ZTE Blade A2S hits China this Friday

ZTE might not be as popular as Xiaomi or Huawei, but they managed to release quite a few popular Android smartphones so far. Even more, unlike most of their Chinese competitors, this brand also managed to reach the US market using the official channels. Although the new ZTE Blade A2S is nowhere near the ZTE Axon flagship in terms of specs and features, Chinese consumers on a tight budget will probably enjoy it.

At first sight, the ZTE Blade A2S is related to the Blade A2 Plus that arrived in India via Flipkart back in February. However, their specs are quite different. The ZTE Blade A2S is powered by the MediaTek MT6753 octa-core processor, also sporting 3 GB RAM, 32 GB internal storage, a 5 MP front camera, and a 13 MP main image shooter. The 5.2-inch 1080p display has a generous resolution for the smartphone's price range, since most handsets below US$150 only come with 720p screens.

Dual-SIM users should be (almost) happy with the ZTE Blade A2S due to the hybrid slot that allows the use of two SIM cards by sacrificing the chance to use a microSD memory card for more storage space. In addition to dual-SIM support, there is also 4G VoLTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, micro USB 2.0, a traditional 3.5 mm audio jack, and a rear-mounted fingerprint reader. NFC and USB Type-C are not present, but this should not be considered an issue given the price of this handset. 

This smartphone weighs 0.3 pounds and measures 5.75 x 2.86 x 0.29 inches. It has a 2,540 mAh battery capacity with Quick Charge capabilities. The operating system on board is Android 7.0 Nougat with ZTE's MiFavor UI 3.5 on top.

The ZTE Blade A2S has a metal unibody design and only comes with a silver/gray finish. It will go on sale in China via JD.com this Friday for CNY¥699 or around US$107. We have no information about its arrival in other countries yet, but we will keep you posted.