Dual cameras on smartphones are becoming the standard this year, not only in flagships like the LG G6 but also in middle-range devices. Back at CES 2017, ZTE unveiled the Blade V8 Pro – a handset destined for customers who wanted a dual camera phone on the cheap.
Well yesterday, ZTE unveiled another dual-camera phone, the Blade Max 3 which will be sold by US Cellular in the country. Apart from the similarities in the photography department, the two phones bear a sameness in the spec department as well. So in what follows, we’ll discover the differences between the two, in an attempt to help you differentiate between the two models.
Display
6-inch with fullHD resolution vs 5.5-inch fullHD resolution
367ppi vs 401ppi
Customers looking for a phablet-sized phone will probably prefer the 6-inch display of the new ZTE Blade Max 3. By contrast, the ZTE Blade V8 Pro has a smaller – albeit big enough by most standards – 5.5-inch screen. Both models enjoy fullHD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels).
Note that the ZTE Blade Max 3 has three navigation on-screen buttons, while the ZTE Blade V8 Pro features a physical home button, which also doubles as a fingerprint scanner. The Blade Max 3’s fingerprint sensor is located on the back.
Computing power
Snapdragon 625 vs Snapdragon 625
!? RAM vs 3GB of RAM
16GB vs 32GB of internal storage
When it comes to processing power, both phones take advantage of the Snapdragon 625 SoC which is an octa-core affair made up of eight Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 2.0GHz and Adreno 506 GPU.
US Cellular does not specify how much RAM is onboard of the new ZTE Blade Max 3, but we suspect the phone bundles at least 2GB. The ZTE Blade V8 Pro brings forth 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, while the phablet only takes advantage of 16GB out of the box.
Luckily, the Blade Max 3 has a microSD card slot which allows for memory expansion up to 128GB. But so does the ZTE Blade V8 Pro – actually the phone uses a SIM 2 slot which houses microSD card slot which allows for memory increase up to 256GB.
Cameras
Dual 13MP+13MP vs 13MP+13MP
5MP vs 8MP
The dual camera setup on both phones appears to be similar. The ZTE Blade Max 3’s main camera consists of a 13-megapixel sensor with PDAF (phase detection autofocus) plus a 13-megapixel mono sensor. As for the ZTE Blade V8 Pro, it offers a main camera pretty much along the same lines.
As for selfies, the ZTE Blade V8 Pro boasts an improved 8-megapixel self-portrait snapper, while the Blade Max 3 only has 5-megapixel one.
Software
Android 6.0 Marshmallow vs Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Despite launching only a few days ago, the ZTE Blade Max 3 runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box, just like the ZTE Blade V8 Pro which was announced five months ago. We don’t know whether either models will get Android 7.0 Nougat further down the line, but we certainly hope this will be the case. Last month, the ZTE Blade V8 Pro received its first software update, but Android 7.0 Nougat wasn’t included. Disappointing!
Battery
4,000 mAh vs 3,140 mAh battery
Given that the ZTE Blade Max 3 has a larger 6-inch display, it’s natural the phone boasts a larger 4,000 mAh battery (of the non-removable sort), while the ZTE Blade V8 Pro takes advantage of only a 3,140 mAh battery.
Value
$199 vs $229
The new ZTE Blade Max 3 is available from US Cellular for $199 a pop. Customers can also grab it for $12.5/month for the next 24 months. We should also note that the phone comes with a DAC (digital-to-analog convertor) for high quality audio – something with audiophiles will certainly appreciate.
The ZTE Blade V8 Pro on the other hand costs $229. At this point it seems the Blade V8 Pro offers more RAM and standard storage option than the Blade Max 3, which justifies the price increase.
