ZTE may not be very well known within the U.S., but that’s because of the lack of top-end phones which offer impressive enough hardware to compete against the likes of other OEM’s top flagship devices. ZTE’s most recent flagship device is the Nubia Z9, which is a phone that packs a powerful punch thanks to the internal hardware and showcases a striking design due to the mostly bezel free display. The Nubia Z9 has already launched inside of China and during the initial announcement of the phone it was thought that ZTE wouldn’t be releasing the Z9 outside of the country, but recent reports state that ZTE will indeed be launching a U.S. model of the phone and that it will be available in three different variations.
Why ZTE is choosing to launch three models within the states instead of just a single flagship is anybody’s guess, likely to give consumers choice, but customers aren’t likely to complain over having options especially when they offer you the choices ZTE is going to be floating. When ZTE launches the Nubia Z9 in the U.S. later this year which is scheduled to be around the third quarter, the cost will start at $564 for the classic model of the device. The next tier up will be for the Elite model Nubia Z9 which jumps the price up to $645, and the third model tier called the Exclusive model will cost consumers $725.
The differences between the three phones are only minor as most of the specifications match up across the board, however, where they do differ may matter to the power user. The Classic model Nubia Z9 will come with only 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, while both the Elite and Exclusive model devices both have 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The Exclusive model also includes the fingerprint sensor which can be used for security or presumably mobile payments, but aside from that all the other specs are the same, which includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor, a 5.2-inch 1080p display, a 16MP rear-facing camera with a Sony IMX234 sensor and f/2.0 aperture and OIS, as well as an 8MP front-facing camera with a wide-angle lens, a 2900mAh battery and Android 5.0 Lollipop running on the device out of the box. The devices should be available unlocked and contract-free without a carrier so look for them towards the second half of the year.