So much RAM, the phone is worthy of its ‘Space Edition’ badge
ZTE is no longer the force it used to be on the global scene due to the US’s longstanding sanctions against it. However, these obstacles haven’t hindered it from making some pretty snazzy phones such as this year’s Axon 40 Ultra. The manufacturer is now launching a special version of the flagship in its home market of China called the Axon 40 Ultra Space Edition. While most limited edition models accentuate design as the standout feature, ZTE has chosen to rocket one hard spec up and out of this world.
The company offered up to 16GB of RAM on the standard Axon 40 Ultra, so boosting it up to 18GB represents a small bump at this juncture, but it’s still just ridiculous to us that this class of memory is a thing now— Asus’s ROG Phone 6 Pro and the RedMagic 7 also bring 18GB options.
The modified Axon 40 Ultra includes an all-new ceramic rear panel along with a few other design changes. The rear camera bump is less prominent here, which is certainly a welcome improvement (via GSMArena).
Elsewhere, the phone maintains much the same hardware as its sibling, including the 6.8-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen, up to 1TB of onboard storage, three rear-facing 64MP cameras, a 16MP under-display front camera, and the octa-core Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. We’re a little surprised ZTE is sticking with the older chipset, which has since seen an upgrade in the form of the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. Perhaps its relatively limited budget means we’ll be waiting until next year’s presumed Axon 50 to see Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
While the battery capacity of this Space Edition model is unchanged at 5,000mAh, it can recharge even quicker thanks to the bump in wired charging rates from 65W up to 80W. On top of the aforementioned specs upgrade, consumers will also get a specially designed box and a protective case, as shown in the image below.
Interested customers in China can pre-order the rebranded Axon 40 Ultra in the 18GB/1TB configuration for CNY 7,700 (~$1,100), while the 12GB/512GB iteration is up for CNY 5,900 (~$840). The manufacturer will begin shipping orders on December 6. ZTE didn’t say if it intends to release the phone elsewhere, but it’s unlikely to hop any borders based on the China-specific branding.
