Chinese smartphone maker ZTE is ready with its next 5G phone. The device, which is going to be called Axon 11 5G, will be launched on March 23, the company announced on Weibo earlier this week.
Since the coronavirus pandemic has forced a global shutdown, which will likely remain enforced at least until the end of this month, ZTE will be announcing the phone through an online event.
The Axon 11 5G will be ZTE’s third 5G phone, after the Axon 10 Pro 5G and Axon 10s Pro 5G. While the Axon 10 Pro 5G launched in May last year, the Axon 10s Pro 5G only arrived last month.
Ahead of its March 23 launch, the ZTE Axon 11 5G recently passed through China’s 3C (China Compulsory Certificate) certification process. The certification revealed that the phone will come with support for 18W fast charging.
ZTE Axon 11 5G specifications
ZTE is promoting the Axon 11 5G as a “5G Video Phone,” suggesting that 5G and videography are its two major USPs. Since the device falls under the company’s flagship lineup, it’ll likely be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset coupled with the Snapdragon X55 5G modem.
One cannot rule out the 5G-integrated mid-range Snapdragon 765 SoC either, though, given the 18W fast charging doesn’t quite sit well for a flagship phone. Also, ZTE has only just announced a Snapdragon 865-powered flagship 5G smartphone, the Axon 10s Pro 5G.
Either way, the Axon 11 5G will support both standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) networks. And although not official yet, it should be safe to assume that it’ll run Android 10 out of the box.
The rest of Axon 11 5G’s specifications are a mystery as of now, so not much can be said about its videography capabilities. Rumors have it that the device will feature a triple-camera setup but nothing has been officially revealed yet.
There’s no information available regarding the Axon 11 5G’s pricing and availability either. It’ll likely be available in China first before ZTE brings it to the global market. Whether or not it launches in the US remains to be seen.
ZTE hasn’t had the greatest of the times of late. While it continues to battle the US sanctions, it is also facing an investigation by the Justice Department for bribery. However, the company continues to produce appealing smartphones and the Axon 11 5G could be its another such flagship-killing offering. With less than a week to go for the official launch, we don’t have to wait much now to see what the beleaguered Chinese company hast to offer this time around.