ZTE took the wrapping off a couple of new additions
to its mid-ranger Blade line at MWC 2018. Among other thing, the Blade V9 and
Blade V9 Vita bring trendy new 18:9 panels to a more affordable price segment -
somewhat of a trend this year. The bigger Blade V9 has a glass build on both
sides and an aluminum strip, sandwiched in between. The former consists of a
total of eight layer, making from an impressive, if smudge-prone, surface. The
body measures 151.4 x 70.6 x 7.5mm and weighs in at 140 grams.
On the flip side is a large 5.7-inch, LCD 18:9
display, with a resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels. It comes courtesy of LG and
promises impressive brightness and viewing angles. Ticking away inside is a
Snapdragon 450 chipset - not the most powerful around, but perfectly adequate
for every day use. ZTE is offering a couple of memory options to go along with
it: 3GB, plus 32GB and 4GB, plus 64GB, for ram and storage, respectively. All
expandable through microSD.
In the camera department, the Blade V9 is equipped
with a 16MP, f/1.8 main shooter, with an Omnivision OV16B10 sensors and a
secondary 5MP one, to help along the way and enable features like real-time
bokeh and "Re-Bokeh", for adjusting the focus afterwards. The Blade
V9 also comes with PDAF 2.0 - a mysterious new system, which will reportedly
focus 40% faster. Selfies are handled by an 8MP shooter, complete with optional
interpolation, up to 13MP.
Other specs include a fingerprint reader, 3.5mm
audio jack, microUSB, hybrid dual SIM support, LTE, NFC and Bluetooth 4.2, to
name a few. A 3,200 mAh battery keeps the lights on and the phone booths
Android 8.1 Oreo, with face recognition and unlock, tweaked by ZTE.
The Blade V9 VITA is more or less a light version of
the V9. It brings the display size down to 5.45 inches and the resolution to
HD+. Naturally, the body is downsized as well, measuring 146.8 x 68.7 x 7.6mm.
Chipset is a slightly slower Snapdragon 435 and memory options have been taken
down a peg - 2GB, plus 16GB and 3GB, plus 32GB, expandable via microSD.
Camera setup on the V9 VITA includes a 13MP, plus
2MP bundle on the back and a 5MP shooter on the front. Most other specs remain
mostly unchanged from the bigger sibling, including fingerprint reader, VoLTE
support, Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi b/g/n and GPS. Preliminary pricing on the pair
starts at US$ 300 and US$ 250, respectively. And you can expect some market-dependant
features.
