Meet ZTE’s dual-display Axon M folding phone
ZTE’s newest phone follows the adage that you can’t have enough of a good thing which is why instead of just one display, it packs two. The ZTE Axon M comes with not one but two 5.2-inch Full HD displays with both connected together via a hinge mechanism that allows you to use it like a traditional phone with just one active display or to flip it flat to use both screens.
Depending on what mode you put it in when fully deployed, the Axon M can have one display mirroring the other, have both touchscreens display content independent of each other or – the clincher – both combine to form a much larger screen like a foldable tablet of sorts. The meeting point where both displays and the hinge meets is separated by an ultra slim bezel so that it looks almost seamless even when viewed up close.
Unique double display notwithstanding, the rest of the Axon M consists of a somewhat dated Snapdragon 821 processor running Android Nougat 7.1.2, 4GB RAM and 64GB of expandable storage with the phone mounting only one 20-MP camera; seeing as the camera can be reoriented to the front or back as needed for selfie duties and 4K video capture as needed. Keeping it all puttering along is a 3,180mAh battery.
The use cases for a dual-screen phone like the Axon M are diverse indeed as you’re able to tailor the dimensions of the display as needed. Need more screen real estate to work on Google Docs while watching YouTube? The Axon M can do both with either app on each display. If you need a more compact display for one-handed use, you can simply fold it back down to use it like a normal phone.
There’s some interesting design tradeoffs – the very nature of the phone means that putting a casing on it is a challenging affair due to its design. For all its innovation, the Axon M is hefty as phones go at 230g and chunky too at 13mm thin, making it resemble a fairly beefy looking Nintendo DS with outward facing screens. The processor itself is also a bit long in the tooth but it’s still quite serviceable.
If this floats your boat, well, too bad as the Axon M is not coming to Malaysia anytime soon though the phone will be offered by AT&T in the United States who will start carrying it in November for a 30-month contract for US$24.17 a month (about RM102.08). Bought outright it will retail for US$725 (about RM3062). There’s also talk of it being launched in Japan as well. So far, there is no official word that it will come to Malaysia so we can only admire it from afar for now. Still, there are alternatives to obtain it for more enterprising users but we hope it will be make an appearance here sometime soon.
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