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ZTE Axon 7 or OnePlus Three?

Tough call. OnePlus Three has had very good reviews so far.
Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

I will wait until end of june when opo3 comes to shops here. If there is no news about axon 7 until then i will just buy opo3.

dknotty said:
Tough call. OnePlus Three has had very good reviews so far.
Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk
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TuBBe2 said:
I will wait until end of june when opo3 comes to shops here. If there is no news about axon 7 until then i will just buy opo3.
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Even when OP3 has amazing specs, there are 3 things that are deal-breakers for me:
Poor sound and not stereo speakers
No video record at 60fps
No Daydream compatible (because of low resolution in screen)
It can compete pretty much in all the other areas, but I'm really interested into these 3 things for now and I won't be buying any phone that is not future-proof, because I usually keep the phones 2-3 years, and I want something that can be compatible with next generation technologies.
Bonus:
It seems that the 6GB of RAM in the OP3 means nothing:

I have the OPO and was really interested in the OP3 until I stumbled across this phone. I hope it's unlockable, and I wish it was a 6" screen, but other than that it is everything I've been waiting for in a phone. I'll wait until reviews start rolling in in July and hopefully the gun metal color option is available before I buy. To me the zte is the clear winner, I can't wait!

the axon is a beast specs wise, be interesting to see that test above when it starts to ship worldwide. for now though it's not even a question, better camera, better screen, better sound, SDcard support. the only downside is gonna be software and replacing it entirely without losing features

I think both phones will be very good, it just depends on what features and aesthetics you like better?
Good/decent front facing stereo speakers vs low quality mono bottom firing speaker
Fingerprint scanner location
Expandable storage
The OP3 will be slightly smaller and lighter
To me, the stereo speakers are the deal-breaker. If the OP3 had them, I'd probably consider it.
I recently sold my N6P to get this phone (the Axon 7). I've been using a OPO that I picked up on CL for really cheap. For a 2014 model phone, I'm extremely impressed with it and like it much better than about any other phone I've had recently, even the OP2 I had. But it has dual mono speakers on the bottom.... They are loud, but don't sound good.
OnePlus makes a good phone, but doesn't have the features I'm looking for.

Half a year ago I would have totally gone for the OP3 because of the modding community and the arguably lower price for 6gb ram, but then I discovered how awesome VR is so the 1080p screen is a deal breaker and the daydream support a huge plus for the Axon. Unless there won't be any dev support it is a no brainer for me.

dknotty said:
Tough call. OnePlus Three has had very good reviews so far.
Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk
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Only from people who have never heard of the ZTE Axon 7. The Axon 7 beats it in the ground.
1440p vs 1080p.
microSD card port vs none.
stereo speakers vs mono.
Need I go on?
OK, OnePlus 3 does not have standard Quick Charge, but only something with their own over-priced proprietary chargers.
Now the Axon 7 is not perfect. Why no Qi wireless charging? Why no IR blaster? Even just Qi wireless would make me buy it. But it's tons better than the OnePlus 3.
"Never settle" (the motto on their display). They settled (compromised) quite a bit, starting with their 1080p display. I've had 1440p AMOLED since 2014 and I'm not going back.

Hands down axon 7 beats OP3 on almost every way. Other posters have already listed many reasons why so I won't bother reiterating them. In passing on the OP3 and in going to wait for the axon 7 international version. My OPO is still going strong after updating it to marshmallow 6.0.1.

For about $50 (or less) more you get (off the top of my head):
- Higher Res display
- MicroSD card support
- Higher capacity battery (hopefully leading to greater battery life)
- Dual front facing speakers with Dolby Atmos (said to be the best available)
- HiFi Audio for headphone
- Daydream VR ready
- Rear fingerprint scanner (my personal preference)
The OP3 does have more RAM (unless the 6GB Axon 7 becomes available in the US).

ChazzMatt said:
Only from people who have never heard of the ZTE Axon 7. The Axon 7 beats it in the ground.
1440p vs 1080p.
microSD card port vs none.
stereo speakers vs mono.
Need I go on?
OK, OnePlus 3 does not have standard Quick Charge, but only something with their own over-priced proprietary chargers.
Now the Axon 7 is not perfect. Why no Qi wireless charging? Why no IR blaster? Even just Qi wireless would make me buy it. But it's tons better than the OnePlus 3.
"Never settle" (the motto on their display). They settled (compromised) quite a bit, starting with their 1080p display. I've had 1440p AMOLED since 2014 and I'm not going back.
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My friend, long time I didn't read you, are you planning to make the jump from Moto Maxx to Axon 7?

Galaxo60 said:
My friend, long time I didn't read you, are you planning to make the jump from Moto Maxx to Axon 7?
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I'm trying to find something as good as my XT1225, but just updated specs. Axon 7 comes very close but I need Qi wireless.
For someone who does not mind that, it's a very impressive phone.

Really a tough decision...
At the moment I prefer the Op3.
No warranty loos when flashing something...
When zte would give an announcement that they will provide a way to unlock and give sources I would order, even the gold one
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using XDA Free mobile app

ChazzMatt said:
I'm trying to find something as good as my XT1225, but just updated specs. Axon 7 comes very close but I need Qi wireless.
For someone who does not mind that, it's a very impressive phone.
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With quick charge 3.0, the battery efficient android n, the battery efficient snapdragon 820 and large 3250 mah battery you won't spend much time charging your phone so why is the lack of qi charging a deal breaker for you ?

CampfireVibés said:
With quick charge 3.0, the battery efficient android n, the battery efficient snapdragon 820 and large 3250 mah battery you won't spend much time charging your phone so why is the lack of qi charging a deal breaker for you ?
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Because I do NOT want to plug my phone in. My wife and I have several Qi chargers. If you've ever used them you see the convenience.
Plugging phone in continually is one of the main reasons of hardware failure. It's a stress point.
I've had Qi charging for our Nexus 5 and for our Moto XT1225.

ChazzMatt said:
Because I do NOT want to plug my phone in. My wife and I have several Qi chargers. If you've ever used them you see the convenience.
Plugging phone in continually is one of the main reasons of hardware failure. It's a stress point.
I've had Qi charging for our Nexus 5 and for our Moto XT1225.
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I understand the desire for the QI charging convenience. But I would say the USB C connector is very robust compared to Micro USB. It's also very fast charging with either QC 3.0 or USB C 3A charging, which come in handy when you need a good boost in a short amount of time.
Again if you personally MUST have wireless charging that a personal choice, I personally wouldn't rule out a quality device just for that. I have like 8 QI chargers around the home and office I don't really use anymore.

I've seen a lot of one-sided comparison charts leaning towards one phone or the other, so below is an attempt at a more balanced comparison. Everything not listed is a wash, unknown, or subjective. Also, I'm leaving out the Axon 7 6GB/128GB model because it doesn't compete in the same price range as the OnePlus 3 (the Axon 4GB/64GB model is already listed for $599 on OppoMart).
Axon 7 advantages:
+ higher resolution screen (1440p vs 1080p)
+ microSD slot
+ stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos certification
+ dedicated DAC/DSP (AK4490EN/AK4961)
+ bigger battery (3250 vs. 3000 mAh )*
+ faster USB (v3.0 vs. v2.0)
+ lower camera aperture (f/1.8 vs. f/2.0)*
+ Daydream VR support
+ you don't have to buy more expensive proprietary cables to take advantage of quick charging
OnePlus 3 advantages:
+ lower price ($399 vs. $449 USD; price gap may be higher if you live outside the US, e.g. Axon 7 selling for $599 on OppoMart)
+ more RAM (6 vs. 4 GB)
+ lighter (158 vs. 185 g / 5.57 vs. 6.53 oz)
+ supports DLNA
+ physical mute switch (silent/priority/normal)
+ less radiation emissions (0.995 vs. 1.19 W/kg Head SAR, 0.509 vs. 1.13 W/kg Body SAR)
+ your phone stays cooler while it quick charges since the charging circuit is in the charger itself (more info)
+ unlocked bootloader
* = It also depends on OS optimizations, so this may not be an advantage in real life usage.
Now you can decide which advantages are important to you and go from there . Based on the fact that I'm cheap, listen to music with headphones or Bluetooth speakers only, prefer the fingerprint sensor to be on the front, and OnePlus having fixed or in the process of fixing the display and memory management issues, I'm leaning more towards getting the OP3 at the moment.

axon currently has a locked bootloader which should be at the top of the con list in a dev forum.

I asked the official seller on amazon regarding capacitive buttons and they are there.
Official answer from zte Germany regarding bootlock:
Will ship locked and no plans to give opportunity to unlock. So I think that's it for me... Sadly
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using XDA Free mobile app

lafester said:
axon currently has a locked bootloader which should be at the top of the con list in a dev forum.
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Thanks, I've incorporated this into the comparison.
Hudrator said:
I asked the official seller on amazon regarding capacitive buttons and they are there.
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You're right -- you can even see the capacitive buttons here (bottom carousel): http://www.ztedevice.com/product/smart-phone/AXON-7 ; I've removed this from the OP3 advantages.

Thinking about buying the 6GB version.

Hello all.
I got the LG v20 but my wife really wants a new phone.
Should I get the 6gb version for myself or should I get her the 4gb version.
In terms of camera and UI speed. How do you think all compare? Meaning the v20 and both axon phones.
Any other aspects I should be thinking about?
Thank you.

I think the LG V20 is a superior phone to the A2017, but that's normal, it's a phone double the price of the Axon. If you already have that, I don't see a real reason for buying an axon 7. If I were you I'd keep the LG V20 for yourself and ask her what she would use her new phone for. Unless she's someone who really needs the best of the best, loves tinkering with phones and needs all the newest features, I doubt she would be disappointed by, let's say, a nexus 5X...
The Axon camera is no good, really. Much worse than my previous N5X. I doubt the 2GB RAM difference between the two axon versions is noticeable. ATM there's not much use for the Force Touch feature of the most expensive model, as well...

borisb said:
Hello all.
I got the LG v20 but my wife really wants a new phone.
Should I get the 6gb version for myself or should I get her the 4gb version.
In terms of camera and UI speed. How do you think all compare? Meaning the v20 and both axon phones.
Any other aspects I should be thinking about?
Thank you.
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First question is your location. If you are in the USA then the Axon 7 is the way to go. The Chinese and European models seem to have more bugs and less frequent updates. As far as the 4gb or 6gb versions I would have to say the 4gb wins. 99 percent of smartphone users have no use for the extra ram and the other bells and whistles you get with the 6gb version doesn't justify the price increase.

Gotcha .... thank you

The Axon 7 can't compare to the V20, they're not in the same league. You get what you pay for, at least until OnePlus get their act together. The camera specifically is by far the weakest point of the A7. As far as flagship level phones go the camera on the A7 might actually be the worst one around. In anything but straight up brightly lit areas the camera produces garbage. It's utterly useless in low light, forget ever taking a photo at night with it. I'm not sure if the sensor is actually that horrible, or if ZTE's trash tier software is the main culprit.

Cyrus D. said:
The Axon 7 can't compare to the V20, they're not in the same league. You get what you pay for, at least until OnePlus get their act together. The camera specifically is by far the weakest point of the A7. As far as flagship level phones go the camera on the A7 might actually be the worst one around. In anything but straight up brightly lit areas the camera produces garbage. It's utterly useless in low light, forget ever taking a photo at night with it. I'm not sure if the sensor is actually that horrible, or if ZTE's trash tier software is the main culprit.
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Yeah you are right. Spend way too much on a phone. Sure beats spending half that on a phone, 150 on a decent camera, and still having 200 or more play with in your wallet. If you hate the axon 7 so much why are you in axon 7 forums?

tabletalker7 said:
Yeah you are right. Spend way too much on a phone. Sure beats spending half that on a phone, 150 on a decent camera, and still having 200 or more play with in your wallet. If you hate the axon 7 so much why are you in axon 7 forums?
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He already owns the V20, no one is telling him to go out there and buy another one. Just because I own the device doesn't mean I'm going to pretend it's magic and sell false ideas to those asking questions. The camera is flat out the worst of anything out there targeting the flagship level overall.
You people who get angry and defensive over any non-endearing words towards your mega corporation built devices are something else.

First of all, you don't need 6gb ram. I would wait until next gen that uses 830 snapdragon processors, maybe even next after that. Right now it probably only drains more battery.
I only own an axon7 4gb(for less than a week). V20 was my second choice but decided to go with axon 7. The following might be a little biased.
Screen - Axon 7 has better screen. Lg v20 still uses LCD which will have more issues with to much light. You won't find a better screen on any phone within $400. v20 has a bigger screen but that might be an issue for some people
Camera - Axon 7 has a terrible camera. It's not that bad tough. It only suffers in low light scenarios (night time). During day and with manual mode the camera can take decent photos, as well as other phones. It also have problems with focus. A software update might fix all the issue tough. The best camera out there, I think it's on samsung galaxy phones and iphone 7.
Battery - LG has removable battery which was the main reason I considered LG v20. Axon 7 battery is better tough (almost last twice as long according to reviews)
Performance - they should be equal. Lg v20 has 135k score on antutu benchmark. Average axon7 should be on 135k ish as well. On my Chinese axon 7 I got 142k .
Durability - LG v20 is better, but axon 7 is no joke as well. The quality is at least as good as other flagships, if not better
Audio - Both lg v20 and axon7 have the best audio on market. Lg v20 might be better with headphones while axon7 is better with speakers.
As you can't see lg v20 isn't much better even tough double the price. No matter what flagship you buy, there aren't that much differences and there are always compromises.
I chose axon7 because I don't take picture to often and it can still take average-good pictures if i want to.
Something significantly better than both of them would be iphone7 and that is about it.
Something interesting, but not necessarily better is "Xiaomi Mi Mix Mobile Phone Snapdragon 821 6GB RAM 256GB ROM 6.4"Full Screen 2040x1080P FHD Ceramics 4400mAh Battery"
Hmm Ceramic. But was to outside of my price range. Nearly 1k euro.

Overall love

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

I don't love any phones lol I like the mi mix 2 but prefer the original mi mix. More screen and overall a better phone in my own opinion. Yes the camera is better, yes there are other bits that's better but the sound volume is way to low through the headphones and overall the sound quality is pants anyway. Luckily I've made this mi mix 2 better by rooting it and installing viper as a fix to the poor low quality sound.
For me to buy the mix 3 if it ever comes out it must have some vast improvements over the mix 2.
Conclusion would I buy this phone again? No I'd buy the Mix "again" and wait for 3 to launch.

Maybe you should think about buying a
headset with aptx support

I buy phones all the time. Currently have a mate 9, honor note 8, s8 plus and mi mix2. Just thought the 2 would be a better phone. It'll be up for sale soon anyways to make way for the s9 ?

by far the worst piece of **** i have ever bought with Mi Mix 1, always software issue and their ****ty MIUI, with fcking stupid bootloader. OnePlus is far far better !

Wahoux said:
by far the worst piece of **** i have ever bought with Mi Mix 1, always software issue and their ****ty MIUI, with fcking stupid bootloader. OnePlus is far far better !
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But the decision was yours. Perhaps you should have thought a bit more of IT before buying it.

OK, so i've had this phone a week now, i came from a galaxy s6.
The quality is fantastic for the money, I received the euro version that had english text on the message as you open the box and no problems setting it up.
Weird that people say they have issues with the software, i haven't has a single issue with any apps i used on the S6, banking, email, browsing, games etc. Even Android Auto works exactly as it did previously, which i was surprised about because i heard that there were issues with it not working and was prepared to have to flash to phone to have that work. Not has a single FC.
MIUI is totally fine as a version of android in my opinion, I'm now thinking of sticking with it instead of flashing, which i thought i'd never say tbh. Maybe when lineage oreo is in a close to perfect state then i'll probably move over because i do like stock more, but miui is fine for now.
Battery life has been great, i've had around 1.5 days battery life of normal use, browsing, total of say 30 mins youtube in the daytime, a bit of twitch at lunchtime and general couch browsing/email at night.
Great phone for the money like i said. The single thing i have come across is a weird one, and a non issue really, but when i have the speech audio from android auto such as reading texts or reading out directions, the quality seems like its a low bit rate, where as the s6 was very clear, like listening to a 96k mp3 compared to a 320k mp3.

mi mix 2 is clearly a game phone. It has no ir blaster, no FM radio built in, no audio jack, bad cameras, bad quality sound, crap os(miui). It's a pretty looking device with a powerful chipset though.

papavales said:
mi mix 2 is clearly a game phone. It has no ir blaster, no FM radio built in, no audio jack, bad cameras, bad quality sound, crap os(miui). It's a pretty looking device with a powerful chipset though.
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Can't expect high quality stuff in a cheap phone

Mackay53 said:
Can't expect high quality stuff in a cheap phone
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Basically you pay 400€ for sd835 6gb ram and design, which is not cheap at all, since the price is close to galaxy S8.

papavales said:
Basically you pay 400€ for sd835 6gb ram and design, which is not cheap at all, since the price is close to galaxy S8.
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Then don't buy it. Simple.

Twotems said:
Then don't buy it. Simple.
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totally agree with you. It's too late for me though, because i befooled from the good reviews-promo in youtube

papavales said:
totally agree with you. It's too late for me though, because i befooled from the good reviews-promo in youtube
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I love my Mix2. It's not perfect but in terms of value for money and looks it's unbeatable. Sell yours and buy something else but remember that no phone is perfect.

papavales said:
Basically you pay 400€ for sd835 6gb ram and design, which is not cheap at all, since the price is close to galaxy S8.
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400 is cheap especially considering a top range phone will cost u around 700+ and those ones will have much more features.

I paid for mine, brand new sealed 332 € from AliExpress with topcashback. I don't think I can buy a new S8 brand new and sealed for that money. I had before S8 and Mate 10 Pro. I can say I'm more than satisfied what device gives for the value. Earpiece are same like on S8 and Mate 10 Pro. Main speaker is better on Mate 10 Pro when you turn it on landscape. But those chopines/stutter, what I had on S8 and sometimes on Mate, I can't see it on Mi MIX 2.

I'm surprised about the negative feedback about this phone.
I personally am quite touched by it's bang for the buck ratio, but I also enjoy my original Mix, so maybe I'm just biased towards the Mix series?
Back when headphone jacks started disappearing on these devices I was pissed, as I had a pretty decent pair of headphones that would soon be obsolete but ever since I moved onto my Siberia 840 headset I more or less phased out wired audio entirely, making it less of an issue for me.
At this point I consider wired headphones a retro commodity, such as VHS or DVD players.

Great Phone
I only can say the Phone is amazing. I pay 360€ here in Germany, screen is First Classic,Sound ist good, Speed very good. I Love it.

Advice whether to still buy the Axon 7 in 2018

I have been looking to buy a new mobile phone since my LG G3 bit the dust a few months ago. The one that piqued my interest is the Axon 7 due to the audio hardware (dual DAC and stereo front speakers) which is the one thing I use my mobile for above everything else. I have been looking at the LG G6 with its quad DAC also but the cost difference is hard to ignore especially if the Axon can give me what I am looking for.
I realise that ZTE have discontinued the manufacturing of the Axon 7 but they are still available from some vendors and rumours have arisen about its successor appearing soon. ZTE is allegedly also releasing Oreo to the 7 in April.
So due to an eventual show of the 8, do you think I would be better waiting through January for the Axon 8 or just pulling the trigger on an Axon 7 right now?
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

What's your budget? If you're willing to go higher than $400, I'd say get one of the OnePlus phones. Released this year. They have an exceptional dev community (not that ours is bad but theirs is just incredible), and the phones are remarkably solid, especially given the price.
If you're on a budget, then yeah, get the Axon 7 or one of the older OP devices (OP3/3T). You wouldn't have the amazing audio you get with the Axon, but the phones are really, really good.
The Axon 7 is still getting dev support, which is great, but I don't think we'll get to see Android P on our device. Many devs are already losing interest and some people in the community are driving the ones that are left away.
Another option to consider is a used LG V20, which had amazing audio as well.

I am a poweruser so I tend to root my devices almost straightaway usually with magisk so I can use V4A.
I was tempted by the OnePlus 5T and it probably wouldn't be out of my budget, it looks like a really solid phone but with the reports of poor sound quality, lack of DAC and no SD card slot it just didn't fit the bill for me.
I did check out the LG v30 and the specs are an absolute beast on that but alas...so is the price being new on the market lol. The Samsung S8...ERM no...I vouched after they started the bit locking fiasco on the S4 I would never buy another Samsung.
The LG G6 is good for audio but even LG have started regionalizing features now.
These are partly the reason I decided mid to low tear was enough for me as they are easily obtainable from China sim free without ties to contracts and they have a habit of producing good value devices which compete with stupid money flagships.
I am trying to avoid going down the root of second hand devices as I am a big believer in you usually buy someone else's problems especially with manufacturer obsolescence being on the tongues of every techy these days. Its bad enough with the non replaceable batteries in devices!
Bang for buck the Axon 7 is still very desirable...its just the audio I can't ignore and for the price. Bit of a shame that the dev community is losing interest in the axon 7 though, seems a really solid device.
@Gases hope you don't think I am a whining my friend, just me obsessing about my next device lol
So do you think its worth waiting for the Axon 7's successor?
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

My view from a value consious type is that the A7 is great hardware for the money and importantly, it still runs fast. Getting O may help keep a little development on it but stock is good anyway. I personally wouldn't buy an LG phone, too many successive devices with serious problems like bootloop which never seems to be fixed. LG don't want their phones to last long.
If you're not the sort of person who must have the latest, then for the price the Axon 7 is still a compelling buy.
If you only choose a phone from the list of Daydream certified devices you ensure a well rounded performance and decent sensors etc. It really comes down to how much you want to spend and nothing much can touch the A7 for value versus it's real world performance. Forget benchmarks and all that junk, it's all numbers and running an Axon keeps reliable performance unlike say, a Samsung which will get the stutters sooner or later. I'm keen to see the O update being closer to stock Android on my Axon, but even on B09N it is still smooth and responsive leaving no reason to even consider buying anything else.
All that being posted, I would like to see the next flagship Axon but like all brands, ZTE will try to grow their price tag as public perception improves. Just look at Huawei as an example. Got too expensive and now put themselves beyond my price level. Wouldn't consider Samsung, HTC and all the others keeping prices double what they should be.

beastobadness said:
I am a poweruser so I tend to root my devices almost straightaway usually with magisk so I can use V4A.
I was tempted by the OnePlus 5T and it probably wouldn't be out of my budget, it looks like a really solid phone but with the reports of poor sound quality, lack of DAC and no SD card slot it just didn't fit the bill for me.
I did check out the LG v30 and the specs are an absolute beast on that but alas...so is the price being new on the market lol. The Samsung S8...ERM no...I vouched after they started the bit locking fiasco on the S4 I would never buy another Samsung.
The LG G6 is good for audio but even LG have started regionalizing features now.
These are partly the reason I decided mid to low tear was enough for me as they are easily obtainable from China sim free without ties to contracts and they have a habit of producing good value devices which compete with stupid money flagships.
I am trying to avoid going down the root of second hand devices as I am a big believer in you usually buy someone else's problems especially with manufacturer obsolescence being on the tongues of every techy these days. Its bad enough with the non replaceable batteries in devices!
Bang for buck the Axon 7 is still very desirable...its just the audio I can't ignore and for the price. Bit of a shame that the dev community is losing interest in the axon 7 though, seems a really solid device.
@Gases hope you don't think I am a whining my friend, just me obsessing about my next device lol
So do you think its worth waiting for the Axon 7's successor?
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When you say that you use your phone for music, what do you really mean? Hi-res, or just FLACs? With V4A or stock?
The AK4490EN is capable of like 768 kHz/32 bit, but ZTE limited to a hideous 96 kHz/16 bit...
Still it sounds much, MUCH better than a standard Snapdragon DAC. Even on custom ROMs. And even more so on custom ROMs with V4A, if you're using MP3s.
I think you have to completely avoid midrange devices. The best choice is to get a high-end CPU even if it's one generation old. The SD6xx series are a world apart in terms of performance.
Also, why do you say that the dev community is losing interest? We lost 1 or 2 devs this year. It was always rather weak, but we're a cozy community and seemingly managed to push enough to get ZTE to get a working Camera2 API and some other stuff (time will tell).

RobboW said:
My view from a value consious type is that the A7 is great hardware for the money and importantly, it still runs fast. Getting O may help keep a little development on it but stock is good anyway. I personally wouldn't buy an LG phone, too many successive devices with serious problems like bootloop which never seems to be fixed. LG don't want their phones to last long.
If you're not the sort of person who must have the latest, then for the price the Axon 7 is still a compelling buy.
If you only choose a phone from the list of Daydream certified devices you ensure a well rounded performance and decent sensors etc. It really comes down to how much you want to spend and nothing much can touch the A7 for value versus it's real world performance. Forget benchmarks and all that junk, it's all numbers and running an Axon keeps reliable performance unlike say, a Samsung which will get the stutters sooner or later. I'm keen to see the O update being closer to stock Android on my Axon, but even on B09N it is still smooth and responsive leaving no reason to even consider buying anything else.
All that being posted, I would like to see the next flagship Axon but like all brands, ZTE will try to grow their price tag as public perception improves. Just look at Huawei as an example. Got too expensive and now put themselves beyond my price level. Wouldn't consider Samsung, HTC and all the others keeping prices double what they should be.
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Totally agree on the LG thing, the G3 was a solid item on the outside but its internals were a different story...like I said manufactured obsolescence! Baking the motherboard on mine was its final death cry lol
Choose an username... said:
When you say that you use your phone for music, what do you really mean? Hi-res, or just FLACs? With V4A or stock?
The AK4490EN is capable of like 768 kHz/32 bit, but ZTE limited to a hideous 96 kHz/16 bit...
Still it sounds much, MUCH better than a standard Snapdragon DAC. Even on custom ROMs. And even more so on custom ROMs with V4A, if you're using MP3s.
I think you have to completely avoid midrange devices. The best choice is to get a high-end CPU even if it's one generation old. The SD6xx series are a world apart in terms of performance.
Also, why do you say that the dev community is losing interest? We lost 1 or 2 devs this year. It was always rather weak, but we're a cozy community and seemingly managed to push enough to get ZTE to get a working Camera2 API and some other stuff (time will tell).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I should have made myself clear when I said mid to low tear phone, I was talking about price not internal specs. Totally agree the SD 820/821 chips might not be the latest and greatest but they are far from obsolete and still perform great... would be nice to have say an 835 but I am not in it for the numbers anyway.
As for my audio format, its a bit of a mix...minimum 320 Kbps to lossless, it really depends on where I got the files from. The max impedance on my best cans are 40 ohms so no studio level stuff.
As for the dev community losing interest...no offence intended, was only expressing my feelings on what I was told by Gases. Cosy is a good thing, its a powerful tool, means there is a passion for the product and if ZTE are listening...even better.
BTW happy new year!
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

beastobadness said:
Totally agree on the LG thing, the G3 was a solid item on the outside but its internals were a different story...like I said manufactured obsolescence! Baking the motherboard on mine was its final death cry lol
Sorry I should have made myself clear when I said mid to low tear phone, I was talking about price not internal specs. Totally agree the SD 820/821 chips might not be the latest and greatest but they are far from obsolete and still perform great... would be nice to have say an 835 but I am not in it for the numbers anyway.
As for my audio format, its a bit of a mix...minimum 320 Kbps to lossless, it really depends on where I got the files from. The max impedance on my best cans are 40 ohms so no studio level stuff.
As for the dev community losing interest...no offence intended, was only expressing my feelings on what I was told by Gases. Cosy is a good thing, its a powerful tool, means there is a passion for the product and if ZTE are listening...even better.
BTW happy new year!
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Click to collapse
You'll be OK with the Axon 7's DAC -its soundstage is clearly better and it has a lower noise level. The community is nowhere near dying out since most devs maintain only a few devices. And the SD820 still works good.
I don't believe the Axon 9 (I think they'll skip 8, like 2019) will be released before at least May or June. They said absolutely nothing aside from 'there will be a successor to the axon 7'.
Happy new year

I would say yes, I bought mine in Nov last year and it was delivered in Dec. I am loving it every minute with zero issues that I am unhappy with. I bought it to replace a buggy Zenfone 3 (midrange) and I am totally pleased with it.
Cost is a major factor as I had already spent a load of money on the ZF3; it cost the same as a current midrange device (Xiaomi A1) and yet performance is twice of current midrange devices (double benchmark and QHD screen). Yes, it is nearly a 2 years old flagship, but the question is do I need that much firepower from a current flagship? My answer is not really, yours maybe different.
I do not root my phones, had a really bad experience when I hard bricked a device due to faulty instructions and then I got laugh at by the "community". So I only update my devices officially.
I also do not update my devices to the "last" update as I had bad experiences where a device became crap with the final update (likely due to it not able to handle the load?). So I update them once out of the box, and that it. My Axon 7 was updated from B11 to B09 when I got it and it is likely to stay on B09 until the day it dies, unless the feedback on future updates are very positive here. Again, you may use yours differently.

If you disregard all the numbers and technicalities and just want a good sounding phone to play your MP3 library off, you can't go wrong with the Axon 7.
I mostly use bluetooth but do plug in still.
I did this afternoon in the car. Feeding music to the car hifi by wire sounds awesome, for sure it's better than bluetooth and louder too. I just use MP3 and can still clearly hear a difference.
You don't need to be swallowing up 50Mb a song with hi res FLAC files to justify owning the phone.

I've got my Axon7 last month to replace dying Meizu MX4Pro. Few thoughts on the buy.
A7 is fantastic mid-range phone, I've managed to get it quite cheap in almost new condition (~€230).
Performance wise it is brilliant, no hiccups or anything (bear in mind I was coming from Android 5.0 2014 phone )
Now, the sound. I have mixed feelings on this. I'll tell you why.
The speakers are great, but when I say sound quality I mean the headphone out. I didn't have much time to compare it to MX4Pro and my DAP (Cayin N3 - same DAC chip as A7) but I still feel that A7 is lacking a bit. Defo less power than my old phone (or the DAP), I need to crank up the volume to get the detail and dynamics level I want. I'll be trying it with my old C&C amp to see if it will improve.
Don't get me wrong, sound quality is very good, I think it is just the power. But again, my only reference is DAP which has lot more power and one of the most musical phones that was manufactured to date (MX4 Pro has ESS9018 DAC and OPA1612 as an amp).
To sum up - lovely phone with good sound, sound is definitely better than 99% phones out there. If you can get it cheap(-ish) and don't mind 2 year old hardware go for it.

Well it is done...Axon 7 EU version is on it's way! Oooo new shiny's lol and the wait begins
And I put a sneaky order in for the BOBOVR Z5 daydream headset just to test the water with VR and daydream.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

docentore said:
I've got my Axon7 last month to replace dying Meizu MX4Pro. Few thoughts on the buy.
A7 is fantastic mid-range phone, I've managed to get it quite cheap in almost new condition (~€230).
Performance wise it is brilliant, no hiccups or anything (bear in mind I was coming from Android 5.0 2014 phone )
Now, the sound. I have mixed feelings on this. I'll tell you why.
The speakers are great, but when I say sound quality I mean the headphone out. I didn't have much time to compare it to MX4Pro and my DAP (Cayin N3 - same DAC chip as A7) but I still feel that A7 is lacking a bit. Defo less power than my old phone (or the DAP), I need to crank up the volume to get the detail and dynamics level I want. I'll be trying it with my old C&C amp to see if it will improve.
Don't get me wrong, sound quality is very good, I think it is just the power. But again, my only reference is DAP which has lot more power and one of the most musical phones that was manufactured to date (MX4 Pro has ESS9018 DAC and OPA1612 as an amp).
To sum up - lovely phone with good sound, sound is definitely better than 99% phones out there. If you can get it cheap(-ish) and don't mind 2 year old hardware go for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What version of the A7 did you get? Is it on Nougat OS? If it's A2017G on Marshmallow it should improve on stock Nougat.

beastobadness said:
Well it is done...Axon 7 EU version is on it's way! Oooo new shiny's lol and the wait begins
And I put a sneaky order in for the BOBOVR Z5 daydream headset just to test the water with VR and daydream.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got mine yesterday in the post from gearbest as a reluctant replacement for my Nexus 6 .
Reluctant, as I wanted to 'upgrade' so had to be amoled, stereo speakers, qhd etc to at least match the beast of a Nexus 6.
Just been using today and smaller screen size takes a bit of getting used to, but sound via speakers is on par with Nexus 6 I'd say not yet tried plug in headphones. Screen is much better and the build quality too.
Very pleased so far.
This weekend may see me attempt boot loader unlock, TWRP, Magisk and Lineage install; although I must say the ZTE implementation isn't half bad, and thats on Marshmellow.
May I ask where you found it for sale? Seems most places out of stock now, and felt quite lucky to snap one up.

8eaker said:
Got mine yesterday in the post from gearbest as a reluctant replacement for my Nexus 6 .
Reluctant, as I wanted to 'upgrade' so had to be amoled, stereo speakers, qhd etc to at least match the beast of a Nexus 6.
Just been using today and smaller screen size takes a bit of getting used to, but sound via speakers is on par with Nexus 6 I'd say not yet tried plug in headphones. Screen is much better and the build quality too.
Very pleased so far.
This weekend may see me attempt boot loader unlock, TWRP, Magisk and Lineage install; although I must say the ZTE implementation isn't half bad, and thats on Marshmellow.
May I ask where you found it for sale? Seems most places out of stock now, and felt quite lucky to snap one up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fasttech had it listed...missed all the holiday discounts though and I think the fact that every other company have sold out has driven the price up on FT slightly but I am not really bothered...I am now hoping it slips past the folks at customs discreetly lol.
I need this to get here asap as my 5 yr old S4 is on its last legs...I think it must have caught something off my deceased LG G3 haha!
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

I've had mine 2 weeks, and absolutely love it. It replaced a Sony Xperia Z4 (with the 810 which allowed the phone to double as a hot plate, foot warmer or small space heater.) The sound is everything I expected from the Sony and never got. The screen is beautiful. Battery life is amazing. The Z4 had a max of 3 hours life, and this Axon 7 has seen me through 10 hour days listening to bluetooth most of the day, with 35% batttery left. I found mine on Amazon for $317, the box was scuffed up, but everything inside was pristine and untouched. I'm rooted with WRP, Substratum and Xposed. I have not felt the need to leave stock 7.1.1 as of yet.

Stock Nougat is quite good. I find that here a lot of people are way too trigger happy on the flash custom ROM scene. I only do it if the phone needs it. Custom ROMs usually have issues.
ZTE will release an official and reasonably light Oreo for it this year too.
I think after that, good custom ROMs will follow as they released O sources to a well known dev. I personally wouldn't be bothered with any current Nougat customs seeing as O is coming.

I will probably upgrade and run the axon 7 stock for a few months same as I did with my G3.
ZTE have certainly extended the axon 7's presence in the market though bringing Oreo to it, all the major brands would have EOL'ed support to a device by now especially with it starting on Marshmallow.
Has anyone had the need to swap the battery out yet?
I know there are a couple of good teardown vids on YT and it doesn't look too bad.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

RobboW said:
What version of the A7 did you get? Is it on Nougat OS? If it's A2017G on Marshmallow it should improve on stock Nougat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its A2017G on Nougat, it starts to grow on me. I've sold my DAP already because I like the sound so much.
RobboW said:
Stock Nougat is quite good. I find that here a lot of people are way too trigger happy on the flash custom ROM scene. I only do it if the phone needs it. Custom ROMs usually have issues.
ZTE will release an official and reasonably light Oreo for it this year too.
I think after that, good custom ROMs will follow as they released O sources to a well known dev. I personally wouldn't be bothered with any current Nougat customs seeing as O is coming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With my previous (pre MX4Pro) Android phones I was first to flash custom ROMs. But with A7 I'm happy so far with stock Nougat. Miss the root for few things, but I have too much stuff on the phone and too little time to bother with unlocking bootloader and rooting it as I understand I will loose all present data.
Now, when the Oreo comes, that might change

upgrading ...

What do you guys think of the xiaomi mi 8 ?
Would it be to crazy of he jump ?
I kind of like the idea , but I don't know , since I had never own a xiaomi phone ... Any one here had one before ? If so any help it's always appreciate

luisaet82 said:
What do you guys think of the xiaomi mi 8 ?
Would it be to crazy of he jump ?
I kind of like the idea , but I don't know , since I had never own a xiaomi phone ... Any one here had one before ? If so any help it's always appreciate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Specs look good on the Mi 8... I just don't care for the blatant iPhone X copy, notch, lack of a headphone jack, or IP68. For a similar spec sheet, I liked the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s a lot better with the high screen to bezel ratio and no notch. I almost pulled the trigger on one but I ended up getting the S9+ for about the same price. I've been happy with it so far. The Axon 7 is going back to the factory for a repair.
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Gearhead_ENG said:
Specs look good on the Mi 8... I just don't care for the blatant iPhone X copy, notch, lack of a headphone jack, or IP68. For a similar spec sheet, I liked the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s a lot better with the high screen to bezel ratio and no notch. I almost pulled the trigger on one but I ended up getting the S9+ for about the same price. I've been happy with it so far. The Axon 7 is going back to the factory for a repair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you do to the axon 7 ? Is ZTE still working ?

It still works but the battery life is starting to degrade and the charging port is loose after 1.5 years. ZTE is replacing it under warranty. It'll make a good backup or media phone.
luisaet82 said:
What do you do to the axon 7 ? Is ZTE still working ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

I wouldn't get the mi8, lacks features compared to the Axon 7 although newer in others and faster.
If you want an all around better device get the S9+ or HTC U12+.

nfsmw_gr said:
I wouldn't get the mi8, lacks features compared to the Axon 7 although newer in others and faster.
If you want an all around better device get the S9+ or HTC U12+.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are both around the 1000 DLS and I'm not planning to spend that money on a phone again not when i pay 350 for and amazing phone like the axon 7 ... Im not sure wtf to do looks like I'm gonna keep the phone until it just dies ???

They are both around the 1000 DLS and I'm not planning to spend that money on a phone again not when i pay 350 for and amazing phone like the axon 7 ... Im not sure wtf to do looks like I'm gonna keep the phone until it just dies ???

nfsmw_gr said:
I wouldn't get the mi8, lacks features compared to the Axon 7 although newer in others and faster.
If you want an all around better device get the S9+ or HTC U12+.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's crazy that if ZTE just re-released the Axon 7 with an upgraded Sd845 it would be the only phone (including announced unreleased) that suits my media demands of 1440p amoled, stereo front speakers and hifi DAC working in AOSP (for hifi when headset mic is enabled). They should just do it if they get back to business, LG did it to the V30 to V35.
Sent from my Xperia Z3C using XDA Labs

luisaet82 said:
They are both around the 1000 DLS and I'm not planning to spend that money on a phone again not when i pay 350 for and amazing phone like the axon 7 ... Im not sure wtf to do looks like I'm gonna keep the phone until it just dies ???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I agree man, unfortunately only these two fit the spec list and are wayyyy too expensive
Infy_AsiX said:
it's crazy that if ZTE just re-released the Axon 7 with an upgraded Sd845 it would be the only phone (including announced unreleased) that suits my media demands of 1440p amoled, stereo front speakers and hifi DAC working in AOSP (for hifi when headset mic is enabled). They should just do it if they get back to business, LG did it to the V30 to V35.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This would be phenomenal.
A bigger battery, better camera, ane IPXX protection should be possible as well, then it would be the perfect device even if they kept everything else the same really.

All the Axon 9 needs is the Axon 7s with SD845 and IR blaster. Maybe a better camera but it already is improved over the Axon 7.

nfsmw_gr said:
This would be phenomenal.
A bigger battery, better camera, ane IPXX protection should be possible as well, then it would be the perfect device even if they kept everything else the same really.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perfect phone is a really hard ideal to fit for everyone. For me personally none of those are needed as I've resigned myself to the fact a single all purpose perfect device is impossible. I have a compact phone for primary general use and a secondary media phone as a media device to complement each other.
Sent from my Xperia Z3C using XDA Labs

Infy_AsiX said:
Perfect phone is a really hard ideal to fit for everyone. For me personally none of those are needed as I've resigned myself to the fact a single all purpose perfect device is impossible. I have a compact phone for primary general use and a secondary media phone as a media device to complement each other.
Sent from my Xperia Z3C using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand your way of thinking, hope this works for you, I can't imagine carrying two phones myself.
In my own case, the Axon 7 suits all my daily needs to be honest, so I could call it a perfect device.
It's just starting to age when compared to newer devices, that is all.
A couple of current flagships would fit my needs to upgrade (S9+,U12+), but the prices are way too high.
Unfortunately, no equivalent of the Axon 7 exists in the price range the Axon 7 released, which is a big shame.
Just gotta hang on to it for now, or bite the bullet and pay the price premium if you really need to upgrade for whatever reason. :crying:

Infy_AsiX said:
it's crazy that if ZTE just re-released the Axon 7 with an upgraded Sd845 it would be the only phone (including announced unreleased) that suits my media demands of 1440p amoled, stereo front speakers and hifi DAC working in AOSP (for hifi when headset mic is enabled). They should just do it if they get back to business, LG did it to the V30 to V35.
Sent from my Xperia Z3C using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They were actually, well it was a concept, but to me it looked like the real axon 9. It had the front facing speakers and had a cool name "ZTE Iceberg".
There are renders of the phone on the web, give it a search

nfsmw_gr said:
I understand your way of thinking, hope this works for you, I can't imagine carrying two phones myself.
In my own case, the Axon 7 suits all my daily needs to be honest, so I could call it a perfect device.
It's just starting to age when compared to newer devices, that is all.
A couple of current flagships would fit my needs to upgrade (S9+,U12+), but the prices are way too high.
Unfortunately, no equivalent of the Axon 7 exists in the price range the Axon 7 released, which is a big shame.
Just gotta hang on to it for now, or bite the bullet and pay the price premium if you really need to upgrade for whatever reason. :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having more than one device is just an extra step to getting more than just one can offer. As my old Z3C still does music well but not as well as A7 it suits on the go environments where quality is lost to the environment anyway. With custom updates it's still fast for general use and I much prefer it's form and ergonomic factor. The A7 is stored away in a bag until more immersive media is used. For going out without a bag the A7 is left at home. I guess doubling up my Z3C's purpose as a bike computer is part of the reason for keeping it around too. In fact I've got another second half-broken Z3C with both batteries modded removable to also suit a second sim card, it's just like carrying spare powerbanks really. Of course I could swap them both for the A7 dual sim, but where there's a gain there's always a loss.
Aged in what respect? I can only really think of SD820 performance as behind. Pushing the boundary with various mods like disabling thermal throttling and such I've managed tweaked PUBGM for 1080p high settings >30fps which is by all intents above expected average and desirable. Of course upgraded better chipsets will pull more but not too much more in a S835 and only more noticeably on a S845.
Well if current generation flagships suit you but not in price the only issue is to wait. Or you could join the buy, use and sell market cycle to get it now and not necessarily cost more.
JustaRandomCat said:
They were actually, well it was a concept, but to me it looked like the real axon 9. It had the front facing speakers and had a cool name "ZTE Iceberg".
There are renders of the phone on the web, give it a search
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're mixing the rumoured Axon 9 leak where there's no stereo speaker and the dual notch Iceberg. I think they did re-release the Axon 7 with a S821 as a Chinese government model though. Getting to the point where they could save costs on redeveloping a new model and just reuse a successful design with a new chipset would be a nice move. However they'd have to be sure the old design is actually successful and popular enough to drive sales demand again, LG evidently thinks they hit something nice with the V30. Brings up the thought, why not sell updated chipsets to consumers that could be installed into old models, maybe through service centres and provide new firmware support. Guess that's too ambitious and consumer friendly an idea.

Been thinking about moto z2 play or force was given a old moto z play by a friend to play with for a while.......