The ZTE Blade X1 5G is US$384 smartphone that comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, four rear cameras, and more
Unlike its compatriot Huawei, ZTE emerged relatively unscathed from its tiff with the US government. The company beat the odds and even managed to launch the world's first-ever smartphone with an under-display selfie camera, the ZTE Axon 20 5G. There is a new 5G-ready ZTE smartphone in the market now called the ZTE Blade X1 5G.
The ZTE Blade X1 5G costs US$384 and is exclusive to Verizon subsidiary Visible. Its availability on other carriers is unknown at this point. Given that it is a somewhat affordable 5G smartphone, there are a few visible compromises when it comes to the ZTE Blade X1 5G's specifications. For starters, it is powered by last year's Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G SoC, coupled with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which supports up to 2 TB of expansion via a micro SD card.
Other ZTE Blade X1 5G specs include a 6.5-inch FHD (1,080 x 2,340) screen which is interrupted by a 16MP hole-punch style selfie camera module and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. Its 4,000mAh battery supports 'wicked fast charging,' according to Visible's product page. We're likely looking at speeds no higher than 18W, as the listing explicitly mentions Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 compatibility.
To round things off, the ZTE Blade X1 5G comes with four rear cameras; a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle-lens, a 2MP depth sensor and 2MP macro lens. Wireless connectivity options include NFC, 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0.
The ZTE Blade X1 5G directly competes with the recently-launched Motorola One 5G Ace, which costs US$399. However, the newly-unveiled Motorola Edge S has the potential to blow both phones out of the water, as it is significantly cheaper (US$310) and comes with objectively better specifications across the board.
