The world's first folding smartphone with a flexible screen has been created. It was made by a Chinese company whose name you are hearing for the first time.
Almost all modern smartphones offer high performance, quality camera and elegant design. The minimal differences between the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 highlight the crisis of ideas among manufacturers. But, I had a little time to test the ZTE Axon M.
ZTE tried to do something new with the release of a foldable ZTE phone Axon M. But, can this new smartphone boast of something other than your uniqueness? You will learn everything from this test.
While modern foldable phone concepts rely on flexible display technology, ZTE's Axon M is more reminiscent of the LG Voyager 2007. Another similarity with older phones is that the Axon M has very wide bezels and a bulky body.
One ZTE Axon M screen is on the front panel, the second is on the back. Both have a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, 5.2-inch diagonal, covered protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
When unfolded, the aluminum back panel of the smartphone is not impressive in appearance - there is nothing on it except the logo. On the left edge there is a volume rocker and a power button with a built-in fingerprint scanner. Button quick launch Allows you to open your favorite applications or go to the camera interface with a double tap.
For rich sound, two speakers use Dolby Atmos technology. One driver is located at the top, the other is located at the bottom, next to USB port Type-C. Like the Axon 7, Hi-Fi quality sound is supported. There's a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top, which is rare in modern phones.
The new Axon M is almost twice as thick as most modern smartphones, but that doesn't make it too uncomfortable. As a rule, the second screen often remains inactive when folded, but it can be used as a stand.
Second screen
ZTE Axon M has four operating modes; you can switch between them using the “M” icon on the panel Android navigation. IN standard mode the second screen is turned back. When maximized, you can use both displays to open multiple apps at once. For example, Twitter on the left and Gmail on the right.
Another option for using the second panel is mirror reflection main display on the secondary display. This is very convenient for those who want to watch a movie or play a game together.
In the latter mode, the image is stretched across both screens, as if turning the Axon M into a tablet with a large 6.8-inch display.
The processor is installed under the case Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, the same as on last year's Google Pixel. There is also 64 GB of built-in and 4 GB random access memory. Performance is fast and consistent, despite the load the second screen puts on the system.
If storage isn't enough for you, the Axon M has a card slot MicroSD memory. But for wireless communication Bluetooth 4.2 is used instead of the new one Bluetooth standard 5.
operating room Android system 7.1.2 Nougat works with the MiFavor launcher. The expected transition to Android 8.0 Oreo has not yet happened.
The 3180 mAh battery will last 28.7 hours of talk time. Fast technology Qualcomm chargers Quick Charge 3.0 allows you to charge it to 50% in 30 minutes via the included cable.
The ZTE Axon M has a camera only on the front panel - it is a 20-megapixel sensor with an f/1.8 aperture. Although the camera panel can be rotated back and the second screen can be used as a viewfinder.
Bottom line
New ZTE Axon M flip phone offers unique features, but its design flaws spoil everything. An elegant smartphone with thin bezels and a second flexible screen would be much better.
Advantages of ZTE Axon M
- Second screen.
- Excellent specifications.
- Good camera.
Disadvantages of Axon M
- Thick body.
- Outdated version of Android OS.
- Lack of protection from water.
New folding smartphone ZTE Axon M - video review
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One of the hotly anticipated smartphones of 2019 is Samsung's first foldable smartphone. At the beginning of this week, rumors appeared that, contrary to popular belief, Galaxy X will be the first gaming smartphone Samsung that doesn't fold. At the same time, it became known that the possible name of the folding smartphone would be Galaxy F.
Be that as it may, the foldable Samsung smartphone with flexible display, is expected to launch in the first half of 2019. But when it finally releases, after more than two years of speculation and rumors, the foldable Galaxy smartphone may not be the first smartphone of this kind. Huawei seems to really want to beat Samsung in this area.
There are currently no real flexible foldable smartphones on the market. There are devices like the ZTE Axon M, which are essentially two displays connected by a hinge. This isn't what users expect from this new form factor, meaning we're still waiting for someone to make the world's first foldable smartphone.
This isn't the first time we've heard that Huawei is working on its own foldable smartphone. Moreover, all its other competitors are also working on foldable and flexible devices. But Huawei certainly wants to be the first, reports Nikkei Asian Review.
Huawei is going to cooperate with BOE, Chinese supplier flexible OLED displays. The first batch will be limited, but Huawei and BOE just want to get ahead of Samsung. “Huawei's planned volume could be limited to around 20,000 to 30,000 units, or even less for a small group of first-wave users,” the source says. “The company is mainly going to demonstrate its technological capabilities and attract industry attention and media coverage mass media».
According to Yuanta Investment Consulting analyst Jeff Pu, the product will hit the market "in early 2019."
"The Chinese company wants to be first in the industry, even if the display technology from its panel supplier may not be as complete as Samsung's," he says.
The launch date depends on the development of technology and the durability of the folding panels.
While Huawei wants to attract the attention of smartphone buyers, BOE is after the big fish. The company has been rumored to have been monitoring the supply chain for years Apple iPhone. BOE is investing heavily in OLED display production, hoping it will attract Apple's attention.
It is logical for Huawei to cooperate with a Chinese company that to a large extent subsidized by the government. Samsung will not provide foldable displays to its rivals, especially Huawei, before its foldable smartphone hits the market.
The report does not mention pricing details for Huawei's unnamed foldable smartphone, but a WitsView analyst explains that profitability is not a primary concern for the project.
It's currently unclear what specifications Huawei's foldable smartphone might offer, but it's likely the device will feature high class.
Rumored foldable smartphone Samsung Galaxy, which will also be released in limited quantities, costs between $1,500 and $2,000 due to the additional costs associated with creating this complex smartphone.
Huawei is currently the world's third-largest smartphone maker after Apple, but the company plans to catch up soon iPhone manufacturer. After this, the next task will be set - displacing Samsung from first place.
According to an extremely authoritative Korean publication, at the CES 2018 exhibition closed Samsung smartphone Galaxy X. The event was held in the strictest secrecy, and only selected partners of the South Korean corporation could take part in it, that is, journalists were not allowed there, and all people who could get there were forced to hand over all electronics. Such measures helped Samsung avoid information leaks.
Just the other day, images of the fantastic folding smartphone Samsung Galaxy X appeared online, in which this mobile device can be viewed from all sides. Expected that new flagship South Korean corporation will look exactly like this, although, most likely, by the time of its official announcement in November-December 2018, the designers will change something, making it even more attractive.
The Samsung Galaxy X smartphone, judging by the pictures, is equipped with a single flexible AMOLED screen that occupies 99% of the space on the front. The phone body is made of Kevlar composite material, thanks to which it can be bent an unlimited number of times without the risk of damaging the device one day. For those who don’t know, Kevlar is practically the strongest material on Earth.
When folded, the diagonal of the AMOLED display of the Samsung Galaxy X smartphone is 5 inches with a QHD resolution (2560 by 1440 pixels), while when unfolded, the top-end mobile device turns into the most real tablet, which has an 8-inch display and already has a 4K resolution (4096 by 3072 pixels). In both cases, support for HDR 10 technology is implemented, which makes the picture even more realistic.
On back cover Samsung's fantastic folding smartphone has a single main camera, right under which there is room for an LED flash and a couple of sensors. Just below is the familiar fingerprint scanner. On the front side of the phone there is speaker, double front-camera, as well as several other sensors.
It's scary to even think about how much the Samsung Galaxy X will cost when it goes on sale. The price tag will definitely exceed $1000, so it is quite possible that the new South Korean flagship, although revolutionary, will become the most expensive in the world mobile device. The official announcement of the new product is expected at the very end of 2018, while it should arrive on store shelves a few months later.
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Samsung will unveil its long-awaited tablet-smartphone hybrid in a few days, but Royole managed to attract some of the attention by introducing own version such a flexible device. The hybrid device is called FlexPai and, as expected, has a 7.8-inch screen that can bend 180 degrees - in this way the solution turns from a tablet into a smartphone, albeit a little thick.
At an event in San Francisco, Royole demonstrated FlexPai, and journalists were able to verify that it was indeed fully functional, including the function of folding the screen. Of course, the device feels far from the usual High Quality modern flagships, but is still the first foldable device to exist in reality, and not as a concept or early prototype.
FlexPai will be available as consumer device in China with base price 8999 yuan (about $1300). US residents can purchase the developer version of the device for this amount. Basic model includes 128 GB of flash memory and 6 GB of RAM. By paying another $150, the buyer can purchase the 256/8 GB option.
As for the rest of the specifications, the device will come with an 8-core Qualcomm processor Snapdragon with a frequency of up to 2.8 GHz, a screen with a resolution of 1920 × 1440 when unfolded, and a 3800 mAh battery. Both the consumer model and the developer version are available for pre-order now on the Royole website. The company notes that both variants are expected to launch in December.
It must be said that the device gives the impression of a rather early product. Software works extremely thoughtfully, applications constantly open involuntarily, and the screen orientation has changed quite a bit randomly, as a Royole representative demonstrated the folding process. Probably the Water OS platform, built on Android based 9.0 does not work very reliably yet.
The main innovation here, of course, is the wear-resistant AMOLED display with a fairly stable battery that can withstand the folding process many times. Royole says the screen is capable of flexing 200,000 times. This is, of course, a good and encouraging indicator, allowing us to hope that such well-developed devices may well become commonplace and the norm in the future.
The presentation of the first ever serial folding smartphone with a flexible screen took place in China - at least, this is what the developers themselves assure.
The developers are Rouyu Technology. The model is called FlexPai. It looks like a tablet and in fact is one, since the diagonal of the AMOLED screen reaches 7.8 inches.
However, if you fold it, bending the body along with the screen, you get a smartphone with two screens (front and back), each of which has a diagonal of about 4 inches. Rouyu Technology claims that the device can withstand about 200 thousand flexion-extension cycles.
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When opened, the thickness of the device is 7.6 mm, when folded it is 15.2.
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In design and construction, FlexPai is very similar to a similar device, which, according to Samsung, is being prepared for release.
The FlexPai dual camera consists of modules with a resolution of 20 and 16 megapixels. Additional module designed primarily to provide optical zoom.
The hardware platform of the smartphone is extremely interesting - the developers say that they used a flagship chipset, which has not even been officially announced yet. It is expected to be introduced at the end of the year and will replace the Snapdragon 845.
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There is no data on the battery yet, but it is known that it can be charged from zero to 80% in an hour thanks to proprietary technology fast charging Ro-Charge.
The model runs Water OS - it’s so customized Android option, designed to be displayed both on a folded and unbent screen.
The limited edition FlexPai will supposedly go on sale in China in the coming days. The smartphone will be available in versions with 6/128, 8/256 and 8/512 GB of memory. Prices start at $1,300.
Let us add that smartphones of a similar form factor are currently being prepared by Samsung, Huawei, LG and some other companies. They are no longer destined to become the first in this area.
P.S. This whole story looks somewhat futuristic - a strange company, an unannounced top-end chipset, sales of only a small batch of devices and the lack of information about when it will begin to be sold en masse... It cannot be ruled out that FlexPai is a real device (see photo below), but molded on a quick fix as a PR stunt. In order to loudly declare yourself, get the title of technology leader and then sell something else under your own brand. For example, noticeably simpler and cheaper smartphones in a regular form factor.
