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Introduction
200 million pixels! That's what the cameras on the back of the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G add up to. And since more is better, the Axon must be the ultimate cameraphone, right? Well, that's what we're here to find out.
All those megapixels are split between four cameras, and there's no shortage of unusual decisions on ZTE's part. The main unit is 64MP and is paired with a 26mm lens - nothing extraordinary there. Things get interesting with the next 64MP sensor that gets 35mm optics - ZTE calls this the portrait lens. There's still a long way to 200, and a third 64MP sensor helps out, this one with ultrawide glass and we don't think there's another 64MP UW camera? Then there's the 8MP periscope telephoto to complete the picture. There you have it - 200.
With such imaging chops, it only makes sense that the Axon 30 Ultra packs some high-end hardware in other areas, and that is indeed the case. The Snapdragon 888 is as good as it gets for computing power, the 144Hz AMOLED display is 24Hz ahead of the mainstream, and you can get the Axon with up to a terabyte of storage. Here's a quick rundown of the numbers.
ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G specs at a glance:
- Body: 161.5x73.0x8.0mm, 188g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5), glass back (Gorilla Glass 5).
- Display: 6.67" AMOLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, HDR10+, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 395ppi.
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm): Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4x1.80 GHz Kryo 680); Adreno 660.
- Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
- OS/Software: Android 11, MyOS 11.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 64 MP, f/1.6, 26mm, 1/1.72", 0.8µm, PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; Standard: 64 MP, f/1.9, 35mm, 1/1.97", 0.7µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 64 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚, 1/1.97", 0.7µm; Telephoto: 8 MP, f/3.4, 123mm, 1/4.0", PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom.
- Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.5.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS, HDR10, 10‑bit video; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps.
- Battery: 4600mAh; Fast charging 65W, Quick Charge 4+, USB Power Delivery 3.0 with PPS.
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC.
The one notable omission in that specsheet is an IP rating - flagships typically have dust and water protection, but the Axon doesn't, sadly. With all those cameras and a starting price of $750/€750, something had to give, and certified weather sealing didn't make the cut. Then again, ZTE doesn't normally do IP ratings on phones anyway.
ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G unboxing
There's nothing missing in the retail bundle, on the other hand. ZTE has bundled the Axon 30 Ultra with a transparent hard plastic snap-on cover for protection, a USB-C-to-3.5mm dongle, and a pair of earbuds.
There's also a charger, of course, and it's one of the more exciting bits about the Axon (it says a lot about us, doesn't it, the things that get us excited). You see, it's a 65W USB Power Delivery 3.0 unit with PPS support, and it's very likely the smallest adapter we've seen that has these specs. The US one is even more compact. The thick 6-amp USB-C cable is also a nice touch and will be able to comfortably power-deliver all those 65 watts to a laptop if you so choose.
Let's stay focused on the phone, though, shall we.
Design
The Axon 30 Ultra 5G is a premium handset, that much is evident upon a passing glance, and the impression gets confirmed when you hold it your hand. Glass front and back, metal frame, slim bezels, curved edges - the ZTE has all the markings of a flagship.
Starting around the back, the Axon's Gorilla Glass 5 panel has a frosted anti-glare finish that comes with the usual trade-offs - it's not as prone to accumulating fingerprints, and it's even more slippery than a glossy panel.
Our review unit is in the 'Black' colorway, but in reality, you'd be getting more of shades of gray type of effect, depending on how light hits it. There's a small-ish ZTE logo in the bottom right corner, joined by a '5G' badge, so others know you've got next-gen connectivity.
Three other color variants should be available, at least in China. The Blue one looks more like mint in pictures and follows the Black in terms of design accents - or lack thereof. The White has a pearlescent effect going on, but also bold AXON branding along the left side. That same AXON is stamped on the faux leather panel of the Light Brown variant too.
The camera assembly is a pretty prominent one - it needs to be, with all those megapixels inside. There are 4 camera modules in there, a laser AF emitter/receiver pair, dual LED flash and even a mic. A '3x64MP' badge advertises the main attraction, and the lens specs are written below it. A metal lip to one side carries a Neovision Photography branding.
Our Black review unit has a matching gray finish of the camera cluster, as does the White variant. The Blue and Light Brown colorways opt for a black camera surround, making it more prominent.
The whole camera island sticks out by over 2mm, and you'd think it would make the phone wobble on a table. It sort of does, but only if you deliberately poke it on the left above the 1/3 position - point is, you can type on the keyboard without the handset rocking, if you're one to do that sort of thing.
The Axon's frame is metal, as our 'highly scientific' test in a refrigerator indicates, and it's treated to a shiny finish, most visible on the flat top and bottom ends. The usual bits and pieces are in their usual locations - USB-C port on the bottom alongside the SIM slot, main loudspeaker and mic, plus yet another mic up top.
Extra mic on top • Familiar arrangement on the bottom • Dual nano SIM tray, no microSD slot
The sides are much thinner, barely a couple of millimeters. A bit more meat on the right allows for the button cutouts - the power button is around the midpoint of the phone, the volume rocker is above it. Both controls are adequately sized and click very positively, the power button has a textured finish giving you tactile feedback. There's nothing of note on the left side.
Buttons on the right • Nothing on the left
The display of the Axon 30 Ultra another of the premium touches. It features gently curved sides that end in some of the thinnest black borders on the market. The top and bottom bezels are similarly minimal, with the bottom one ever so slightly thicker.
The fingerprint reader on the Axon is of the optical under-display variety, so nothing unusual for the class. What is a bit out of the ordinary is the sensor's high placement - you could says it's in a more natural position that way, even if it may take some getting used to if you're coming from virtually any other handset.
Up top, there's a punch hole for the selfie camera, which ZTE points out is 2.6mm in diameter, though the black non-display surround makes that more like 4mm. In any case, it's hardly an eye-sore - not more than other punch holes, at least.
The earpiece is a barely visible slit where the display's Gorilla Glass 5 meets the frame. It also doubles as a speaker.
The Axon 30 Ultra 5G measures 161.5x73x8mm and weighs 188g. That puts it roughly on par with competitors like the vivo X60 Pro+, OnePlus 9/9Pro, Galaxy S21+ or Mi 11 - a couple of mm or grams here or there hardly make a difference at this point.
What could be a differentiator, on the other hand, is that the Galaxy and the OPs have IP68 ratings, while the ZTE doesn't.
144Hz 6.67" AMOLED display
The Axon is equipped with a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a 1080x2400px resolution and a pixel density of 395ppi. While those numbers aren't overly impressive, the 144Hz refresh rate is more of a standout feature, and it's coupled with a 300Hz touch sampling rate.
But before we get to more refresh rate specifics, some brightness measurements. When manually operating the slider, the Axon is good for 552nits, one of the highest manually attainable brightness readings we've seen. Conversely, the result we got under direct light with adaptive brightness enabled was the lowest we've gotten out of a high-end OLED display recently - 698nits isn't too shabby, but high 800s are fairly common now.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, |
White, |
||
| 0 | 552 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 698 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 518 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 735 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 459 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 883 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 525 | ∞ | |
| 0.038 | 871 | 22921:1 | |
| 0 | 450 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 821 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 477 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 816 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 498 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 926 | ∞ | |
Color reproduction on the Axon 30 Ultra is handled with a three-position mode selector, augmented with another three-position slider for temperature, and a color wheel for further tweaking.
The phone is in the Colorful profile by default, which covers a color gamut even wider than the DCI-P3 color space, delivering extra vivid output. A strong blue shift to whites and grays is more than noticeable.
The Standard profile targets DCI-P3 more closely, though it's not very accurate, and whites have a strong pink hue.
Soft mode covers a narrower color gamut, so we examined it against sRGB swatches, where, again, we didn't get very accurate results overall, but more importantly, white and grays were way off the mark and into the purple territory this time around.
If you're looking to get accurate colors out of the Axon 30 Ultra, you can. After some fiddling with the color wheel in Standard mode, we got an average dE2000 of 1.9 for our DCI-P3 test swatches with grays just under dE2000 of 3, which can be considered as quite color accurate.
Display settings
The panel supports HDR10+, but at the time of reviewing, we only got HDR streams from YouTube - not on Amazon Prime Video and not on Netflix. Again, this could be due to pending certifications and could change over time. The phone supports Widevine L1, so it's not a matter of DRM limitations.
Ok, back to refresh rate. The Axon gives you 5 options in the refresh rate menu - 60, 90, 120, 144Hz and Auto. The Auto option, in our experience, locked the RR at 90Hz and kept it there - so not very Auto.
The 144Hz setting gets you that maximum RR in the settings menu and the rest of the UI, but it drops down to 120Hz when you launch an app.
120Hz is basically 120Hz everywhere, and the 90Hz and 60Hz settings maintain their respective nominal refresh rates as well. There was no drop to 60Hz for video playback apps.
The Android 11 tool for reporting RR didn't record any drops based on activity, but our very own app reported dips in refresh rate when there's no touch input registered for a few seconds.
There are certain situations where the phone will behave outside of the norm, of course. Launching the camera will have the phone switch to 60Hz regardless of what mode you have chosen in settings. The lockscreen, too, is kept at 60Hz, as is the always-on display.
When it comes to games, we saw the phone switch down to 60Hz for some titles twe know for a fact support higher frame rates, though it did remain in 120Hz mode for other HRR capable games. We saw no 144Hz reading at any point in a game, however.
ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G battery life
The Axon draws power from a 4,600mAh battery and we won't blame you if you call that average capacity for the class. The Mi 11 stands at 4,600mAh, too, while the OnePlus 9/9Pro each has 4,500mAh cells. The vivo X60 Pro+ looks a bit underequipped with its 4,200mAh battery, while the Galaxy S21 and the Zenfone 8 Flip stand at the opposite end of the spectrum with 4,800mAh and 5,000mAh, respectively.
The Axon put out average numbers in our testing. It was good for 16 hours of offline video playback (with the display set to 60Hz), while Wi-Fi web browsing took almost 12 hours to kill it (at 120Hz). The Mi 11 does worse in both disciplines, while the OPs tend to be slightly better wt web browsing, slightly worse at video playback. The Galaxy S21+ remains out of reach when it comes to these tests.
Similarly middle-of-the-chart results in voice calls and standby ultimately mean that the Axon's Endurance rating of 91h is, well, about average for the class.
Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSerDevice app. The endurance rating denotes how long the battery charge will last you if you use the device for an hour of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. More details can be found here.
Video test carried out in 60Hz refresh rate mode. Web browsing test done at the display's highest refresh rate whenever possible. Refer to the respective reviews for specifics. To adjust the endurance rating formula to match your own usage - check out our all-time battery test results chart.
The Axon does provide a whole bunch of refresh rate modes, and it will sort of respect the settings for the activities we test. That is to say, if you have the phone in 144Hz or 120Hz mode, it will maintain the 120Hz refresh rate for web browsing, which is quite logical. It will, however, also maintain that 120Hz for video playback, which makes less sense, though it is, at least, an honest approach.
Video playback at 120Hz does drain the battery noticeably more quickly - we clocked 12:12h - compare that to the 60Hz result in the scorecard. Conversely, if you're in 60Hz mode when browsing the web, you'd be looking at 12:25h - insignificant saving compared to the 11:47h number in the scorecard, measured at 120Hz.
That's two-fold. On the one hand, it doesn't make much sense to switch the phone to 60Hz for the web browsing endurance gains. On the other, keeping the phone in one of the higher RR modes (to get the 120Hz in web browsing) will result in unnecessary battery drain in video playback. Since the Auto RR mode is essentially 'Always 90', you don't have a single mode to set the phone in and get 120Hz in web browsing and 60Hz for video playback.
Charging speed
The Axon is bundled with a 65W adapter that supports USB PowerDelivery 3.0 with PPS on top. It's compatible with a wide range of other hardware without needing proprietary cables or such, and it's one of the smallest 65W units we've seen. The included 6A cable is also a most welcome sight.
With that adapter, we clocked a full charge from 0% to 100% at 44 minutes, with the phone showing 74% at the half-hour mark. While very fast indeed, these aren't the best of results - proprietary standards with similar nominal wattage can achieve higher speeds (OnePlus, Xiaomi, vivo).
However, the combination of that very good charging speed for the phone with the ability to top up, say, your laptop with this same compact adapter is getting us closer to that one-charger-one-cable life that at least some of us here have been striving for. It might need to be a longer cable for that to work, though.
30min charging test (from 0%)
- OnePlus 9
100% - OnePlus 9 Pro
99% - Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
89% - vivo X60 Pro+
84% - Xiaomi Mi 11
83% - ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
74% - Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
54% - Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
54% - Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
53%
Time to full charge (from 0%)
- OnePlus 9
0:29h - OnePlus 9 Pro
0:32h - Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
0:37h - vivo X60 Pro+
0:42h - ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
0:44h - Xiaomi Mi 11
0:50h - Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
1:11h - Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
1:12h - Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
1:40h
Speaker test
The Axon 30 Ultra 5G has a stereo speaker setup that consists of a bottom-firing main unit and the front-firing earpiece. The earpiece always outputs the left channel, while the bottom speaker is always assigned the right channel - there's no switching if you're holding the phone in landscape the other way around, which seems like an oversight.
Bottom speaker • Earpiece is always left channel
When it comes to loudness, the Axon earned a 'Very good' score in our testing, on par with the likes of OnePlus 9/9 Pro and the Mi 11. It's slightly louder than the Galaxy S21+, with the vivo X60 Pro+ trailing in this respect.
Sound quality is decent out of the ZTE, but the others generally have it beat. It's lacking in low-frequency thump, where the Mi, the Galaxy, and the OP all have more presence. Vocals sound nice and clean though.
Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.
MyOS on top of Android, both v.11
The Axon 30 Ultra 5G runs Android 11 with an in-house layer of MyOS, that at v.11 too. We don't get too many ZTEs for review, so the continuity between MyOS versions might escape us, but we did have the Axon 20 last December, and that will serve as a starting point. Perhaps the first thing of note, actually, is the name change - starting this spring, it's called MyOS, as opposed to the MiFavor of before.
MyOS or MiFavor, the custom overlay aims to offer the relative simplicity of stock Android while giving it a somewhat ZTE-specific look in certain areas. That means mostly cosmetic skin-deep touches without messing with the principal functionality of things, an approach that's different to thoroughly overhauled UIs like OneUI or MIUI and one that shouldn't anger purists too much.
The most prominent ZTE interventions are in the quick toggles area, where the initial swipe will get you 4 large bubbles for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, mobile data, and flashlight (of all things), plus a large brightness slider with an Auto toggle. You can't change the four bubbles, but you can rearrange the regular-sized toggles that appear on the second swipe.
The settings menu is also custom, with ZTE opting for their own iconography and colors and a menu system that's different from Google's but still entirely logical. The About screen is ZTE's own and is pretty nice.
Quick toggles • Quick toggles • Settings • About screen
Going back to our usual 'chronological' overview of the UI, the Axon 30 Ultra has an Always-on display that can be set to show all the time, according to a schedule, or just for 10 seconds after a tap - standard stuff. You get a host of different clock styles which you can further customize. The fingerprint recognition animation is also customizable.
Always-on display
Fingerprint recognition is the obvious way for unlocking the Axon. It uses an optical sensor (as does every other phone, which isn't a Galaxy, where it's an ultrasonic one), and it worked without incident in our experience - quickly and virtually every time. It took a minor period of adjusting to the sensor's relatively high position up the display, but high is better than low, we reckon.
You can also set up face recognition as the sole authentication method or have it work in conjunction with the fingerprint reader - whichever works first. Of course, this being a simple 2D camera-only face recognition, it's less secure than the fingerprint option.
Passwords and security
The lockscreen has a clock style setting of its own and offers standard functionality including a camera shortcut in the lower right corner. In the lower left, there's a pull-up tab of sort, which gives you shortcuts to the flashlight (again) and a voice recorder, but no dialer or a way to change these.
The homescreens are simple, and the leftmost pane is the Google feed which you can disable. You can choose whether to have all your apps on your homescreens or take the two-tiered approach with homescreens for shortcuts and an app drawer to keep all apps. The app drawer does none of that MIUI category sorting, nor is there a row of frequently used apps, but you can sort it by frequency of use.
Lockscreen settings • Lockscreen shortcuts • Homescreen • Folder view • Google feed • App drawer
There's no theming support, so not much in the way of personalization in terms of fancy icon packs and such. Three simple dynamic wallpapers featuring the moon and three more with geometric shapes all the fancy homescreen goodness you can have.
The task switcher is nothing out of the ordinary, and neither is the notification shade (when it comes to the actual notification cards, that is). We couldn't find a way to access a supposedly native Android 11 feature, Notification history, an issue we ran into with a few of the latest Xiaomis.
There are few in-house apps on the Axon. Most key functionality is outsourced to Google's apps, including Photos, Contacts, and Messages. There is a custom File manager, an extra Browser, and a basic Private space area where you can keep sensitive photos or files, but that's about it.
File manager • Storage settings • Battery settings • Clock *Browser
There is a fair number of proprietary 'features' in the Features menu in Settings. That includes the Z-POP arrow shortcut that gives you access to some actions from the sides, but we found that to clash with the back gesture for navigation, plus it feels like a fairly niche feature to begin with.
A standard set of gestures is available, including raise to wake, and flip to mute. There's also a double-shake to start the flashlight from the lockscreen, and that's the third way to access the flashlight so far. This one is kinda picky though, because it only works on the lockscreen - not on the always-on display and not with the phone already unlocked.
There's a mistouch prevention setting, too, if you're one to have trouble with the display's curved edges. There are three pre-set levels and a 0-10 slider but going too far to the right of that is counterproductive - it's almost enough to make the end keys in the keyboard inoperable. The 'Light' setting (which corresponds to a 0 on the slider) worked fine for this reviewer's palms.
Z-POP • Z-POP settings • Screen recorder • Gestures • Pocket touch-disable • Mistouch prevention
Overall, ZTE's MyOS is reasonably full-featured (unless you insist on themes) while being light and straightforward. We can't really find major faults with it - in fact, it's quite likeable.
Synthetic benchmarks
It is, of course, the Snapdragon 888 that's the heart of the ZTE Axon Ultra 30 5G - it's only fitting for an 'Ultra' in 2021. Several storage/RAM options are available, ranging from our baseline review unit's 128GB/8GB all the way up to 1TB/16GB. Storage is UFS 3.1.
The SD888 is a regular on our benchmarking... bench, so we had a good idea of what to expect out of the ZTE. Indeed, it ran neck and neck with other similarly equipped current devices. CPU performance in GeekBench was average among what are essentially equals - the differences are small enough to be immaterial.
GeekBench 5 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- vivo X60 Pro+
3749 - Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
3673 - Xiaomi Mi 11i
3641 - OnePlus 9 Pro
3636 - OnePlus 9
3629 - Asus Zenfone 8
3604 - ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
3582 - Xiaomi Mi 11
3489 - Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
3476 - Huawei Mate 40 Pro
3275
GeekBench 5 (single-core)
Higher is better
- vivo X60 Pro+
1143 - OnePlus 9
1129 - OnePlus 9 Pro
1126 - Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
1126 - ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
1124 - Asus Zenfone 8
1118 - Xiaomi Mi 11i
1114 - Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
1091 - Xiaomi Mi 11
1085 - Huawei Mate 40 Pro
920
Things are broadly similar in Antutu, where the Axon's numbers are average or slightly above average for the hardware. Again, it's top-end silicon, and the 'average' here means some of the highest performance you can get out of a smartphone, and a 5% difference between these is irrelevant.
AnTuTu 8
Higher is better
- vivo X60 Pro+
734811 - OnePlus 9
715196 - ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
703270 - OnePlus 9 Pro
691055 - Xiaomi Mi 11i
690021 - Asus Zenfone 8
676001 - Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
675851 - Xiaomi Mi 11
668722 - Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
622276 - Huawei Mate 40 Pro
531270
AnTuTu 9
Higher is better
- vivo X60 Pro+
836826 - ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
804626 - Asus Zenfone 8
799738 - Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
797484 - Xiaomi Mi 11i
779481
The differences between the SD888 competitors are next to non-existent in the graphics department if you ask 3DMark where only the Kirin 9000 in the Huawei Mate 40 Pro stands out.
3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Huawei Mate 40 Pro
6170 - Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
5757 - ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
5714 - OnePlus 9 Pro
5701 - vivo X60 Pro+
5695 - Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
5677 - Xiaomi Mi 11
5673 - OnePlus 9
5667 - Asus Zenfone 8
5666
There's a bit more variation in the frame rates achieved in GFXBench, and the Axon is generally a few fps behind the pack in the onscreen tests while matching them in the raw offscreen performance.
GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 9 Pro
119 - OnePlus 9
119 - vivo X60 Pro+
119 - Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
118 - ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
118 - Asus Zenfone 8
117 - Xiaomi Mi 11
111 - Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
111 - Huawei Mate 40 Pro
97
GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- vivo X60 Pro+
105 - Asus Zenfone 8
105 - Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
104 - Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
100 - ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
93 - Huawei Mate 40 Pro
64 - OnePlus 9
60 - Xiaomi Mi 11
57 - OnePlus 9 Pro
57
GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- vivo X60 Pro+
71 - OnePlus 9 Pro
70 - OnePlus 9
70 - Asus Zenfone 8
69 - Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
69 - ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
69 - Xiaomi Mi 11
67 - Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
66 - Huawei Mate 40 Pro
56
GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- vivo X60 Pro+
62 - Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
62 - Asus Zenfone 8
61 - OnePlus 9
58 - ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
54 - Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
54 - OnePlus 9 Pro
36 - Xiaomi Mi 11
33 - Huawei Mate 40 Pro
25
GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Asus Zenfone 8
45 - Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
45 - vivo X60 Pro+
44 - OnePlus 9
43 - ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
41 - Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
37 - OnePlus 9 Pro
27 - Xiaomi Mi 11
24 - Huawei Mate 40 Pro
17
GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)
Higher is better
- vivo X60 Pro+
43 - Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
43 - Asus Zenfone 8
41 - Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
41 - OnePlus 9
40 - ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
39 - Huawei Mate 40 Pro
26 - OnePlus 9 Pro
24 - Xiaomi Mi 11
22
The ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G delivers the performance expected of its hardware. Again, quite predictably, it tends to heat up and throttle under sustained load, and that too is well within the norm for the class.
3x64MP + 1x8MP adds up to a competent camera setup
The Axon 30 Ultra 5G is equipped with an unusual if quite impressively specced camera system. A total of three 64MP modules is the most we've seen on one phone, and it doesn't end there - there's a fourth one too, though it's just 8MP.
The primary camera uses the Sony IMX686 imager, a Quad Bayer design that bins four 0.8µm pixels into one, creating 16MP images by default. It's paired with a stabilized lens with an f/1.6 aperture lens and an equivalent focal length of 26mm. So far, nothing extraordinary.
Here's where it gets interesting. Another 64MP sensor, this one a Samsung GW3 (0.7µm pixels, Tetrapixel color filter array), is used for the utrawide camera and that has to be the highest-res ultrawide camera we've seen. Of course, it being a Tetrapixel sensor, the resulting images are 16MP by default. The lens offers a 120-degree field of view, ZTE says, and the EXIF data reports a 14mm equivalent and an f/2.2 aperture. It's sadly missing autofocus.
One more of those GW3s is employed for what ZTE calls the Portrait camera. It has a 35mm equivalent lens, a loved (and also hated) focal length. This one does have autofocus, but at just 35mm, it doesn't offer much in terms of zooming power.
Well, a good thing then that there's the 8MP periscope telephoto for that. The sensor for this one comes courtesy of OmniVision (OV08A10) and has an 1.0µm pixel size. The lens has a 123mm equivalent focal length, and an f/3.4 aperture and is stabilized.
Over on the front, there's a 16MP camera for selfies. Going by the EXIF info, the aperture is f/2.45 and the focal length is 27mm. The focus is fixed.
Camera app
The camera app on the Axon is a lot like any other camera app out there with tiny specifics here or there. The viewfinder offers a rolodex of modes, which you can switch one at a time by swiping in the viewfinder, or multiple ones at a time if you swipe on the text labels. You can't rearrange or remove modes, though.
At the far end, there are HDR and flash mode switches, an AI toggle and beautification and filter buttons. The hamburger icon opens up a quick settings tab with an aspect selector, self-timer options, and grid lines and digital level toggles, plus a button to access the actual settings menu.
The zoom selector has us a bit irked, though. It's one of those designs where left-handed use is compromised in portrait orientation, because the selector is on the far edge. Similarly, the single-handed operation is hindered in landscape orientation, with the selector being on the bottom of the screen and too far for reaching with your thumb. The better solution is to have the zoom controls near the shutter button at all times.
There's also the matter that you don't have direct access to the portrait camera's native zoom level, since the 2x level gets you a cropped-in image from that camera. If you want to shoot non-portraits at 35mm equivalent, going into Portrait mode and setting the simulated aperture to f/8 should work.
Night and Manual modes come with another zooming peculiarity - here, the zoom levels are labeled with icons, instead of the numeric designation in Photo mode.
Speaking of Manual mode - yes, you do get to use it on 3 of the 4 cameras (not the periscope). You can control shutter speed (1/10000s to 20s), ISO (100 to 1600), exposure compensation (-2 to +2EV in 0.1EV increments), and white balance (temperature slider with markings for common light sources). There's even an intervalometer letting you take a photo every 1 to 60 seconds, seemingly indefinitely. A focus peaking toggle and a metering mode selector can be found in the settings menu.
Camera UI
Daylight image quality
The Axon's main camera images in broad daylight aren't best-in-class, but very good nonetheless. Color reproduction is lively, without going overboard and white balance is consistently accurate. Dynamic range is wide, with a particular emphasis on preserving the highlights, though a boost in shadows wouldn't hurt.
Looking up close, we're seeing excellent detail levels - 16MP is a meaningful step up from the 12MP cameras that constitute the bulk of the high-end segment. It's not the most natural rendition of that detail, however, with heavy sharpening showing up in both random textures like grass and straight contrasting edges. Some fine luminance noise is also present.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x)
The ultrawide camera delivers a similarly strong performance. Images are sharp across the frame and the level of captured detail is excellent. Dynamic range is great for an ultrawide camera, though not quite as wide as on the Axon's main module.
Colors have a bit more pop here, greenery in particular. White balance tends to be iffier, with the ultrawide failing to match the main camera's usually accurate representation - you'll see how different the 4th, 6th, and 8th samples look, compared to the ones out of the primary unit. It's not a dealbreaking offence and you may not notice it without a reference point, but it's not foolproof anyway.
Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.5x)
Shooting at the 2x zoom level, you'd be getting an upscaled image from the 35mm portrait camera with a characteristic look that combines the softness from the upscaling with the heavy sharpening that aims to mask it. That's not to say the images are bad, it's just that they don't quite have that bite on a pixel level. They're hard to fault from a more global perspective, where dynamic range is excellent, white balance is on point and colors are a better match for the main camera.
Daylight samples, portrait camera (2x)
At the portrait camera's native magnification, 1:1 sharpness is notably better. That's with the simulated aperture stopped as far down as possible to a value of f/8. If you're one to enjoy shooting at 35mm in particular, this is good news.
Daylight samples, portrait camera (35mm, ~1.3x)
The periscope telephoto's sensor may be 8MP, but it outputs 16MP images too, to stay in line with all the other 16MP files. You guessed it then, the photos aren't pin sharp when examined at 1:1, particularly for random and very fine detail. Less intricate textures and straight lines scale up nicely, though. Dynamic range is good, color reproduction exhibits no major issues, and it all adds up to an overall fine effort from the Axon's tele.
Daylight samples, tele camera (5x)
The zoom selector has one extra pre-set level - 60x. It is identified by a hollow dot, as opposed to the solid ones for the sensible zoom levels, and it's a fair distinction. Here's a quick sampler for you to realize you'd better stay away from that hollow dot.
Daylight samples, tele camera (60x)
With so many 64MP cameras, the 64MP mode perhaps shouldn't be relegated to the extra modes pane? Anyway, the main unit's 64MP shots do show an increase in detail, though that comes with a due hike in noise. Colors remain similar to what 16MP mode gets you and so does dynamic range.
Generally, we're not huge fans of the full-res modes on Quad Bayer cameras, but in this case you could use these as a starting point for getting your own 16MP photos with more conservative processing than the ones you'd get from the Axon's photo mode.
Daylight samples, main camera, 64MP
The ultrawide's full-res images appear to make even less sense, given that we're seeing a more notable drop in dynamic range compared to the 16MP photos, without a meaningful increase in detail to warrant it. A prevalent softness is also one of the results of this mode.
Daylight samples, ultrawide camera, 64MP
There's a 2x 64MP mode as well and that, too, comes from the 1.3-ish zoom portrait camera, cropped and upscaled to achieve the 2x field of view. There's definitely some extra detail here, compared to the 16MP mode and with no real drawbacks to be seen, you could possibly use this mode to extract slightly superior photos, if you find the hassle to be worth it.
Daylight samples, portrait camera (2x), 64MP
There's no 64MP mode at the portrait camera's native focal length - judging by the results we're getting at 2x, the native output could potentially be great.
Low-light image quality
Regular Photo mode images out of the Axon's main camera are about average in quality. Even decently well lit scenes are underexposed and dynamic range is relatively narrow leaving you with underdeveloped tonal extremes. Areas in the image that have more balanced lighting do have a lot of detail captured.
Low-light samples, main camera (1x)
Night mode brings dramatic improvements in dynamic range, preserves highlight detail and lifts up the shadows. There's a minor general softening of the images, but it's a small trade off that's well worth it.
Low-light samples, main camera (1x), Night mode
The ultrawide camera struggles to expose brightly enough at night, and you'll be getting much too dark images in Photo mode. Do remain sharp and detailed where the subject has any sort of decent lighting on it.
Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)
Again, Night mode helps immensely, even if it introduces some softness. Highlights are reigned in, and shadows get a healthy boost revealing detail and color in what was at most a silhouette before.
Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x), Night mode
As the 2x zoom level the Axon takes okay shots in Photo mode already with the only major downside being the narrow dynamic range, while sharpness and detail are good.
Low-light samples, portrait camera (2x)
Night mode builds on top of that and adds big improvements to tonal development at both ends. Detail in the extremes gets a nice boost and there's little to no loss in sharpness from the Night mode stacking.
Low-light samples, portrait camera (2x), Night mode
There's no night mode for the 5x zoom periscope, so the Photo mode results is as good as you'll be able to get from the Axon. They're not great - underexposed, with narrow dynamic range. If you're shooting a distant well lit column capital, you could get a usable image, but for more demanding scenes you'd probably be better off at 2x.
Low-light samples, tele camera (5x)
Once you're done with the real world samples, head over to our Photo compare tool to see how the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G stacks up against the competition.
ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G against the OnePlus 9 and the Galaxy S21+ in our Photo compare tool
Portrait mode
Portrait mode gets its own camera on the Axon 30 Ultra 5G. In an abundance of light, we were getting properly excellent shots from it, with great detail, wide dynamic range (even in harshly lit and back lit scenes), and nearly infallible subject detection.
With less light to work with, the Axon struggled a bit to capture a sharp photo - we're talking indoors, away from window, midday on a sunny day. In some of these scenes we got one usable shot out of the 3-4 image sequence, in some we didn't have a single keeper. So try to get more light on your subject and shoot a bunch of photos to improve your odds.
Portrait samples
Selfies
Selfies out of the Axon 30 Ultra can be great on occasion, but are more often just okay. Take the first scene - balanced lighting on the subject results in excellent detail, when you view the photos at 1:1 magnification. In even moderately dimmer conditions or in harsher light, however, we're seeing heavy-handed processing that results in less likable pixel-level rendition.
Now, if you refrain from such up-close inspection, on a global scale the images are well exposed, with a due bias on the face where necessary, and okay dynamic range. Colors, too, leave little to be desired and generally pleasing.
Selfie samples
The selfie portrait mode is no match for the rear camera portrait mode. Images are saved in 5MP resolution, there's no HDR, subject isolation is pretty rough.
Selfie portrait samples
Video recording
The ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G records video up to 8K30 with its main camera. The ultrawide and portrait cameras can record up to 4K60, while the periscope tele is capped at 1080p and 60fps. You get to pick between the h.264 and h.265 codecs, with h.264 being the default option. A bit unusually, the phone doesn't default to the newer codec for 8K as most others we've seen.
8K footage (with a modest bit rate of 62Mbps) is largely unimpressive. We wouldn't say we're seeing finer detail in there than in 4K, and it's not a particularly pleasing rendition of that detail either. On a global scale it's as good as 4K in terms of dynamic range and colors.
That's not very wide dynamic range either - we'd call it average at best. We are finding the colors very likable though. Detail is a bit grittier and has a more processed look than the best examples, but there is a lot of it, and that's always nice.
4K at 2x zoom has more natural processing on a pixel level and that we do like. It's also got wider dynamic range. Mind you, it's called 2x in the video viewfinder, but it's really capturing the full width of the portrait camera, and that's around 1.3x. So you can effectively shoot in this mode and get the generally better video quality, albeit with Slightly tighter framing.
1080p footage out of the periscope tele is just about good enough. Detail is what you'd expect out of the 1080p resolution, dynamic range is okay, colors have a faint magenta shift that you may or may not notice in isolation.
The ultrawide camera's footage is very sharp and detailed. Dynamic range is okay, but not overly wide while colors are notably more saturated than on the other cameras, just a notch below overdoing it.
Electronic stabilization is available on all four cameras in all modes except the 8K on the main unit. With the main camera and the ultrawide you'd be getting exemplary results - walking is proficiently ironed out, pans are smooth without abrupt transitions, pointing in one directions is super steady.
The portrait camera is nearly as good, only it has this gentle wave when you're trying to keep the phone pointed in one direction - no big deal.
Here's a glimpse of how the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G compares to rivals in our Video compare tool. Head over there for the complete picture.
ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G against the OnePlus 9 and the Galaxy S21+ in our Video compare tool
Competition
With a starting price tag of $750/€750 for the base 8GB/128GB version, the Axon 30 Ultra 5G has no shortage of competition in the affordable high-end segment, if that string of words makes sense - a notch below ultimate flagships. It offers a compelling set of features around the star of the show, the 3x64MP cameras, but falls short here or there.
The Mi 11, Xiaomi's entrant in this price category, has a superior display (brighter, higher-res), but it can't quite match the Axon's quad-cam prowess with its 2.5 cameras. The MIUI vs. MyOS is a personal preference, though you could probably call Xioami's UI more polished. That's just about all that sets them apart - we'd pick the ZTE if taking pictures is most important, otherwise, we'd go with the Mi 11.
The OnePlus 9 retails for Axon money, but it too isn't up to the Axon's camera standard, entirely missing optical zoom capability. Then again, the autofocusing ultrawide on the OP could offset that for the right person. Unless you have a problem with ZTE's UI (which we don't think you should), the Axon is looking like a superior package.
The Galaxy S21+ can be had around the Axon's number as well, but that may require resorting to unofficial channels. The non-plus, on the other hand, is $800 off-contract in the US and around €700 at reputable retailers in Europe, so well worth considering as an alternative to the ZTE. The Galaxy wins in a couple of key areas - its display is superior, if smaller, and the phone is IP68-rated. The Axon's camera system is more versatile, but the S21 should do at least as fine a job unless you frequently zoom in beyond 3x. Then there the matter that Samsung likely just sounds better than ZTE to most people.
Now, if there's one phone that is packing as many and as comparable cameras as the Axon 30 Ultra, it's the vivo X60 Pro+. We're saying comparable, but that comparison ends with a vivo win across the board, perhaps the phone that can achieve it within this budget. The vivo doesn't have stereo speakers, but the Axon does, so there's that? Ultimately, if the X60 Pro+ is available in your market, it's the better option.
Xiaomi Mi 11 • OnePlus 9 • Samsung Galaxy S21 • vivo X60 Pro+
Verdict
As we've proven time and time again, you can't judge a cameraphone by its megapixels. The ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G overall camera experience is difficult to match at its price point. The three 64MP cameras and the periscope tele team up to make a dependable camera system with only minor flaws that you should be able to live with.
It comes short in a few other areas - not by much, but the room for improvement is there. The display has a ton of potential but doesn't quite live up to it, dust and water protection is missing, there's no wireless charging. For all its camera chops, the Axon is also missing AF on the ultrawide.
All things considered, though, we can give the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G a recommendation. It'll be a particularly good fit for those looking to take nice pictures without springing the cash for the true no-holds-barred flagships that can run you twice the price. Sure, there will be compromises, but there won't be any dealbreakers.
Pros
- High-quality build, minimal bezels, standout rear design.
- Most compact 65W PowerDelivery charger we've seen; fast too.
- Top-tier SD888 performance at a sensible price point.
- Great photo quality across the board.
- Excellent video stabilization.
Cons
- 144Hz refresh rate really only available for the base UI, display colors are off by default, peak brightness is lower than on competitors.
- No IP rating for dust and water protection.
- No wireless charging.
- No autofocus on the ultrawide camera.
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