ZTE has MAGICALLY RETURNED in the Philippines!

Return of the King. Return of the (red) magic!

You heard that right, ZTE has made its triumphant return to the Philippines after disappearing for so many years. The company is bringing a few of its phones to the table, notably the V40 series and the RedMagic 8 Pro. That’s right, now you could buy the phone outside of Xundd.

The company did not actually “leave” the country as they still have official partners here. However, they are now making a larger presence. The V40 series of budget phones confirms that.

ZTE V41 Vita 5G

The first phone that we’re going to discuss is the ZTE Blade V41 Vita 5G. That’s a mouthful. Name aside, the phone has pretty decent specs under the hood and has a decent price to come along with it. Also, it’s 5G activated which is a big advantage over its competitors.

This handset has a 6.6″ FullHD+ display with a 20:9 aspect ratio. Sadly, there’s no high refresh rate toggle for this which could turn off some users. The design may also be familiar to Realme or Oppo users. Specifically, some users pointed out that its design is strikingly similar to the Realme C35 albeit this one is more premium-looking.

There is a MediaTek Dimensity 810 chipset inside with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. This is more than generous for its price point and we appreciate ZTE for choosing this particular chipset.

There are three cameras at the back and a single 8MP selfie camera located at the outdated waterdrop notch. The primary camera is a 50MP sensor while the rest are gimmicks (2MP depth + 2MP 4cm macro).

It has a 4500mAh battery inside charged via USB-C. It also has 22.5W fast charging. Aside from Huawei and Honor, ZTE is the only company to use this rating. The phone also has a 3.5mm jack, a Dual Nano-SIM slot, and a MicroSD Card slot. You could virtually expand the RAM by up to 5GB although we’re pretty sure Virtual RAM is a gimmick many companies use to sell their phones.

It comes in a single Starry Black colour and is priced at Php 11,999. This phone has the same price as the Cherry Mobile Aqua SV. However, that phone has a 64MP camera at the back and a curved AMOLED screen.

ZTE did not say where you could purchase the phone. Just find this treasure yourself.

SPECS:

• 6.6″ FullHD+ (2400x1080px) IPS LCD
• MediaTek Dimensity 810 (6nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 50MP (Primary)
  • 2MP (depth)
  • 2MP (Macro)
  • FRONT: 8MP
• MyOS 12 based on Android 12
• 4500mAh, 22.25W fast charging
• USB-C, 3.5mm jack, Dual Nano-SIM Slot, MicroSD Card Slot
• 5G services, Wi-Fi 6/6e, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
• Starry Black
• PRICE:
  • 6/128: Php 11,999

ZTE Blade V40 Design

The next Blade phone ZTE introduced in the Philippines is the V40 Design. There are actually two phones in the V40 mentioned. The other is the V40s. We’ll start with the lower-end, the Design.

It’s quite a name, isn’t it? It’s not a “Pro”, a “Plus”, nor is it a “Max”. It’s unique but does not signify whether this thing is a flagship, a base phone, or a levelled-up version of the V40. The name feels like it’s a premium device. Which is probably part of the marketing tools. Also, the specs and design are nearly identical to the V41 Vita but this has a different chipset.

Anyway, ZTE’s weird naming aside, the Design’s design is similar to the V41 Vita and has a matte finish. It is equipped with a 6.6″ FullHD+ (2408x1080px) IPS LCD screen. Again, without high refresh rates.

It is equipped with a UNISOC T616 chipset. In performance, it is similar to the Snapdragon 662 and the Helio G80. This is paired with 4 or 6 LPDDR4 RAM and 128GB UFS 2.2 internal storage that could be expanded virtually or through a MicroSD Card.

The chipset has no 5G capabilities, only 4G. It has a 4500mAh battery and 22.5W fast charging as well, like the V41 Vita. It also has a 50MP+2MP+2MP camera setup alongside an 8MP selfie camera.

The phone is available for Php 7,999 in two colours: Starry Black and Sky Blue. While ZTE did not announce yet where you could buy this phone, some well-known third-party stores like GameXtreme is already offering it in their Lazada page.

SPECS:

• 6.6″ FullHD+ (2400x1080px) IPS LCD
• UNISOC Tiger T616 (12nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 50MP (Primary)
  • 2MP (depth)
  • 2MP (Macro)
  • FRONT: 8MP
• MyOS 12 based on Android 12
• 4500mAh, 22.25W fast charging
• USB-C, 3.5mm jack, Dual Nano-SIM Slot, MicroSD Card Slot
• 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6/6e, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC
• Starry Black, Sky Blue
• PRICE:
  • 4/128: Php 7,999
  • 6/128: TBA

ZTE Blade V40s

Out of the three Blades released, the V40s is arguably the highest-end. This is highly noticeable with its use of a punch-hole screen instead of a waterdrop one. The phone has internals that’s nearly identical to the V40 Design. However, this phone uses a UNISOC T618 chipset instead. A slightly higher clocked version of the UNISOC T616. Again, it does not have 5G services.

The display has been replaced with a slightly taller 6.67″ AMOLED screen. No refresh rates mentioned once again so it’s using the standard 60Hz. It also comes with the same 50MP triple camera setup although the macro has been bumped to 5MP.

The battery capacity also is the same. There’s a 4500mAh battery inside with 22.5W fast charging. It comes with a single bottom-firing speaker, USB-C, a Dual Nano-SIM Slot, and 4G LTE. Its price is Php 10,999 and comes in two colours: Starry Black colour just like its siblings and Sky Blue for those who want a lighter feel.

SPECS:

• 6.67″ FullHD+ (2408x1080px) AMOLED, 395ppi
• UNISOC Tiger T618 (12nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 50MP (Primary)
  • 2MP (depth)
  • 2MP (Macro)
  • FRONT: 8MP
• MyOS 12 based on Android 12
• 4500mAh, 22.25W fast charging
• USB-C, 3.5mm jack, Dual Nano-SIM Slot, MicroSD Card Slot
• 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6/6e, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC
• Starry Black, Sky Blue
• PRICE:
  • 6/128: Php 10,999

According to our colleagues, these three devices are available in ZTE stores nationwide, where available.

ZTE Nubia RedMagic 8 Pro

We already discussed this phone as it was officially released through Xundd with a starting price of Php 43,999 which is astonishingly affordable for a top-performing gaming phone. So you could read our dedicated article instead for the RedMagic 8 Pro.

In a nutshell, the phone comes with a sharp 144Hz AMOLED screen, an in-display front camera, and its main feature? The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset with UFS 4.0 storage and LPDDR5X RAM. It also boasts a “futuristic” design, including a transparent option.

Officially, it will arrive soon in ZTE’s stores and it is priced almost similar to Xundd’s. However, if you’re a little impatient, you could always purchase from Xundd. You could also purchase RedMagic 8 Pro cases through them, as well as different accessories. It comes in Matte Black and the transparent Void Black. Both also have RGB lighting and VC cooling chambers with a dedicated fan.

SPECS:

• 6.8? FHD+ (2480x1116px) AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, 960Hz touch response rate, 10-bit colour, 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut
  • Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 50MP (Primary), f/1.88, 1/1.57?, Samsung ISOCELL GN5
  • 8MP (Ultrawide), f/2.2, 120° FOV
  • 2MP (Macro), f/2.4
  • FRONT: 16MP, f/2.0, 1.12µm, In-display camera
• RedMagicOS 6.0 based on Android 13
• 6000mAh, 65W fast charging
• USB-C 3.1, 3.5mm jack, Accessory Connector, VC Cooling Chamber, Centrifugal Fan, RGB Lighting, Shoulder Triggers, Side-mounted Fingerprint Scanner
• 5G services, Dual Nano-SIM Slot, Wi-Fi 6/6e, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, Hi-Res Audio
• Matte Black, Void Black
• PRICE:
  • 12/256 (Matte Black): Php 39,999
  • 16/512 (Void Black): Php 49,999