ZTE Axon Mini to be launched in various countries, Force Touch in tow

At a media event held earlier today, ZTE talked about plans for its flagship handsets, and revealed the countries where the ZTE Axon Mini will be made available. While Apple and Huawei have since released phones with Force Touch, back in July the Axon Mini was actually the first smartphone to be announced as offering the pressure-sensitive screen that can differentiate between a light, normal or heavy touch of the display.

Constructed from Boeing 787 aircraft-grade aluminum-titanium alloy, the ZTE Axon Mini features a 5.2-inch Super AMOLED screen, with a 1080 x 1920 resolution, and 2.5D curved glass. Inside the device, a Snapdragon 616 SoC provides an octa-core CPU and the Adreno 405 GPU. 3GB of RAM is aboard along with 32GB of native storage. Those needing more memory can use the 128GB capacity microSD slot that is available.

The 13MP rear camera uses Phase Detection Auto Focus to get your pictures ready to be snapped in just .1 second. A front-facing 8MP camera snaps selfies and handles video chats. Dual microphones provide high quality audio recording, and the 2800mAh battery keeps the lights on. A trio of biometric verification options are available: voice control, fingerprint scanning, and eye-scanning. The Axon Mini is offered in Ion Gold, Chromium Silver, and of course, Rose Gold.

In China, the device will be available from ZTE's own MyZTE Store, and from online retailer JD.com. Other retailers will also offer the handset. After the launch in China, you will be able to find the ZTE Axon Mini in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Russia, Japan, India, Australia, France, Germany, Turkey, Spain and Italy. The pricing varies by country, but in China the Axon Mini will cost you the equivalent of $362 USD. As we told you last month, a premium version will be available featuring team logos from certain NBA franchises. That model is priced at the equivalent of $425 USD in China, and comes with special NBA content pre-installed.


On October 27th, ZTE's Axon Watch will be available for purchase from the MyZTE Store. While there is no word on pricing, the timepiece features a 1.4-inch display, protected by Gorilla Glass and a sapphire coating. The wearable has a 300mAh battery, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, and runs on the Tencent OS. The device offers Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity, and is IP67 certified for protection from water. The Axon Watch can be submerged to as deep as 3.3 feet for as long as 30 minutes, and emerge unscathed. The smartwatch supports the usual health and fitness monitoring, and works with messaging apps that are used in China like WeChat and QQ.


source: ZTE