Skip to main content

ZTE makes its Verizon debut with the ultra-budget Blade Vantage smartphone

The super-affordable ZTE Blade Advantage is now available from Verizon

Cricket Wireless
Kārlis Dambrāns/123rf
ZTE is making its big push into the United States, and to do that, it’s finally working with Verizon, the largest mobile carrier in the country. The phone manufacturer’s first device on Verizon — the ZTE Blade Vantage — is now available online and in stores.

The phone is aimed at being an excellent ultra-budget option, and it comes in at only $50. Sure, for that price you won’t get a flagship device, but it’s actually not a bad option for those looking for a super-cheap phone. For that $50, you’ll get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor, coupled with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. That storage can be expanded upon with the MicroSD card slot, which is helpful for those that want a little more space.

Even the cameras on the device are better than you would expect for the price. The rear-facing camera sits in at 8-megapixels, with the front-facing camera coming in at 2 megapixels. Powering the whole device is a 2,500mAh battery, which may not be as big as some other phones, but considering the display sits in at only 854 x 480 pixels, it should be able to get you through the day.

“The ZTE Blade Vantage is ZTE’s first smartphone to be on Verizon’s network, signifying an expanded partnership that we are excited to see grow over the coming months and years,” ZTE CEO Lixin Cheng said in a press release. “Consumers continue to be attracted to our affordable premium smartphone lineup, and we’re excited that Verizon customers can now purchase a ZTE device with the Blade Vantage.”

The super-budget phone market really seems to be heating up. Gone are the days when not paying a premium meant having to deal with a nonperforming device. These days, phones like the Blade Vantage mean that not only can you get a smartphone for $50, but you can get one that’s more than capable of handling most day-to-day tasks like basic web-browsing, social media, and so on. Sure, as mentioned, it won’t be able to do things like handle virtual reality or serious multitasking — but as is always the case with these things, that tech will eventually trickle down to low-cost phones like this.

Update: Added information to reflect that the ZTE Blade Advantage is now available. 

Editors' Recommendations

Christian de Looper
Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…
This deal gets you an iPhone 15 Pro Max for free (at Amazon)
An iPhone 15 Pro Max, lying on a wood floor with its display on.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max has been a bit of a divisive device; for some, it's not a big enough upgrade compared to last year's phones, and for others, the switch to USB-C makes this one of the most significant changes to the iPhone since it's inception. Regardless of which camp you lie in, if you want to grab one, Amazon has one of the best sales we've seen on an iPhone 15 Pro Max for a while, and that's saying something, becuase you can get it for free, with caveats. You can get it through Boost with a monthly subscription, so it's locked to them, but besides the subscription fee, taxes and shipping, you can get an iPhone 15 Pro Max without spending several hundred dollars.

Why you should buy the iPhone 15 Pro Max
The iPhone 15 Pro Max has a lot going for it, with the biggest change being the A17 bionic chip, Apple's most advanced, and roughly 20% more powerful than the previous generation. In fact, Apple has claimed that you could run The Division: Resurgence and Resident Evil: Village on the phone, although at what graphical quality and framerate remains to be seen. Another ugprade comes to the cameras, with the most significant one being to the zoom shutter, and the inclusion of an impressive 5x optical zoom, which isn't available in the regular iPhone 15 models. Otherwise, things remain relatively the same, such as the Super Retina XDR OLED running at 120Hz and 2796 x 1290 pixel resolution.

Read more
iPhone 15 Pro Max durability test ends with big surprise
iphone 15 pro max durability tests ends with big surprise test

Zack Nelson of popular YouTube channel JerryRigEverything has been at it again, subjecting yet another phone to the kind of durability test that will leave you wincing in horror.

Be gentle with Apples new Titanium iPhone 15 Pro Max ... Yikes!

Read more
I was totally wrong about 2023’s best folding flip phones
Apps on the Motorola Razr Plus.

Motorola Razr Plus Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

I admit it: I got sucked into the anticipation and excitement around the concept of running any app I wanted on the cover screen of a compact folding smartphone. I wasn't the only one either. The ability to run any application on a tiny, folded-up smartphone sounds — on paper — really exciting.

Read more