If you are in need of a new affordable smartphone then the ZTE Blade Vantage 2 might be one to check out.
This phone has yet to be released or even announced, although Android Headlines can share this image and confirm the ZTE Blade Vantage 2 will be available via Verizon.
The Verizon element should not be too much of a surprise considering the previous model, the ZTE Blade Vantage, was also made available through Verizon back in 2017. This is a follow up device to that original ZTE phone and by the looks of it, not too much has changed on the design front. For example, the phone sports a similar design overall including large bezels, a single front-facing camera in addition to the single main camera.
Based on the image shown here, it does look like the new model will come with a different – more modern – aspect ratio, but other than that this appears to be largely the same phone design as the original.
The lack of design changes also should not come as too much of a surprise considering one of the big selling points with the original model was the price. The ZTE Blade Vantage launched on Verizon priced at just $49.99.
While it remains to be clear if the new model will be priced equally as low, it seems a given the ZTE Blade Vantage 2 will once again be aimed at the entry-level market.
At the moment there’s no firm information on the specs but to provide some context to work off of, the original ZTE Blade Vantage came loaded with a 5-inch display with a 854 x 480 resolution, 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. The ZTE Blade Vantage was powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 quad-core SoC, along with a 2,500 mAh capacity battery and Android 7.1 (Nougat).
Some of the other notable features included microSD card support (up to 256GB), an 8-megapixel main camera, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and Bluetooth 4.1.
These specs might not sound like much in today’s smartphone world but when you keep in mind the original model was released almost two-years ago and was priced at just $50 in the U.S., then at the time the ZTE Blade Vantage offered great value for money.
While it should naturally be expected that a number of these aspects will be upgraded with the new model, regardless of how improved the spec list is if ZTE sticks with the same formula then it can be assumed the new model will also look to offer a similar ‘good value’ proposition.
Right now, there’s no information on when the new ZTE Blade Vantage 2 will become available but for reference, the original model made its Verizon debut in October. It stands to reason a similar release schedule could be in effect with this one although don’t be surprised if it is released a little earlier in the year this time around.
ZTE has not had the best of times over the last year and the launch of the original model was in part designed to help the company establish a greater presence in the U.S. as it was technically the first ZTE-branded phone to become available from Verizon. Now that the company’s U.S. troubles have seemingly been set aside, it appears ZTE and Verizon are once again looking to build on that partnership.