ZTE Axon 11 5G Review: Affordable 5G smartphone

The ZTE Axon 11, which is a low-priced but capable smartphone, managed to score some major points in our review. However, it had a few weaknesses, which are also present in the 5G model. The Axon 11 5G looks exactly the same. Howbeit, it features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G and 6 GB of RAM, which is why it feels very responsive. The Qualcomm Adreno 620 and 128 GB of internal storage round off the package.
The ZTE Axon 11 5G is competing against other 5G-capable smartphones. You can see the competing devices, which we selected for this review, in the chart below. The Axon 11 5G can also be compared against other devices in our data bank.
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Comparison Devices
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Drive | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
83.8 % | 10/2020 | ZTE Axon 11 5G SD 765G, Adreno 620 | 168 g | 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.47" | 2340x1080 | |
84 % | 08/2020 | Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G SD 765G, Adreno 620 | 192 g | 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.57" | 2340x1080 | |
83.6 % | 07/2020 | OnePlus Nord SD 765G, Adreno 620 | 184 g | 256 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.44" | 2440x1080 | |
85 % | 07/2020 | LG Velvet SD 765G, Adreno 620 | 180 g | 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.80" | 2460x1080 | |
82.3 % | 07/2020 | Oppo Find X2 Lite SD 765G, Adreno 620 | 180 g | 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.40" | 2400x1080 |
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Case - Rigid 5G smartphone
The ZTE smartphone has a very light weight. The frame of the Axon 11 5G is made of metal, which is why the smartphone feels very rigid. The build quality is on a good level. There are no chinks or gaps anywhere. The quad-camera system protrudes slightly from the back.
The screen of the Axon 11 5G is not small, it measures almost 6.5 inches diagonally. Nevertheless, the Android smartphone is easy to handle. Weighing in at 165 grams (~5.8 oz), the Axon 11 5G is considerably lighter than other 5G smartphones in our comparison chart.
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Hardware Configuration - High USB speeds
The ZTE Axon 11 5G features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, an Adreno 620, 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory. The storage capacity can be expanded by up to 2 TB with the help of a microSD card. A nanoSIM card can be inserted into the Axon 11 5G. Our review device supports VoLTE and VoWiFi.
Wired data transfers can be carried out via the USB Type-C port, which operates at USB 3.1 Gen 1 speeds. The Axon 11 5G supports Widevine L1 DRM and the Level 3 Camera2 API.
Software - MiFavor UI offers a decent user interface
The Axon 11 5G runs Android 10 with a custom launcher known as MiFavor UI. The smartphone ships with the security patches from April, 2020. The user interface resembles stock Android, which is why Android users should have no trouble navigating through the settings menu. The ZTE smartphone comes with a small number of preinstalled third-party applications. Only Clean Master
and WPS Office
are preinstalled on the device. All preinstalled applications can be easily uninstalled. ZTE Cares
, a first-party support application, is also preinstalled.
At the time of writing, users can download a software update with the security patches from July, 2020.
Communication & Geolocation - Android smartphone with 5G
The ZTE Axon 11 5G supports the following mobile communication standards: GSM, 3G, LTE and 5G. For short-distance communication, our review device relies on NFC, Bluetooth 5.1 and Wi-Fi 5. With our reference-grade router Netgear Nighthawk AX12, ZTE’s smartphone achieves an average data reception speed of 661 Mb/s and an average data transmission speed of 475 Mb/s. While download speeds are on a normal level for this kind of device, the upload speeds are well below what the rest of the competition has to offer.
Networking | |
iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite | |
LG Velvet | |
OnePlus Nord | |
Average of class Smartphone (16.9 - 1368, n=78, last 2 years) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G | |
iperf3 receive AX12 | |
LG Velvet | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G | |
OnePlus Nord | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | |
Average of class Smartphone (32.7 - 953, n=79, last 2 years) |
For geolocation, the ZTE Axon 11 5G relies on the following global navigation satellite systems: GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo. Outdoors, the Android smartphone has a margin of error of up to 4 metres (~13 feet). Indoors, our review device fails to establish a connection with the satellites. We use an application known as GPS Test
to help us determine the margin of error.
In order to determine how accurate our review device is when it comes to geolocation, we take it with us on a bike ride. During this ride, we are also accompanied by the professional navigator Garmin Edge 500. The Axon 11 5G had some trouble at the turns. All in all, the Axon 11 5G is good enough for daily navigation.
Telephony & Call Quality - High volume when calling
The phone application of the Axon 11 5G offers direct access to the favourite contacts and allows users to easily bring up the dial pad. There are also two other tabs; one for call history, the other for saved contacts. The ZTE smartphone provides a high call volume. The voices on either end of the call sound clear and intelligible and the background noise is filtered out successfully.
Cameras - Main camera takes good pictures
The 64-megapixel main sensor of the ZTE Axon 11 5G has a focal length of 25 mm and an f/1.9 aperture. The 12-megapixel ultra wide-angle lens has a field of view of 120° and an f/2.2 aperture. Both the 2-megapixel depth sensor and the 2-megapixel macro lens have an f/2.4 aperture. The front-facing camera has a resolution of 20 megapixels and an f/2.0 aperture. The selfie-shooter produces colour-accurate photographs, which appear blurry even at low zoom levels. The camera application offers a beauty mode with many customisation options. There are also colour filters and a portrait mode, which allows users to blur the background.
The main camera produces well-detailed images, which appear a little too dim. The edges of the pictures taken with the main camera are grainy and blurry. The wide-angle shots look somewhat blurry and a little washed-out. The 5G smartphone from ZTE does not offer optical zoom. When using software zoom, the camera produces lower-resolution images, which are still relatively well detailed. Under poor lighting conditions, the main camera manages to preserve some detail. However, the objects are hard to tell apart and the colours look darker than they should. There is a “Pro” mode, which allows users to adjust the white balance, ISO sensitivity, focus and the shutter speed.
Videos taken with the ZTE smartphone look about as good as the photographs. The Axon 11 5G handles transitions between the dark and light scenes very well. Video can be recorded at 2160p, 1080p and 720p at 60 or 30 FPS.
Image Comparison
Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.
Main cameraWide-angle lens5X zoomLow-light photographyWe use the “X-Rite ColorChecker Passport” tool to further examine the colour accuracy. Under controlled lighting conditions, most colours are slightly over brightened. Under these lighting conditions, the photographs of our test chart appear very well detailed. However, the colours in the lower left corner are somewhat washed-out.


Accessories & Warranty - Headset in the box
The box of the ZTE Axon 11 5G contains a USB charger with an appropriate USB Type-C cable, a protective case, a SIM card removal tool and a 3.5-mm wired headset with a USB-C adapter, which can be used to connect the headset to the Axon 11 5G.
The Axon 11 5G comes with a 24-month warranty.
Input Devices & Handling - Good touchscreen and fast facial recognition
The Axon 11 5G comes with Android’s standard keyboard, which is known as GBoard. It offers a lot of customisation options and is suitable for typing long texts. The touchscreen reacts reliably and promptly to inputs. The drag-and-drop functionality works very well, because the screen surface is very smooth.
The in-screen fingerprint sensor feels a little sluggish. The face unlock works much faster. However, in order to get to the home screen, users will have to swipe up on the lock screen.
Display - Bright AMOLED panel
The 6.47-inch AMOLED display of the ZTE Axon 11 5G has a native resolution of 2340x1080 pixels. Thanks to an average brightness of 607 cd/m², the Axon 11 5G lands a spot near the top of our comparison chart. In the APL50 test, in which the screen displays a pattern of alternating black and white squares of equal size, we measured a brightness of 683 cd/m². With the light sensor disabled, the screen brightness drops to 465 cd/m². The minimum brightness level is 3.04 cd/m².
The AMOLED panel uses pulse width modulation (PWM) for brightness control. The OLED screen of the smartphone flickers at frequencies ranging from 123.8 Hz to 250 Hz. This is why susceptible individuals may experience eye-strain when using the device.
|
Brightness Distribution: 92 %
Center on Battery: 603 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.2
ΔE Greyscale 3.8 | 0.57-98 Ø5.4
Gamma: 2.21
ZTE Axon 11 5G AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.47 | Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.57 | OnePlus Nord AMOLED, 2440x1080, 6.44 | LG Velvet P-OLED, 2460x1080, 6.80 | Oppo Find X2 Lite OLED, 2400x1080, 6.40 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Screen | 28% | 13% | 7% | -26% | |
Brightness middle | 603 | 584 -3% | 529 -12% | 586 -3% | 638 6% |
Brightness | 608 | 583 -4% | 531 -13% | 587 -3% | 633 4% |
Brightness Distribution | 92 | 97 5% | 94 2% | 97 5% | 95 3% |
Black Level * | |||||
Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 3 | 1.17 61% | 2.53 16% | 2.8 7% | 5.6 -87% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 6.2 | 2.95 52% | 4.52 27% | 6.3 -2% | 8.9 -44% |
Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3.8 | 1.7 55% | 1.7 55% | 2.3 39% | 5.3 -39% |
Gamma | 2.21 100% | 2.231 99% | 2.249 98% | 2.01 109% | 2.25 98% |
CCT | 7242 90% | 6341 103% | 6462 101% | 6827 95% | 7118 91% |
* ... smaller is better
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
Screen flickering / PWM detected | 250 Hz | ≤ 99 % brightness setting | |
The display backlight flickers at 250 Hz (Likely utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 99 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 250 Hz is relatively low, so sensitive users will likely notice flickering and experience eyestrain at the stated brightness setting and below. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18911 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. |
Users can adjust the colour reproduction in the settings menu with the help of a colour slider. There are also preconfigured colour profiles. In automatic mode, the system adjusts the colour production to fit the screen content. In this mode, the colour production is on a good level. In Normal
mode, there is an observable bluish cast. The Warm
mode makes colours appear warmer and the Cool
mode makes colours cooler.
Display Response Times
↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
---|---|---|
3.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 2 ms rise | |
↘ 1.6 ms fall | ||
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 8 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (22.3 ms). | ||
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 2 ms rise | |
↘ 2 ms fall | ||
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.25 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 7 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (35.2 ms). |
Performance - Mid-range smartphone offers a decent level of performance
The ZTE Axon 11 5G is a mid-range 5G smartphone that ships with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, which many competing devices also have. In combination with 6 GB of RAM, the SoC offers enough performance for all current applications.
The ZTE smartphone achieves middling results in our suite of benchmarks and consequently takes a spot in the middle of our comparison chart. However, the actual differences in performance rarely amount to more than a few percentage points in favour of or against the Axon 11 5G.
Geekbench 5.4 | |
Single-Core (sort by value) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | |
OnePlus Nord | |
LG Velvet | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (554 - 673, n=17) | |
Average of class Smartphone (119 - 1885, n=247, last 2 years) | |
Multi-Core (sort by value) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | |
OnePlus Nord | |
LG Velvet | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (1520 - 1966, n=17) | |
Average of class Smartphone (472 - 5538, n=247, last 2 years) | |
Vulkan Score (sort by value) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | |
OnePlus Nord | |
LG Velvet | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (168 - 1278, n=12) | |
Average of class Smartphone (79 - 9992, n=181, last 2 years) | |
OpenCL Score (sort by value) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | |
OnePlus Nord | |
LG Velvet | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (1231 - 1302, n=10) | |
Average of class Smartphone (368 - 10711, n=171, last 2 years) |
PCMark for Android | |
Work performance score (sort by value) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | |
OnePlus Nord | |
LG Velvet | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (8687 - 11041, n=16) | |
Average of class Smartphone (9875 - 19297, n=4, last 2 years) | |
Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | |
OnePlus Nord | |
LG Velvet | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (7245 - 9989, n=17) | |
Average of class Smartphone (4389 - 13282, n=33, last 2 years) |
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 | |
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | |
OnePlus Nord | |
LG Velvet | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (43 - 86, n=15) | |
Average of class Smartphone (22 - 165, n=190, last 2 years) | |
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | |
OnePlus Nord | |
LG Velvet | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (48 - 97, n=15) | |
Average of class Smartphone (19 - 497, n=190, last 2 years) |
GFXBench 3.0 | |
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | |
OnePlus Nord | |
LG Velvet | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (30 - 55, n=15) | |
Average of class Smartphone (6.8 - 161, n=191, last 2 years) | |
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | |
OnePlus Nord | |
LG Velvet | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (31 - 56, n=15) | |
Average of class Smartphone (9.2 - 331, n=192, last 2 years) |
GFXBench 3.1 | |
on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen (sort by value) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | |
OnePlus Nord | |
LG Velvet | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (21 - 37, n=15) | |
Average of class Smartphone (3.7 - 143, n=192, last 2 years) | |
1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen (sort by value) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | |
OnePlus Nord | |
LG Velvet | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (22 - 38, n=15) | |
Average of class Smartphone (6.2 - 223, n=192, last 2 years) |
AnTuTu v8 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | |
OnePlus Nord | |
LG Velvet | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (285731 - 332305, n=14) | |
Average of class Smartphone (101336 - 725649, n=42, last 2 years) |
In the browser benchmarks, a familiar picture emerges. The ZTE Axon 11 5G lands a spot in the middle of our comparison chart. Here, the margins are quite small as well.
In day-to-day use, the scrolling is very smooth and webpages and media content load very quickly.
Jetstream 2 - Total Score | |
Average of class Smartphone (16.9 - 282, n=166, last 2 years) | |
OnePlus Nord (Chrome 84) | |
LG Velvet (Chrome 83) | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G (Chrome83) | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (15.8 - 60.5, n=12) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G (Chrome 83) | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite (Chrome 83) |
JetStream 1.1 - Total Score | |
Average of class Smartphone (26.7 - 414, n=84, last 2 years) | |
OnePlus Nord (Chrome 84) | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G (Chrome 83) | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (10.8 - 96.9, n=11) |
Speedometer 2.0 - Result | |
Average of class Smartphone (13.3 - 375, n=155, last 2 years) | |
OnePlus Nord (Chome 84) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G (Chrome 83) | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G (Chrome83) | |
LG Velvet (Chrome 83) | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (9 - 54.9, n=9) |
WebXPRT 3 - --- | |
Average of class Smartphone (28 - 292, n=149, last 2 years) | |
OnePlus Nord (Chrome 84) | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G (Chrome83) | |
LG Velvet (Chrome 83) | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite (Chrome 83) | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (20 - 101, n=13) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G (Chrome 83) |
Octane V2 - Total Score | |
Average of class Smartphone (4633 - 74261, n=197, last 2 years) | |
OnePlus Nord (Chrome 84) | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G (Chrome83) | |
LG Velvet (Chrome 83) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G (Chrome 83) | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite (Chrome 83) | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (3592 - 19143, n=14) |
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total Score | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (2359 - 15230, n=14) | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G (Chrome 83) | |
OnePlus Nord (Chrome 84) | |
Oppo Find X2 Lite (Chrome 83) | |
LG Velvet (Chrome 83) | |
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G (Chrome83) | |
Average of class Smartphone (414 - 10797, n=171, last 2 years) |
* ... smaller is better
The ZTE smartphone features 128 GB of internal memory. However, only 113 GB is available to the user. In the storage benchmarks, the Axon 11 5G achieves good read and write speeds. Competing devices offer very similar data transfer rates.
According to the manufacturer, the storage capacity of our review device can be expanded by up to 2 TB with the help of a microSD card. With our reference-grade microSD card Toshiba Exceria Pro M501, the ZTE smartphone manages to achieve above-average read and write rates.
ZTE Axon 11 5G | Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G | OnePlus Nord | LG Velvet | Oppo Find X2 Lite | Average 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AndroBench 3-5 | 5% | -8% | -5% | 6% | -13% | 45% | |
Sequential Read 256KB | 956 | 980 3% | 956 0% | 925 -3% | 910 -5% | 772 ? -19% | 1154 ? 21% |
Sequential Write 256KB | 417.1 | 476.9 14% | 473.1 13% | 409.2 -2% | 475.2 14% | 297 ? -29% | 717 ? 72% |
Random Read 4KB | 166.3 | 156.4 -6% | 126.7 -24% | 154.3 -7% | 169.4 2% | 151.6 ? -9% | 204 ? 23% |
Random Write 4KB | 128.4 | 138.5 8% | 104.5 -19% | 135.9 6% | 146.1 14% | 130.9 ? 2% | 211 ? 64% |
Sequential Read 256KB SDCard | 88.3 ? | 77.8 ? -12% | 76 ? -14% | ||||
Sequential Write 256KB SDCard | 66.4 ? | 60.3 ? -9% | 59.6 ? -10% |
Gaming - Current titles are playable
The ZTE Axon 11 5G comes with the Qualcomm Adreno 620 graphics unit, which can run all current games smoothly. However, graphics settings will have to be lowered in very demanding 3D games in order to achieve stable frame rates. We use Gamebench
to record frame rates. We saw 60 FPS in Arena of Valor and PUBG Mobile had no trouble hitting 30 FPS on high settings. We experienced no issues with the touchscreen when gaming.
Emissions - Speaker with a high volume
Temperature
The surface temperatures of the Axon 11 5G reach 32.7 °C (90.86 °F) under load. Such temperatures should have no effect on the overall user experience. ZTE’s smartphone manages to maintain its full performance in the Manhatten 3.1 and ES 2.0 sections of the GFXBench benchmark. This means that it should not throttle under continuous load.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 32.7 °C / 91 F, compared to the average of 34.9 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 52.9 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 32.2 °C / 90 F, compared to the average of 33.7 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 29.6 °C / 85 F, compared to the device average of 32.6 °C / 91 F.
Speakers
ZTE Axon 11 5G audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (90.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 22.4% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.3% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (3.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 8.4% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (3.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (18.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 14% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 79% worse
» The best had a delta of 11%, average was 23%, worst was 65%
Compared to all devices tested
» 40% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 53% worse
» The best had a delta of 3%, average was 20%, worst was 65%
OnePlus Nord audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 23.4% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.3% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (5.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (16.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 6% of all tested devices in this class were better, 6% similar, 88% worse
» The best had a delta of 11%, average was 23%, worst was 65%
Compared to all devices tested
» 30% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 62% worse
» The best had a delta of 3%, average was 20%, worst was 65%
Battery Life - 11 hours in the Wi-Fi test
Energy Consumption
According to our measurements, the Axon 11 5G is moderately energy-efficient. However, under load, it draws more power than the rest of the competition.
The included 18-watt USB-C power adapter should have no trouble supplying the 5G smartphone from ZTE with enough energy.
Off / Standby | ![]() ![]() |
Idle | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Load |
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |
ZTE Axon 11 5G 4000 mAh | Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G 4160 mAh | OnePlus Nord 4115 mAh | LG Velvet 4300 mAh | Oppo Find X2 Lite 4025 mAh | Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G | Average of class Smartphone | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Power Consumption | -43% | -33% | 13% | -15% | -11% | -1% | |
Idle Minimum * | 0.78 | 1.5 -92% | 1.8 -131% | 0.66 15% | 0.75 4% | 0.965 ? -24% | 0.88 ? -13% |
Idle Average * | 1.43 | 2.2 -54% | 2.1 -47% | 1.58 -10% | 2.55 -78% | 1.899 ? -33% | 1.486 ? -4% |
Idle Maximum * | 1.54 | 2.9 -88% | 2.3 -49% | 1.6 -4% | 2.58 -68% | 2.07 ? -34% | 1.696 ? -10% |
Load Average * | 5.04 | 4.4 13% | 3.4 33% | 3.3 35% | 3.21 36% | 3.98 ? 21% | 4.27 ? 15% |
Load Maximum * | 7.49 | 7.2 4% | 5.2 31% | 5.46 27% | 5.29 29% | 6.19 ? 17% | 7.07 ? 6% |
* ... smaller is better
Battery Life
In our practically oriented Wi-Fi test, the ZTE smartphone achieves a battery runtime of a little more than 11 hours. Here, all other competing devices last longer.
The included power adapter supports Quick Charge 3.0 and takes a little over an hour to fully charge the Axon 11 5G.
ZTE Axon 11 5G 4000 mAh | Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G 4160 mAh | OnePlus Nord 4115 mAh | LG Velvet 4300 mAh | Oppo Find X2 Lite 4025 mAh | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Battery Runtime | 37% | 14% | 9% | 7% | |
Reader / Idle | 1700 | 1683 -1% | 2003 18% | ||
H.264 | 1070 | 1403 31% | 1064 -1% | ||
WiFi v1.3 | 679 | 884 30% | 869 28% | 741 9% | 728 7% |
Load | 240 | 448 87% | 261 9% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict - ZTE-specific design
With the Axon 11 5G, ZTE continues what it has begun with the Axon 11 (4G). The 5G smartphone feels premium, but not heavy, in the hand. The build quality is on a good level. The touchscreen responds quickly to inputs and the system feels very snappy. 5G support means that the ZTE smartphone can operate in the state-of-the-art mobile networks.
The ZTE Axon 11 5G brings to the table what every mid-range 5G smartphone should.
When compared to the competition, the camera performance of the ZTE Axon 11 5G looks very good and the system performance is on a normal level. However, when it comes to battery life, the ZTE smartphone does worse than the rest of the competition. Howbeit, thanks to QuickCharge 3.0, the battery charges quite fast.
ZTE Axon 11 5G
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08/31/2022 v7
Mike Wobker