Housing and display
When it comes to the quality of the construction and the design, the ZTE Axon 7 Mini model stands out from the competition. The housing is made in larger part from metal (aluminium, to be specific) and greatly profiled. Thanks to gentle mills and curves (including the arced glass protecting the display) it is impossible to feel the section between the display and the housing, the whole is compact and it lies in hands comfortably. The manufacturer paid attention to details, for example the upper and the lower bar on the front panel with grilles of speakers – they are made out of plastic and they have a nice, coarse facture. Everything is perfected in the smallest details, it is solid and eye-pleasing.
photo: Jolanta Szczepaniak/GSMchoice.com
First, let us take a look at the front part of the device. The attention is drawn mostly to the large, AMOLED display, covered with Gorilla Glass 4. It has a 5.2-inch diagonal and a Full HD resolution, which gives an impressive level of more than 400 ppi. Viewability angles, brightness, the sensitivity and the fact that the device can be used in gloves (or with wet fingers) is an advantage. The bars above and below the display are made out of plastic, they have a nice facture and they hide one of the most important assets of this model – speakers (but more about them later). In the upper part there is a camera for selfies, and in the vicinity of the bezel surrounding the display (in the upper left corner) there is a notifications LED.
photo: Jolanta Szczepaniak/GSMchoice.com
Edges are one with the metal housing, they are curved thanks to which the smartphone lies in the hand comfortably and they have a typical set of elements. On the right side we have buttons for unlocking/powering the phone and volume controls (they are handy, easily noticeable, but irritatingly loud), while on the left there is a tray for two SIM cards in the nano size or a one SIM and one microSD cards. For removing them we need a bent paperclip, a needle or a metal piece that can be found in the set. On the upper edge we have a universal jack, while on the left there is centrally placed USB type C socket. Let us not forget about microphones holes – one is at the top while the other is on the lower edge of the device.
And what can we find on the back of the device? The metal surface of the housing is intersected by two horizontal antennas’ bars, the lower part is covered with markings indicating the manufacturer, the sound technology, certificates and the mark of the model, while in the upper part we can notice the camera surrounded by a round, convex shape. There is a LED flash as well – slightly below the camera – and a fingerprint scanner with a round shape. I have some concerns towards the latter elements, I needed to repeat the scanning more often than I wanted in order to unlock the display.
Source: GSMchoice.com
