It’s been confirmed that ZTE will unveil its new Axon 40 range very soon. The highlight is rumoured to be an under-display camera that you won’t be able to see at all. Will ZTE’s third attempt get this right and signal the end of the notch and punch-hole era?
Here’s all we know so far about the ZTE Axon 40.
When will the ZTE Axon 40 be released?
ZTE has announced that the Axon 40 launch will take place on 9 May 2022. The launch was announced via its Weibo account, accompanied by several teaser posters bearing the Axon 40 name and the release date. As with any launch event, there could be a short delay before the devices become available, with staggered releases in different territories.
How much will the ZTE Axon 40 cost?
We’ve yet to see any pricing details about the upcoming ZTE Axon 40, so we need to look to the previous generation to get some idea of what you might need to pay for the new devices. Here’s how they lined up:
ZTE Axon 30 5G (8GB+128GB) – £429/$499
ZTE Axon 30 5G (12GB+256GB) – £519/$599
ZTE Axon 30 Ultra (8GB+128GB) – £649/$749
ZTE Axon 30 Ultra (12GB+256GB) – £739/$849
We’ve seen rumours that this time around the Axon 40 range will be comprised of three models: the standard Axon 40, Axon 40 Ultra, and a new Axon 40 Pro. It’s unsure whether the Ultra or the Pro will be the flagship-level, but If ZTE keeps up the excellent work we saw with the Axon 30 range, then the company will continue offering some of the best value premium-level devices around.
What about the ZTE Axon 40 specs and features?
With the last few Axon generations, ZTE has been refining its under-display front facing camera. While the innovations of hiding the camera, thus negating the need for a punch-hole aperture or notch, have been impressive, we’ve found the actual camera performance compromised by its location.
Now, with the 3rd generation of the design set to appear in the Axon 40, GSMArena has reported that the pixel-density over the camera will go up to Full HD rather than the lower rate it was on the Axon 30. Hopefully this means that ZTE has found a way to deal with the softer focussed images we saw on the 2nd gen camera, while also making it practically invisible when using the phone.
The report also states that the Axon 40 will feature curved edges that all-but eradicate the bezels, plus the panel itself will boast a 1440p resolution and feature pixel-width modulation dimming.
If ZTE sticks with the format of the Axon 30, then you should expect a 6.92in AMOLED display on the standard model and 6.67in on the Ultra (unlike with Samsung, the Ultra isn’t the bigger phone, just the one with higher specs). Another image we’ve seen states that the series will feature 120Hz refresh rates and 360Hz touch-sampling rates, so gaming should be a real possibility on the Axon 40 devices.
Other reports, which seem to be confirmed by more teaser posters from ZTE, say that the new devices will be fitted with dedicated security chips, something like we’ve seen with T-series chips on iPhones and Titan-M chips on Google’s Pixel range.
ZTE has posted images that show the Axon 40 range will also support the new Snapdragon Sound technology that we’ve seen on Redmi K50, Xiaomi 12, and Vivo iQOO 9 Pro Legend. Joining this will be dtsX Ultra audio, so the speakers should produce some very decent audio.
In terms of cameras, the rumours we’ve seen so far suggest that the Axon 40 will come with a triple 64Mp array. SparrowNews says that ZTA will deploy these for the 40 Ultra’s primary, ultrawide and telephoto cameras. GSMArena also reports that the Axon 40 Pro will have a 100Mp main camera, possibly powered by the Samsung ISOCELL HM2 sensor.
The chipset used across the series is thought to be the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, although we could see a lower version for the standard Axon 40, as was the case with the Axon 30 that sported a Snapdragon 870 5G while the Axon 30 Ultra came with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+.
We won’t have to long to wait though, as the launch date is merely days away. Until then, you can check out our guides to the best phones coming in 2022 and best Chinese phones.
