ZTE Axon 20 5G, world’s first smartphone with in-display camera, goes official

The race for the true-bezel less display introduced some interesting concepts in the industry. First, the ugly wide-notches, then the more acceptable punch-holes. Then, we saw the rise of pop-up camera mechanisms followed by its demise in favor of punch-holes. Apart from the pop-up camera mechanisms, the allowed OEMs to produce full-screen displays, none of those were true bezel-less displays. The industry has been running to deploy a viable in-display camera technology, as after the success of the in-display fingerprint scanner, this seems to be the right direction to go. Today, ZTE will be remembered as the first company in this competitive industry to deploy a smartphone with an under-glass camera, the ZTE Axon 20 5G.

The Chinese firm that almost closed its doors two years ago, has been teasing the Axon 20 5G for the past few weeks. It’s pretty understandable since this device represents a new milestone for the industry. For the first time in the industry, costumers will not have to deal with punch-holes, notches, or any other fancy design. We expect more companies to join this trend in the coming months, but ZTE will always be the first one to provide the world’s first smartphone with an in-display camera. Without further ado, let’s dive into the specifications of the highly-anticipated smartphone.

ZTE Axon 20 5G – The world’s first in-display camera smartphone

ZTE took to the stage to explain the whole magic behind this achievement. According to the company, the camera technology has been made possible through the interplay between five core technologies:

• A special display material
• A dual-control chip
• A unique driver circuit
• A special pixel matrix
• A Self-developed Shooting Algorithm

The new display material works to improve the light input to the front camera. The chip and circuit solve all the synchronization problems of color and conventional displays when using an under-display camera. The special Matrix optimizes the Pixels to improve display consistency, while the algorithm optimizes and improves the clarity of photos.

ZTE’s General Manager even shared a shot taken with the front-facing camera of the Axon 20 5G to attest to the quality of the camera. After all, the quality of pictures taken with these sensors was one of the reasons for the delay in the technology’s arrival.

Apart from the ground-breaking camera technology, the remaining specifications make the ZTE Axon 20 5G a good 2020 contender in the premium mid-range market. The phone’s overall dimensions are 172.1 x 77.9 x 7.9 mm and the device weighs 198 grams. It flaunts a gorgeous 6.92-inch OLED panel with FHD+ resolution and 20:5:9 aspect ratio, 10-bit color depth, and 100% DCI-P3.

A premium mid-range with flagship pedigree

Under the hood, the phone carries the Snapdragon 765G, the industry’s favorite choice for premium mid-range phones this year. The chipset seems to be the only characteristic that puts the Axon 20 5G away of the flagship range that comprises phones with the Snapdragon 865 chipset. Perhaps, it would be too expensive for the company to put a device with a flagship chipset, and it could make it too expensive for customers. We don’t think that the in-display camera technology is cheap to develop, not at this state. The SD765G provides seamless connectivity with the fifth-gen network and is paired with 6GB, 8GB, and a whopping 12GB of RAM. These variants are paired with either 128GB or 256GB of storage.

The ZTE Axon 20 5G certainly shines with its 32MP in-display selfie snapper. However, the main camera setup in the rear also comes to reach the mainstream standards. We have a Quad-Camera array following the industry’s favorite design language marked by Square bump. It houses a main 64MP primary shooter, an 8MP ultrawide snapper, a 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth module.

The phone draws power from a 4,220mAh battery that charges via 30W fast-charging. Last but not least, we have Android 10 with ZTE’s MiFavor 10.5 UI running atop.

Pricing and Availability

The ZTE Axon 20 5G will come in four beautiful colorways – Blue, Black, Purple, and Orange. The pricing for the “basic model” with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of Internal Storage is CNY 2,198 (~$322). The variant with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of Storage costs CNY 2,498 (~$366) and the variant with 8GB of RAM and 256GB costs CNY 2,7980 (~$410). The company is yet to disclose sale details of the most premium variant with 12GB of RAM and 256GB Storage.

The smartphone sales will start in China on September 10. Unfortunately, today’s event didn’t bring any news regarding International availability. However, we’re pretty sure that this handset will reach International markets in the coming months. After all, it’s a cutting-edge phone with cutting-edge technology, so ZTE must bring it to all markets.

ZTE Axon 20 5G specs sheet

Dimensions & Weight	172.1 × 77.9 × 7.9 mm 198g
Display	6.92″ FHD+ OLED display 20.5:9 aspect ratio 10-bit color depth 100% DCI-P3 Under-display camera
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G: 1x Kryo 475 (ARM Cortex-A76-based) Prime core @ 2.4GHz 1x Kryo 475 (ARM Cortex-A76-based) Performance core @ 2.2GHz 6x (ARM Cortex-A55-based) Efficiency cores @ 1.8GHz 7nm EUV process Adreno 620
RAM & Storage	6GB + 64GB 8GB + 128GB 12GB + 256GB
Battery & Charging	4,220 mAh battery 30W Quick Charge
Fingerprint sensor	In-display fingerprint sensor
Rear Camera	Primary: 64MP Secondary: 8MP Tertiary: 2MP Quarternary: 2MP
Front Camera	32MP
Other Features	5G support
Android Version	MiFavor 10.5 UI based on Android 10