ZTE Blade V7 Max Review - All Maxed Up

A few months ago I did a review on the new ZTE Blade V7 Lite, which I think is a cheap smartphone that is good for daily use. In fact, I still have the V7 Lite with me which I now use as my secondary phone. It's small and slim, hardly know that it's there in my pocket when I go out. Now, the bigger brother to the V7 Lite is now in my hands for a review.

Introducing the ZTE Blade V7 Max.

I have been using the Blade V7 Max for about a week. And within that one week, I find that the Blade V7 Max is a breeze to use. The sharp 5.5" FHD IPS screen is a beauty to look at. And the look of the phone is no doubt a head turner. I have people giving me a double take just to see what phone I was holding. Yes, it does have a similar look to the latest iPhone. Hence the double take.

Having said that, the V7 Max is something that anyone would like to have if they're looking for something fancy that won't maxed up their spending.

Before I begin my full review, here are the specifications.

When I first held the V7 Max in my hand, I was in awe. At one glance, it does look like the new iPhone. It looks and feels like a flagship. At only 7.2mm thickness with rounded edges, the V7 Max feels good in my hand. But to some people, it may not be that grippy.

Inside the box, you'll get the usual stuffs. The Blade V7 Max unit, charger, manuals, a pin to open the SIM slot, earphone, and the USB Type-C interface.

Design

Looking at the overall design of the Blade V7 Max feels like a premium phone. The all metal body feels solid without any squeaking lose parts, which is now a norm for an all metal phone.

The fingerprint sensor is located on the right side of the phone, just under the power button. It may look thin and small but the sensor can read your fingerprint really quick. On paper, it says that it will take about 0.4 seconds to read your fingerprint and unlock the phone. I'd say it's true. As soon as I placed my finger there, the phone unlocks almost immediately. On rare occasions, it will misread my fingerprint. Maybe because I pressed my finger on the sensor too hard. You just need to touch it lightly, no need to press like it's a button.

Do you know that you can use the fingerprint sensor for many other functions? Those who love taking selfies, you just need to touch the sensor to snap a picture. You can also use it as a scroller when you're reading a web page. Swipe downwards to scroll down and swipe up to scroll up. You can also touch it to answer a call and to unlock any encrypted files stored in the phone.

On the left side of the phone is the SIM slot and the volume up-down button. At the top, you'll see the hole for the standard 3.5mm headphone jack (so you don't need to drill a hole), while at the bottom are the Type-C USB interface, microphone and speaker holes. At the front bottom side is the capacitive touch home button and configurable back/menu buttons on either sides which will lid up during use.

The back of the phone looks simple and clean. Rear camera is located at the top left side of the back and the obvious dual tone LED flash below it with ZTE logo smack right in the center. Also a fine print that reads, "Designed by ZTE in Munich, Assembled in China". The back is really smooth, sometimes can be too slippery. So be careful where you place your V7 Max in future.

System and Performance

Now lets dig in deeper into the internal parts.

The Blade V7 Max comes pre-installed with Android 6.0 Marshmallow right out-of-the-box. The year old OS performs well on the V7 Max with overall usage is above average most of the time. Above average here means that it does not lag nor hang from time to time. Scrolling through pages or screen is buttery smooth. Opening an app took just a few seconds and running multiple apps in the background seems like an easy job for the V7 Max without utilising much of the RAM.

A little intro about the CPU used in the V7 Max. MediaTek Helios P10 is a "mid-range" processor made by MediaTek. It has a total of eight cores clocking at 1.8GHz each. The Helios P10 is said to perform well during hard usages such as playing games or video processing. Comes with fast LTE network technology and improved HiFi sound system, hence why the V7 Max has the DTS audio feature. Coupled that with 3GB of RAM, you got one gentle beast right here.

With that kind of hardware, I did a little benchmark test with Antutu.

A total score of 47800 is not bad, but can be better. Like I said, the Blade V7 Max is a gentle beast. The score placed the V7 Max in between Meizu's MX5 and M3 Note. Playing games like Temple Run on the V7 Max is smooth, no lags or whatsoever. So don't let the score fooled you.

Below are the UX design that you will get with your Blade V7 Max. The whole system is easy to use and navigate. Icons are big and rounded. This phone is hassle free, anyone and everyone can use it. Only difference between this interface and the standard Vanilla Android is that it doesn't come with an app drawer. So every apps you install will be in the main screen.

I am happy with the overall performance of the Blade V7 Max. Screen is bright and sharp. The phone itself is slim and fits nicely in my jeans pocket. Very responsive on touch, therefore typing on the on-screen keyboard is a breeze. Speaker is loud and clear. All good...very good. And the camera, well...that's another story. Yes I know, majority of consumers today are looking at camera and photo qualities when deciding to buy a phone. So, let's find out how the camera performs now...shall we?

Camera and Photography ->

Camera and Photography

One of the most important function that people are looking for in a smartphone is the camera. Please, don't deny it. In the current era of social media, you would love to share every moment in your life on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Especially Instagram. Not forgetting Snapchat, which is now gaining popularity among Malaysians. And to use that, you'll need a good camera.

The front facing camera is located at the top left side of the phone. If you're wondering what's that black dot above the earpiece, that is the ambiance sensor. And above you can see the rear camera in close up.

Opening the native camera app will show you the standard Auto Mode (first thumbnail). On the left side of the camera app, there is an option to switch to Pro Mode (in pink). So if you have itchy fingers that wants to fiddle with the manual setting, go ahead and use the Pro Mode.

In the Auto Mode (second thumbnail), you can see the standard settings and also the auto picture settings. It is pretty straightforward here. Just select the type of effect that you want and voila.

And in the Pro Mode (third thumbnail), you can customize the settings to your liking. You can manually set the ISO, white balance, "shutter" speed, exposure and many others. You will definitely enjoy fiddling with the settings. But, it may be a waste of time if you're in a hurry.

The video mode (fourth thumbnail) is pretty standard. Select the video quality that you want to shoot in and go. The V7 Max video quality is not bad.

Now that I have the camera app settled, let's show some results. Good thing that it was a beautiful day when I was out taking pictures with the Blade V7 Max. You can see that in the photos below and I'll let the photos do all the talking. I did not edit any of the photos other than resizing them.

(Click on the photos to enlarge)

Now the photos below is to show how detailed it can be when we zoom the image 100%.

The photo on the left is the image of an elliptical machine at the park. The expose is just nice and colours are punchy. Details of the machine itself is impressive. Now click the photo on the right. I zoomed in 100% in photoshop and look further. We can clearly see the type of car that is parked far away. Of course the details are blurry because hey, it's far. But we can still identify the car model. Actually I didn't even realised it's there until I zoomed in. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Now let's check out the HDR function.

Okay. That's a little too overexposed on the dynamic range. Perhaps it can only be used when the sun is low or something.

How about shooting at night? Check it out then.

Okay. Now here's a little selfie with the front camera.

So much white hair. Not bad for a front camera to capture that little detail, such as my white hair. Although the background is a little overexposed but it's okay by me. And no, I didn't use the Beauty feature so yeah, my face is smooth like that.

I am really happy with the Blade V7 Max camera. The level of details in the landscape and close-up shots are commendable. Even the bokeh looks good. Shooting in low light is also equally impressive but more can be improved. It got the exposure right most of the time. White balance can be a little bit off especially during close-ups. But that is forgivable.

And last but not least, here's a sample video taken by the Blade V7 Max.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnISM7lxgX0

All I can say about the video quality is that it's good, but just slightly above par. So yes, I'd say that this phone can be suitable for Snapchat or Instagram Moments.

Conclusion

What do I think about the Blade V7 Max? Well, I think that it has a potential to be a good mid-range phone. Large RAM and 8-core Helios P10 SoC really helped in making the V7 Max perform well. The fingerprint sensor is really quick to respond upon touch. Call and voice quality is good. Screen is beautiful and bright. Colours are punchy. Not forgetting that the phone looks good too.

For a mid-range phone, I think the Blade V7 Max can easily outmatch most of its rivals. Game play is smooth. But those games that require heavy GPU usage may not perform that well. After all, the Blade V7 Max is targeted towards the mid-range users. Price for the new ZTE Blade V7 Max will be retailed at RM999 when it hits the market.