ZTE Axon M - Are We Ready For Foldable Smartphones?

ZTE is working on a foldable smartphone that features dual screens. The unique phone will have a combination of 6.8-inch screens. For a long time, different manufacturers have been harboring the concept of a foldable phone, but ZTE decided it’s time this idea came to life. The Axon M will be the first dual display smartphone by the company and was launched to sell in the US market exclusively under AT&T, but the company confirmed they are working on expansionary measures that will see the phone sell in other markets including Europe, China, and Japan. Noelle Neff is a tech enthusiast and photographer who loves writing about tech and today she helps us explore the features included in ZTE’s new foldable smartphone.

It’s a foldable phone

Many of us might be made to assume that this the screen is foldable, but the idea backing the Axon M is that it is made up of two phones synced together to form a foldable phone. It is not a flexible display as one might imagine, but it includes two LCD screens that are conjoined to work together or independently depending on the settings the user selects. It is an interesting concept that utilizes modern ultra-thin bezel displays; its sides match perfectly and the bezels separating them are just a fraction millimeters thick.

Multiple use models

With the Axon M, you have choices to use it as either a double screen gadget, or just like your basic phone. When you fold it, you are left with the usual single screen and it functions perfectly like any other single screen phone. When you fold the phone, it activates the single screen mode and as the back of the phone is hidden in the bezels, the display of the other screen is shut off. But the phone is quite thick as it measures 12.1 millimeters.

When you pop its two screens, you get a squarish tablet. You could choose to use both screens to display one piece of content or if you think you want to run two apps concurrently you are also provided with this feature. You could be watching something on YouTube while also surfing through Amazon on the other screen, so on multitasking the phone is way better.

Seamless multitasking

While Android offers a flexible OS that focuses on multitasking, ZTE takes the multitasking game a notch higher by giving you an open space on which you can run multiple events. On the nav bar, you will see an “M” button and pressing this allows you to switch from one mode to another. You can choose a one display mode, separate display or mirror display (this makes use of both screens to form one large screen that will the display the content).

Using two screens separately is quite interesting as this allows you to explore advanced multitasking. Many of the apps will scale effortlessly while running the combined mode. Therefore, developers might want to consider updating their apps so they run well if they are among the exceptions, but this depends on whether the device will have any impact on the market.

Specs and features

The specs might be a bit disappointing for a phone built for the future as most of the technology used could be replaced with a newer alternative already in the market. The device will run the Snapdragon 821 processor despite the company having access to the current Snapdragon 835 chip. It will have a 4GB RAM, which is quite limiting when you consider the phone is designed purposely to facilitate multitasking. However, that is not to say it’s not enough for the phone to run smoothly as it depends on the end-user experience.

A great design like this was expected to come with stellar features that would make the multitasking part more powerful. Another aspect of the phone you might want to consider before buying is the battery and on this, they have scored quite poorly with a 3,180 mAh battery, which is reasonable if used on a smartphone with a single screen. One of the concerns that will come up about the two screens is battery usage and you would expect the battery to be bigger than the size they have used. Overall, its design is awesome but on features, the phone achieves an average score.

About the Author

Noelle Neff is a professional photographer covering niche markets. She graduated from the University of Miami and is based in the same city. Noelle Neff is also a renowned blogger on topics such as photography and travel. You can also find some of her shots at various online stock photo sites.