ZTE is finally bringing Android 8.0 Oreo to the Axon 7. The company has announced the Android O Beta Program for the Axon 7 on its online forum, Z-Community.
If you have an Axon 7, you’ll be able to head to the ZTE website to sign up for the beta program yourself, though unless you’re willing to put up with software bugs and other issues, it might be worth simply waiting until the update rolls out to everyone.
“At ZTE, we listen to our consumers and one of their requests was to get Android O on the Axon 7, and we are excited to make it happen,” said Jeff Yee, vice president of product marketing and strategy at ZTE Mobile Devices, in an emailed press release. “Z-Community continues to grow, and is one of the channels we get direct feedback from consumers on our devices. I urge those who are interested to register and be a part of the community so their voice can be heard.”
Android Oreo is set to bring a number of great new features to the Axon 7. As ZTE highlights in its blog post, the new operating system should bring improved battery life, and more multitasking features — like picture-in-picture mode. On top of that, you’ll get the new notification dots, which shows which apps have notifications from the app icons.
The Axon 7 was first launched with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, after which it received an update to Android 7.0 Nougat. Considering this is the second major update the phone has received, it may be the last. Generally, phones are given two years of support before companies end support for them — though ZTE could surprise us all and give the phone Android P once it gets unveiled later this year.
Of course, the Axon 7 itself could be replaced. While rumors about an Axon 8 have been circulating for some time, some newer rumors indicate that ZTE could skip the 8 altogether and instead unveil the Axon 9 this year. Whatever the company launches, it’s likely it’ll be a hit — the Axon 7 was hailed as one of the best phones for the price (currently $400) when it was released in 2016.
The Axon 7 is a very respectable device, but its specs are aging a little at this point. The device features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, which was the flagship chip for 2016, along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.
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