There has been two clear trends that have been developing in the smartphone world of late. The first is the size of smartphones, with all smartphones coming out this year seemingly increasing in size compared to their predecessors. Likewise, the other big trend is the price, with devices seemingly always coming out more costly than their predecessors and extremely costly overall. As such, the assumption is, as smartphones get bigger, it seems so does their price. Well, last year ZTE looked to buck one of the trends by releasing a smartphone which although was big in size, was not big in cost. This was the ZTE ZMAX and came with a large 5.7-inch display and was priced at only $250. Offering consumers the option to have a big phone but without the big cost.
Well, following on from the ZTE ZMAX, ZTE has today announced the launch of the ZTE ZMAX 2. Like the previous version, this one again comes sporting a large screen, although, it is not quite as large as last year’s model and instead adopts a 5.5-inch display which comes with a 1280 x 720 resolution. So still very much in the phablet region. In terms of the rest of the specs, the ZTE ZMAX 2 comes equipped with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. Cameras on offer include an 8-megapixel rear camera which is coupled with a 2-megapixel front facing option. Additional features coming with the ZTE ZMAX 2, include Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, GPS, LTE support and a microSD card slot for additional expansion (up to 32GB). The device comes powered by a 3,000 mAh battery and comes running on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) out of the box.
That said, the size of the device is not the only thing which has seen a reduction since last year, as this one also looks to be coming in at a much more affordable price point. ZTE has confirmed the the ZTE ZMAX 2 will be available on AT&T and TracFone for only $149.99. Which is essentially $100 cheaper than last year’s model. For those interested in picking up a ZTE ZMAX 2, ZTE has also confirmed they will be available starting this Friday, September 25th.
