**A Budget Phone with Unpredictable Performance: ZTE ZMAX Pro Review**

The ZTE ZMAX Pro is a budget phone that packs some impressive features at an aggressive price point of $99. However, its performance and display quality leave much to be desired.

One of the standout features of the ZTE ZMAX Pro is its extremely cold color temperature, which measures in at 8,000 Kelvin. This makes whites appear bluish in tone, and the display's color accuracy is also questionable, as evident from the sRGB color chart, which shows how magenta and teal are heavily influenced by blue. Despite reaching a peak brightness output of 460 nits, the display just seems to have a washed-out tone. In our testing, it was clear that this display isn't quite up to par with some of the higher-priced smartphones on the market.

The Snapdragon 67 chip and 2 GB of RAM in the ZTE ZMAX Pro make perfect sense for basic tasks, but they're not suited for more intensive gaming or applications. The phone exhibits too much choppiness and frame rate issues, making it unsuitable for hardcore gamers. This is a major drawback for those who want a phone that can handle demanding games and multitasking.

On the other hand, the ZTE ZMAX Pro does offer some notable features at its price point. One of these is 32 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded via the micro SD slot. The fingerprint sensor in the back of the phone is another welcome feature, particularly since it's uncommon in entry-level phones. This adds an extra layer of security and convenience to the device.

However, there are some drawbacks to consider when buying this phone. For one, it's strictly a MetroPCS exclusive, which may limit its reach to consumers. Additionally, the phone has some subpar qualities, such as inaccuracies with the display and oversharpening effects in its cameras. These compromises can be overlooked due to its price point, but they're still worth noting.

One of the most underrated aspects of the ZTE ZMAX Pro is its battery life. With a 3500 mAh battery cell, it managed to get us at least two days of normal juice from full charge, and we even made it to the beginning of a third day. The recharge time is also decent for its size, taking around 125 minutes with the new USB Type-C connection.

The camera on the ZTE ZMAX Pro is another area where compromises are evident. The combination of a 13 MP rear camera and a 5 MP front-facing camera is nothing special, and their performance doesn't exceed expectations. We saw noticeable levels of oversharpening in both photos and videos, which can be distracting for some users.

The phone's software experience is also worth noting. The ZTE ZMAX Pro runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, with a bit of bloatware from MetroPCS. While it's not the most exciting operating system, it's still straightforward and easy to use.

Finally, we can't forget about the phone's audio quality. The speaker grill in the back emits decent volume output, but there isn't much substance when listening to music. This is a minor drawback compared to the overall package, but it's worth noting nonetheless.

In conclusion, the ZTE ZMAX Pro is a budget phone that offers some impressive features at an aggressive price point of $99. While its performance and display quality are not ideal, it's still a worthy recommendation for those on a tight budget. The fingerprint sensor, battery life, and overall value make it a solid choice for those looking for a affordable option without sacrificing too much in terms of quality.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enphones are becoming cheaper to buy just look around and you'll see several new ones under $200 as for as sub $100 phones you might have a tougher time but ZT believes that its new zMAX Pro is going to be the Benchmark to be the first order of business with design is its size something that's arguably going to be the biggest deal breaker for people this is a big phone one that pushes it well into the fablet category unless you have larger than average hands you're going to be finding yourself stretching your fingers a whole lot besides that it has a pleasant design that makes it look and feel that it's priced higher you have a soft touch matte finish with the rear combined with a full metal Bessel and this combo pushes it beyond the context of being cheaply made and that's a good thing because normally you tend to find phones in this price range to be poorly constructed and just inferior with their designs the phone is slapped with a giant 6-in 1080p TFT LCD display with Gorilla Glass 3 yeah it's nice that they offed to go with 1080p resolution just because we'd normally see 720p in other phones it's sufficiently detailed plus there's a ton of real estate to work with however it has an extremely cold color temperature of 8,000 Kelvin which makes whites appear bluish in tone it's also not color accurate you can see in the srgb color chart how it misses the reference values for each color like how magenta and teal are heavily influenced by Blue and despite reaching a peak brightness output of 460 nits the display just seems to have a washed out tone now in my testing it's obvious that the display here with the ZT Z Max Pro isn't quite up to Snuff to the type of results we tend to see with some of the higher pric smartphones out there but then again are we surprised by this it's no surprise that there's a Snapdragon 67 chip and 2 GB of RAM in this this combo makes perfect sense and it suffices with the basic stuff but it's really not suited to do things that are more intensive gaming in particular where it exhibits too much choppiness to enjoy for hardcore Gamers for $99 you get 32 GB of internal storage with expansion via its micro SD slot you also have the fingerprint sensor in the back of the phone it's an unexpected treat quite honestly since it's uncommon in entry-level phones it works well in adding that extra layer of security but could also be programmed to open up an app take a photo or even answer a phone call there are three capacitor buttons beneath the display unfortunately the two dots flanking the home button can't be programmed for anything else besides acting as the back and recent apps functions and finally we have the speaker Grill in the back it emits a decent volume output but there isn't much substance when listening to music so for me the single most underrated part about the handset has to be the back battery life there's a 3500 mAh battery cell in there and I got to say I'm impressed it managed to get me at least 2 days of normal juice from full charge and it got to the beginning of a third day but by then it was pretty much gone and the recharge time is actually pretty good for giving its size now it's at 125 minutes with the new USB type-c connection it's not the fastest but then again it's not the slowest either for its cameras the combo here with the ZT zMAX Pro is a 13 me pixel rear camera and a 5 megap front-facing one there's nothing fanciful about them seeing they're just as ordinary as any other low PRC phone the camera app has a decent mixture of modes and options like its manual mode which people will probably appreciate having in a phone like this sadly there's nothing spectacular about their performances you tend to see a noticeable level of oversharpening which seems to try and compensate for the rear camera's software details captur under low light Det details become even more speckled and the same can be said about its video capture oversharpening is again evident but this time videos tend to appear underexposed and there's just too much noise and muddy details to recommend using purus will love that the zMAX Pro is mostly running a stock experience Android 6.0.1 marshmallow to be exact yes there's some blow R from Metro PCS but it's pretty straightforward for the most part power users will probably feel that it won't be up to SN with their demands just because you won't find any other enhanced features here the biggest question with the phone much like most budget stuff is whether or not it'll get upgraded to the next version of Android in a timely manner phone calls are a breeze with this one you have a loud volume output with its earpiece and speaker phone while voices sound clear and distinctive on the other end of line too our callers didn't have any problems Discerning our voices owning a cheap phone no longer means you're getting a cheap phone The $99 price tag of the ZTE zMAX Pro is without a doubt an aggressive move on its part especially more given its fabes stature and its fingerprint sensor you tend to not expect them in a phone in its price range but that's the beauty about it you do get them while pricing is quite favorable here there are some other factors that'll influence your decision to buy first of all this is strictly a Metro PCS exclusive this is arguably a factor that'll be limiting its reach to Consumers and secondly there are still some subpar qualities about it like the inaccuracies with the display and the oversharpening effects with its cameras these are compromises that can be overlooked due to its price point at the end of the day it's a worthy recommendation if you're in a tight budget so yeah it's pretty crazy that we have phones now with fingerprint sensors at under $100 so if you guys want to learn more about the ZTE zMAX Pro you can check out our website androidauthority.com this is John V signing offphones are becoming cheaper to buy just look around and you'll see several new ones under $200 as for as sub $100 phones you might have a tougher time but ZT believes that its new zMAX Pro is going to be the Benchmark to be the first order of business with design is its size something that's arguably going to be the biggest deal breaker for people this is a big phone one that pushes it well into the fablet category unless you have larger than average hands you're going to be finding yourself stretching your fingers a whole lot besides that it has a pleasant design that makes it look and feel that it's priced higher you have a soft touch matte finish with the rear combined with a full metal Bessel and this combo pushes it beyond the context of being cheaply made and that's a good thing because normally you tend to find phones in this price range to be poorly constructed and just inferior with their designs the phone is slapped with a giant 6-in 1080p TFT LCD display with Gorilla Glass 3 yeah it's nice that they offed to go with 1080p resolution just because we'd normally see 720p in other phones it's sufficiently detailed plus there's a ton of real estate to work with however it has an extremely cold color temperature of 8,000 Kelvin which makes whites appear bluish in tone it's also not color accurate you can see in the srgb color chart how it misses the reference values for each color like how magenta and teal are heavily influenced by Blue and despite reaching a peak brightness output of 460 nits the display just seems to have a washed out tone now in my testing it's obvious that the display here with the ZT Z Max Pro isn't quite up to Snuff to the type of results we tend to see with some of the higher pric smartphones out there but then again are we surprised by this it's no surprise that there's a Snapdragon 67 chip and 2 GB of RAM in this this combo makes perfect sense and it suffices with the basic stuff but it's really not suited to do things that are more intensive gaming in particular where it exhibits too much choppiness to enjoy for hardcore Gamers for $99 you get 32 GB of internal storage with expansion via its micro SD slot you also have the fingerprint sensor in the back of the phone it's an unexpected treat quite honestly since it's uncommon in entry-level phones it works well in adding that extra layer of security but could also be programmed to open up an app take a photo or even answer a phone call there are three capacitor buttons beneath the display unfortunately the two dots flanking the home button can't be programmed for anything else besides acting as the back and recent apps functions and finally we have the speaker Grill in the back it emits a decent volume output but there isn't much substance when listening to music so for me the single most underrated part about the handset has to be the back battery life there's a 3500 mAh battery cell in there and I got to say I'm impressed it managed to get me at least 2 days of normal juice from full charge and it got to the beginning of a third day but by then it was pretty much gone and the recharge time is actually pretty good for giving its size now it's at 125 minutes with the new USB type-c connection it's not the fastest but then again it's not the slowest either for its cameras the combo here with the ZT zMAX Pro is a 13 me pixel rear camera and a 5 megap front-facing one there's nothing fanciful about them seeing they're just as ordinary as any other low PRC phone the camera app has a decent mixture of modes and options like its manual mode which people will probably appreciate having in a phone like this sadly there's nothing spectacular about their performances you tend to see a noticeable level of oversharpening which seems to try and compensate for the rear camera's software details captur under low light Det details become even more speckled and the same can be said about its video capture oversharpening is again evident but this time videos tend to appear underexposed and there's just too much noise and muddy details to recommend using purus will love that the zMAX Pro is mostly running a stock experience Android 6.0.1 marshmallow to be exact yes there's some blow R from Metro PCS but it's pretty straightforward for the most part power users will probably feel that it won't be up to SN with their demands just because you won't find any other enhanced features here the biggest question with the phone much like most budget stuff is whether or not it'll get upgraded to the next version of Android in a timely manner phone calls are a breeze with this one you have a loud volume output with its earpiece and speaker phone while voices sound clear and distinctive on the other end of line too our callers didn't have any problems Discerning our voices owning a cheap phone no longer means you're getting a cheap phone The $99 price tag of the ZTE zMAX Pro is without a doubt an aggressive move on its part especially more given its fabes stature and its fingerprint sensor you tend to not expect them in a phone in its price range but that's the beauty about it you do get them while pricing is quite favorable here there are some other factors that'll influence your decision to buy first of all this is strictly a Metro PCS exclusive this is arguably a factor that'll be limiting its reach to Consumers and secondly there are still some subpar qualities about it like the inaccuracies with the display and the oversharpening effects with its cameras these are compromises that can be overlooked due to its price point at the end of the day it's a worthy recommendation if you're in a tight budget so yeah it's pretty crazy that we have phones now with fingerprint sensors at under $100 so if you guys want to learn more about the ZTE zMAX Pro you can check out our website androidauthority.com this is John V signing off\n"