ZTE Axon 40 Ultra Aerospace Edition launches as a super-premium Android flagship with up to 18GB of RAM and a new ceramic build

ZTE has now followed through on its promise to launch a new Aerospace Edition for its Axon 40 Ultra, a flagship Android smartphone that achieves a screen-to-body ratio of 93% thanks to the under-display camera (UDC) camera technology in which the OEM has chosen to get behind as an early adopter for years now.

The resulting 6.8-inch 120Hz AMOLED display often draws comparisons between the 40 Ultra and its Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra rival from the front. Then again, the standard version still suffers from a blocky, obtrusive camera hump from the rear. 

However, ZTE has had second (and subjectively much better) thoughts since then, and has chosen to implement them in the new Special Edition. It blends the camera island more effectively into the rest of the rear panel, leaving sharp, narrow curving lines intended to evoke a shuttle launch to either side.

The effect is executed in "HT" ceramic rather than glass in the Aerospace Edition's new and exclusive design. The cameras found within it are the same triple 64MP set-up from the original Axon 40 Ultra, however.

On that note, the Aerospace Edition retains most of the same specs of the original version, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 platform to run MyOS still stuck on Android 12 included - except for the part where it now starts with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage.

Furthermore, the Aerospace Edition has just 1 SKU more, and it upgrades directly to 18GB of RAM and a whole terabyte of internal storage. It goes for 7,698 yuan (~US$1,076), as opposed to the 5,898 yuan (~US$823) of the base model.

ZTE intends to release its new astronaut-celebrating version of the Axon 40 Ultra on December 6, 2022 via channels such as JD.com, although its pre-orders start from now.

Buy a ZTE Axon 40 Pro on Amazon