ZTE Grand X 2 Z850 Smartphone Evaluation

Product: ZTE Grand X 2 (Z850)
Provided By: ZTE Canada
Price: $149 without contract on Bell Mobility (Canada) at time of publication

Introduction:

Today we are looking at the ZTE Grand X 2 and this is their follow-up to the value-packed Grand X Plus we looked at earlier this year. It has been only about half a year since the release of the Grand X Plus. Is the Grand X 2 coming down the pipe too quickly, or does it have enough to offer to make a person glad they waited? We'll be taking a look at this device in more detail on the following pages and sharing our thoughts on this budget-oriented device.

While the Grand X Plus debuted at Bell Canada costing a mere $199CAD without a contract, the Grand X 2 comes in a slightly-lower $149CAD and is certainly a device that won't break the bank. We'll find out below if this device is merely a decent back-up option if you trash your Galaxy S6 Edge+ and can't afford to drop $949 to keep a phone, or perhaps it has enough to offer right off the bat to be a good cost-effective alternative to the expensive $800+ devices that everyone seems to hype here in North America. 

About ZTE:

While many people in North America haven’t heard much about ZTE, they are a big player in other markets.

ZTE is a leading global provider of handset devices and telecommunications equipment. We are one of the top rated high-tech enterprises in the world developing and producing 2G, 3G and 4G handsets. As well as manufacturing mobile devices such as smartphones in over 150 countries, the company delivers innovative products business solutions. It connects global customers via voice, data, multimedia and WLAN Founded in 1985, ZTE is listed on both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges and is China’s largest listed telecoms equipment company.

More information about the company can be found over here.

First Look:

The ZTE Grand X 2 is a 5-inch device that packs an adequate 720p HD display, 8MP camera, 1080p video recording and a decent 2,480mAh battery. Under the hood is a 1.21Ghz quad core Snapdragon 400 processor that is fed by 2GB of RAM. The specifications certainly won't blow you away, but the performance shouldn't disappoint you either. One thing that I do like about ZTE devices is the inclusion of a MicroSD card slot. They do this to make up for the 16GB of internal storage that is showing its age. With the included software, the device ships with about 11GB of available storage. It certainly is nice that the Grand X 2 will support up to a 64GB MicroSD card.

The bundle that comes with the device is adequate. Along with the standard USB / Wall charger is the removable battery as well as a bit of a manual. There are no earphones included and while it makes the bundle look a little lean, most headphones that ship with devices are not that impressive and probably won't be used by most consumers.

The ZTE Grand X 2 follows in the footsteps of the Grand X Plus in that ZTE has done a few little things to cut back on some extras and a little horsepower in order to make the device more affordable. Let's face it, not everyone wants to spend $800 or more on a new phone.

The Grand X Plus has a pretty large battery for the size of the processor and resolution and the Grand X 2 takes this slightly higher. As I mentioned before, the battery is rated at 2,480 mAh and should out-last your LG G3 or other high-resolution device. I found the 720p screen to be pretty decent all around, but since I reviewed the Grand X Plus (compared to my then, Nexus 5), I am now using the Nexus 6. The screen on the Nexus 6 is vastly superior, and I can certainly notice that lower pixel density on the Grand X 2. That's not to say it's a bad device - or a bad screen, I'm just comparing it to a 2K screen, and as much as I try - when switching from one device to another, it's hard not to make some mental comparisons.

On this device, ZTE once again split up the power and volume keys. The power button is located on the left-side of the device with the volume buttons on the right side. The volume buttons appear as a single long button that is a rocker and allows you to easily control the volume when operating the phone with one hand. I really like the design of the phone this time around. The bezel is narrow and the Gorilla Glass 3 protected LCD looks really sharp with the new front design. 

The back of the device can be removed for battery, SIM and MicroSD card installation. It's been a while since I had a removable back on a phone as my last three Nexus devices have had this feature stripped out. The back has a bit of a texture and is very easy to handle. I never had an issue hanging onto it as people often do with some phones that have a slick finish. 

On the next page we'll cover all of the features from ZTE and add a few of our own before we talk about how well the device works and if you should picking this up for your next device.