The idea of putting two screens in a smartphone is nothing new. Sony, Fujitsu, NEC and Microsoft are just four names that explored the possibility of duplicating the pixel count with an additional panel, but the market preferred to embrace the phablet format and grow beyond five inches. However, ZTE is ready to try again with its brand-new Axon M, based on Android Nougat 7.1. Will it have better luck?
A Dual-Screen History
Some of our readers might remember the YotaPhone and its second model. The inclusion of a secondary e-ink screen was very attractive at first, but none of those options gained enough traction (despite their solid crowdfunding campaigns), and although plans exist for a third smartphone, the company behind it is not doing very well. Today's smartphones are thin and huge, with panels that easily exceed five inches. That makes us imagine that a dual-screen device has no place in the market, but ZTE is not known for following the crowd, and that's how we find the Axon M.
Inside the Axon M
If we go strictly by its specs, the Axon M is nothing out of the ordinary. A Snapdragon 821 SoC with four cores and 2.15 GHz, 64 GB of internal storage, 4 GB of RAM, SD slot and a single 20-megapixel camera set the pace, but its core pieces are the two 5.2-inch screens with 1080p resolution, separated by a hinge and protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The operating system is Android Nougat 7.1, and ZTE ensures the phone uses several native split-screen functions. Dual mode assigns each screen to two open apps, extended mode turns both panels into a single screen, and mirror mode duplicates the content, ideal for sharing videos and presentations. As for the camera, it basically switches between front and back depending on the situation.
Availability
Another piece of news from ZTE is that the Axon M will have guaranteed compatibility with the Top 100 apps in the Google store, enabling the tablet version of interfaces when extended mode is activated. Obviously, installing a second screen demands certain design modifications. The Axon M is 12.1 mm thick, weighs 230 grams, and its 3,180 mAh battery is non-removable. Its debut is scheduled for next month in the United States (via AT&T) and Japan (DoCoMo), but the official price was not revealed.
