ZTE ZMax Pro review – CNET

What if I told you there was a smartphone you could buy for under $100? You may be a little skeptical. Surely such a low cost device would come with some sacrifices, right? Wrong.

The ZTE ZMax Pro is a midrange Android smartphone with an impressive feature set. The $99 smartphone may come with a small price tag, but there’s nothing small about it. The phone features a 6-inch display with a pixel resolution of 1,920×1,080. It’s a massive device that can be quite difficult to operate with one hand.

ZTE’s big, blue and budget ZMax Pro
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The phone is equipped by an octa-core Snapdragon 617 processor, which felt speedy during my brief hands on, and is paired with 2GB of RAM. On the back you will find a 13-megapixel camera, while a 5-megapixel shooter sits on the front. The phone comes with 32GB of internal storage, but there’s also a microSD slot to add even more. To power this behemoth there’s a 3,400mAh nonremoveable battery to keep you going all day long.

The ZMax Pro has a 13-megapixel camera and a fingerprint reader on the back (but no NFC, sorry).

Sarah Tew/CNET

Aside from the price, what shocked me the most was the USB-C port for charging and a fingerprint scanner on the back, two features that are more commonly found on devices triple the price. ZTE had to make some sacrifices, though. The phone doesn’t include NFC and can’t be used with Android Pay.

The ZMax Pro will be available exclusively from MetroPCS for $99 on August 1. Preorders begin today.

Specs

• 6-inch display with a 1,920×1,080-pixel resolution
• Octa-core Snapdragon 617 processor
• 13-megapixel rear camera
• 5-megapixel front camera
• 2GB of RAM
• 32GB of storage
• MicroSD card slot
• 3,400 mAh battery
• Rear fingerprint sensor
• Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software
• USB Type-C