper QHD resolution of phones like the OnePlus 9 Pro or Samsung Milky way S21 Ultra.
To save you some bombardment life, the Axon 30 Ultra uses an adaptive refresh charge per unit organisation that tin swap the refresh charge per unit downward equally depression as 30Hz when you're engaged in more static activities. While the Axon 30 features a stepped organization rather than the fully variable displays found on the S21 Ultra or OnePlus 9 Pro, it still works just as you'd want it to.
Watching the latest "Miss Minutes" trailer for the Disney Plus' Loki, I loved how vivid the Axon thirty's display was, plus how the dual speakers brought out the best in the punchy orchestral score. However when I swapped back to the OnePlus nine Pro, it became articulate that the colors were not quite equally rich on ZTE's phone. And the college QHD resolution on the OnePlus flagship made a notable deviation when looking at details on the TVA's monitors or the numerous establishing shots throughout the trailer. The Axon thirty Ultra's display is solid, but other phones boast more impressive panels.
ZTE Axon 30 Ultra review: Cameras
In true ultra fashion, at that place are four potent cameras on the back of the Axon thirty Ultra — master, ultrawide and portrait cameras, all with 64MP sensors, plus an 8MP telephoto camera capable of 5x optical zoom and 60x maximum zoom. On the front, the selfie photographic camera uses a 16MP sensor.
I captured images of the entrance to Camden Marketplace with the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra and the OnePlus 9 Pro. Both photos await crisp, even with the vivid heaven taking upward a large corporeality of the background. The OnePlus does better with colors, since the Axon's shot is a niggling likewise bright and loses some richness in the metallic and brickwork.
I used the superior night mode of the iPhone 12 Pro as the yardstick for this dark shot of Kings Cross station. The Axon xxx produces a cooler epitome that doesn't handle the bright sources of low-cal every bit skilfully equally the iPhone. The ZTE's nighttime mode uses longer exposures than the iPhone, and as a event, raindrops turn into streaks. That's at least a cool-looking consequence that may be of interest to some users.
Swapping back to the OnePlus 9 Pro for an ultrawide comparison looking over the Regent'due south Canal, nosotros tin can run across it again offers amend colors than the Axon 30 does. In that location's not much deviation in overall quality though, since the OnePlus likewise uses a larger than boilerplate 50MP ultrawide photographic camera sensor.
I zoomed in on a pigeon posing on the roof of a Camden Market food stall to test the Axon 30 Ultra'due south 5x telephoto lens. As expected, the higher magnification means you end up with a brighter, clearer image than the OnePlus 9 Pro, which can manage iii.3x magnification before having to crop in digitally.
The virtually unique photographic camera on the Axon 30 is its 64MP portrait camera While well-nigh phones with portrait lenses are fitted with a depression-level optical zoom lens, such as the Galaxy S21 Ultra, ZTE has instead fiddled with the lens' focal length to give you the power to fit in your discipline without needing to back away several steps.
When trying the portrait shooter out against the iPhone 12, I was able to position the ZTE far closer to myself, which certainly fabricated it easier to become a proficient shot. While the iPhone offers more pleasantly warm colors and a neater separation between me and the trees in my backyard, the narrower angle of the Axon's photo and more than gradual depth-of-field effect makes it feel more similar a portrait rather than just me against a blurred background.
Our terminal comparison pits the OnePlus 9 Pro against the Axon 30 Pro in a selfie shot contest. The ZTE disappoints again with its less brilliant epitome, plus its portrait cut-out algorithm has struggled to carve up the top of my caput from the tree behind me. I'd say the OnePlus does a better job with its bokeh effect, too.
ZTE Axon thirty Ultra review: Performance
In line with its Ultra claim, ZTE has fitted this phone with a Snapdragon 888 chipset, and either 8GB RAM and 128GB storage or 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. That rivals all but the few phones that offering 16GB RAM, and for essentially less money.
Bearing in mind that my review unit of measurement is the 8GB/128GB base model, the Axon 30 Ultra managed 1,124 single core and three,637 multi-core scores on the Geekbench v general performance test. That's a touch lower than the 1,126 and 3,685 scored by the OnePlus 9 Pro, and far worse than the class-leading iPhone 12 Pro Max's results of 1,603 and four,111 thanks to its A14 Bionic processor.
Yet, testing the Axon 30 Ultra with the 3D Mark Wild Life Unlimited benchmark produced more encouraging results. ZTE's phone scored v,860 points in this test, and managed an average frame rate of 35.1 fps. Information technology beats the OnePlus 9 Pro'southward five,755 and 34.5fps, even with its RAM handicap. The Axon 30 still can't match the iPhone 12 Pro Max though, which scored 9,113 and 54fps on the same test.
My experience while gaming on the Axon xxx Ultra backed up these test results. As I played Marvel Contest of Champions, the graphics looked crisp and smoothen as I directed Wolverine to lay a vanquish-downward on Captain America. While not touted explicitly as a phone for diehard mobile gamers, the ZTE could be one to short-list for best gaming phones, considering the power you're getting for the price.
ZTE Axon xxx Ultra review: 5G
The Snapdragon 888 chipset comes with 5G compatibility built-in, so the Axon 30 Ultra is ready for the new network standard. At least in theory. Having examined ZTE's listing of 5G bands compatible with the phone, U.M. users are able to use a SIM from any currently active 5G carrier and take it work with the ZTE. It'southward more than complicated for U.S. users though.
Mobile carriers in the U.S. are much more fragmented, which is bad news for finding a compatible network for the Axon 30 Ultra. At the time of writing, merely T-Mobile appears to be uniform with the Axon's bachelor bands, and fifty-fifty then, simply one of them, which could mean unreliable reception. AT&T, Verizon and U.S. Cellular's 5G offering aren't compatible at all.
If you lot're an American customer, and 5G connectivity matters to you, the Axon xxx Ultra is a bad choice. Going with a OnePlus ix Pro, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra or iPhone 12 Pro volition offering a much more than reliable 5G experience.
ZTE Axon 30 Ultra review: Battery and charging
Sporting a 4,600 mAh battery, the ZTE Axon thirty Ultra has an average-sized bombardment for a phone of its size, though information technology's a small power pack for a peak-tier phone. On the Tom's Guide custom battery exam, which drains a phone by constantly browsing the web on mobile data, the ZTE managed 11 hours and 38 minutes when fixed at a 60Hz refresh rate. That's exactly an hour longer than the OnePlus 9 Pro managed when set to 60Hz (10 hours and 38 minutes), then ZTE'southward done a good job hither.
There'due south no wireless charging on the Axon xxx Ultra, merely you might not miss it since you lot go rapid 66W wired charging. This gets you to 41% in 15 minutes, lxx% in xxx minutes and to 100% in 47 minutes. This is fairly fast, and reduces the sting of the poor bombardment life quite a bit. However information technology'south non as fast as the OnePlus nine Pro, which manages 61% in 15 minutes and 99% in 30 minutes, thanks to its dual-cell battery design.
ZTE Axon 30 Ultra review: Software
ZTE's MyOS 11 isn't my favorite version of Android 11, only there's not much to complain about. ZTE pre-installs only a few not-Google apps, and the UI elements it has customized are sharp and cleanly designed.
I did detect that ZTE's non done the best job of translating descriptions and other longer explanatory captions when it comes to menus and settings. It doesn't arrive the fashion of operating the phone, but information technology's a refinement outcome that I've never come across while using Samsung or OnePlus phones.
ZTE Axon thirty Ultra review: Verdict
Having completed my ZTE Axon thirty Ultra review, it's safe to say that ZTE has earned the right to call its phone "ultra". The majority of its hardware is up to par with the all-time phones effectually right at present.
That said, the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra won't top whatever best lists, as it'due south dragged downward by its less refined features. Had the phone offered a little more bombardment capacity, a QHD resolution display or some consistent photography software, it would easily be equivalent to the OnePlus 9 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Fortunately, the ZTE Axon xxx Ultra doesn't accept to be. Its current price is low enough that it'south easy to overlook those shortcomings. ZTE's made a real flagship-killing phone with the Axon 30 Ultra, and it should be your superlative choice if you lot want the ultimate hardware for the cheapest cost you can get.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/zte-axon-30-ultra-review-ultra-good-value
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