Today we bring you a comparison of two phones that are ready to reign in the upper-middle range of Android devices. These are two devices that offer premium features at a price well below that of the industry heavyweights. Two smartphones that have many features in common but are also very different. Two terminals with a 5.5-inch screen, a 13-megapixel camera and an eight-core processor, but with completely different technologies. China against Korea. Today we face the ZTE Axon Elite and the Samsung Galaxy J7 2016.

Design and screen

In the design section we have quite significant differences between both terminals. The ZTE Axon Elite is made of gold-colored aluminum, both on the back, on the sides, and even on the front, surrounding the frame of the screen. But in addition to aluminum, the Chinese company has wanted to give its terminal a touch of exclusivity by incorporating a double strip of leather both on the bottom and on the top. Another aspect that draws the attention of the ZTE Axon Elite is that it incorporates two grilles in the upper and lower areas of the front frame that house the speakers. The fingerprint sensor is located on the back, just below the camera. The measurements of the device are 154 × 75 × 9.3 millimeters and it weighs 168 grams.

The Samsung Galaxy J7 offers a rather conservative design, although it is somewhat better than what the company had accustomed us to in its mid-range. And it is that, despite the fact that the back cover is still made of plastic, the frame of the terminal is metallic, something that gives it a more elegant and robust appearance. The plastic back simulates brushed aluminum and is the same color as the frame. The use of this type of rear part offers us the possibility of being able to remove the battery and change it easily, something that we do not have in unibody terminals. Something very curious, not to say strange, about the design of the Samsung Galaxy J7 is that the speaker is located on the back, right next to the camera. The Samsung terminal offers measurements of 151.7 x 76.0 x 7.8 millimeters and a weight of 169 grams, in addition to being available in three colors: white, black and gold.

As for the screen, both terminals mount a 5.5-inch screen, but with very different technologies. The ZTE Axon Elite offers a screen with a 2.5D curved glass LCD panel, Full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels and a density of 401 dots per inch. The Chinese company's terminal offers a good level of brightness and contrast, as well as a tactile response at the level expected from a terminal that borders on the high-end.

In the Korean company, however, they have chosen to include a screen with a Super AMOLED panel, HD resolution of 1,280 x 720 pixels and a density of 294 dots per inch in the Samsung Galaxy J7. Although this resolution seems a bit short for a 5.5-inch panel, the truth is that Super AMOLED technology makes the screen display bright and vivid colors, as well as consuming less energy. Although the lower resolution is not noticeable when consuming multimedia content, we will notice it when displaying text.

Camera and multimedia

In the photographic section, both terminals fully comply. The ZTE Axon Elite incorporates a dual-lens rear camera manufactured by Sony. The main lens has 13 megapixels and an f/1.8 aperture, while the second lens has 2 megapixels and is used to give depth effects to photos. This double objective will allow us to create focus and blur effects once the photo has been taken. The double objective is accompanied by a double LED flash. The ZTE Axon Elite's camera is capable of recording video in 4K UHD resolution, thus comparing itself to high-end smartphones. As for the front camera, it incorporates a resolution of 8 megapixels and is capable of recording video with Full HD resolution.

The Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 also incorporates a good photographic suite. As the main camera we have a 13-megapixel CMOS sensor with autofocus and f/1.9 aperture, accompanied by an LED flash. This camera records video at Full HD resolution. And as a front camera, the Samsung Galaxy J7 mounts a 5-megapixel sensor with f/1.9 aperture, also accompanied by an LED flash so that our selfies are of higher quality.

In the multimedia section, it is worth noting that the ZTE Axon Elite incorporates two speakers, each with its own chip. This allows a very high sound quality when used without headphones, and even a Hi-Fi experience through them. A success of ZTE.

Processor, memory and operating system

Both terminals offer a processor from the Qualcomm company, although not the same model. The ZTE Axon Elite mounts an eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor with a power of 2 GHz per core. This powerful processor is accompanied by 3 GB of RAM. As for internal storage, the ZTE Axon Elite offers 32 GB of capacity, of which just over 22.5 GB remain free. We can expand this capacity using a microSD memory card of up to 128 GB. The terminal offers, as usual in the terminals of Chinese companies, a double SIM card slot, being able to use both a NanoSIM and a MicroSIM at the same time. However, we must bear in mind that if we use both SIM cards we will be left without the possibility of using a microSD memory card.

The Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 has a slightly lower processor than the ZTE Axon Elite. It is an eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 with a power of 1.6 GHz per core. This processor is accompanied by 2 GB of RAM. As for internal storage, the Samsung Galaxy J7 has 16 GB of capacity, but it also offers the possibility of expanding it using a microSD card of up to 128 GB.

To move all this hardware, both terminals bet on Android, but in different versions. The ZTE Axon Elite incorporates Android 5.0.2 Lollipop along with the MiFavor 3.2 customization layer. The company has provided the terminal with a series of its own applications to improve the operation of the device, such as an application to free up RAM or another application that will allow us to make data backup copies.

The Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 comes with Android 5.1 Lollipop and Samsung's TouchWiz customization layer. As is logical, the Korean terminal also incorporates the typical applications of the company, as well as the most common Google applications.

Connectivity and autonomy

Both terminals are compatible with 4G LTE networks, but when it comes to connecting via WiFi, the ZTE Axon Elite has an advantage over the Samsung Galaxy J7. The Chinese terminal is compatible with WiFi AC, while the Korean terminal conforms to WiFi N. This makes the ZTE terminal capable of connecting to 5 GHz networks, thus achieving greater speed and stability in WiFi. The two terminals incorporate an NFC chip and the usual connectivity, such as Bluetooth and GPS.

The ZTE Axon Elite mounts a 3,000 milliampere battery. In our in-depth analysis, the terminal managed to last around a day and a half with normal use. In addition, the company wanted to offer a fast charging mode that achieves two hours of conversation with just five minutes of charging. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy J7 seems to be ahead in this regard, at least on paper, since it mounts a battery of no less than 3,300 milliamps. Although we have not been able to carry out a thorough test of this terminal, the company ensures that it is capable of withstanding up to 18 hours of use. Taking into account that the screen is of lower resolution and is also Super AMOLED, which is more energy efficient, the autonomy of the Samsung Galaxy J7 should be higher than that of the ZTE model.

Conclusion

We are looking at two mid-high range terminals that offer very good technical characteristics with a fairly contained price. While the ZTE Axon Elite offers a metallic design with two strips of leather that run through the terminal on the back, the Samsung Galaxy J7 opts for plastic on the back, although with metal frames. So we could say that the ZTE Axon Elite is one point above design. As for the screen, both terminals mount a 5.5-inch panel. However, at ZTE they have opted for an LCD panel with Full HD resolution, while at Samsung they have mounted a Super AMOLED panel with HD 720p resolution. Which is better? It's hard to say. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages. Having a higher resolution will improve, especially, the use of text; while the Super AMOLED panel improves the brightness and contrast of the images.

In the photographic section we have two terminals with 13 megapixels in their main cameras. The big difference is that the ZTE Axon Elite mounts a double sensor to be able to play with depth and focus once the photograph has been taken. If we approach the issue of power, the ZTE Axon Elite seems to be somewhat above the Samsung Galaxy J7. The Chinese terminal mounts a more advanced and faster processor, it also offers 3 GB of RAM compared to 2 GB of the Samsung terminal. In terms of autonomy, the Samsung would be one point ahead, since it incorporates a larger battery and the Super AMOLED panel is a great ally.

However, it is worth noting that, although both terminals could be included in the mid-range, the ZTE Axon Elite is priced much higher than the Samsung terminal. While the Samsung Galaxy J7 is priced at 300 euros, the ZTE Axon Elite goes up to 420 euros.

Comparison Sheet

Display

Layout

Camera

Multimedia

Software

Power

Memory

Connections

Autonomy