14 DAY TRIAL // Following the announcement of two new smartphones at CES 2017, the Blade V8 Pro and Hawkeye, ZTE silently introduced a third device, which won't be available in the United States.
The Chinese company confirmed earlier this week that its Blade series of smartphones would be launched in the US once the Blade V8 Pro, a mid-range handset, makes its debut.
However, not all Blade series phones will be released in the US as well, and the Blade V8 is a good example. ZTE has confirmed the Blade 8, a downgraded version of the Blade V8 Pro, will be launched in Russia and Japan by February, while customers in Germany, Spain and China will get it by March.
Although there's no word on price, we can imagine the Blade V8 will be slightly cheaper than the Blade V8 Pro, which will sell in the US for around $230 outright.
If the Blade V8 is made available for purchase for $200, then it will be a serious competitor for all major brands in the mid-tier market, especially that the phone comes with the Android 7.0 Nougat operating system right out of the box.
Another selling point of ZTE's smartphone is the dual-lens camera setup, which features a 13-megapixel and another 2-megapixel camera on the back. In the front, the phone packs a third 13-megapixel selfie camera.
According to ZTE, the Blade V8's rear-facing camera can take pictures that feature that popular bokeh effect. It's also supposed to be able to take 3D photos, but we doubt they are true 3D photos.
Hardware-wise, the smartphone packs an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor, paired with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory (expandable via microSD). A second variant will be available for purchase with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage.
Also, ZTE Blade V8 sports a 5.2-inch display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution, and features a 2,730 mAh battery, fingerprint sensor and LTE support.