ZTE might not be the largest name in smartphones, especially in the United States, but the company continues to sell a lot of budget phones through carriers. ZTE and Verizon-owned Visible partnered earlier this year to release the 5G-capable ZTE Blade X1, and now the company has another phone coming to Visible (and Yahoo Mobile): the $192 Blade 11 Prime. That sounds like it should be the name of a Transformer, but no, it's a phone.

Specification

ZTE Blade 11 Prime

Build

  • Plastic back
  • "Lightly texturized" for repelling fingerprints

Dimensions & Weight

  • 166 x 76 x 8.7 mm (6.53 x 2.99 x 0.34 in)
  • 190 grams

Display

6.52" 1600 x 720 LCD

SoC

MediaTek 6762 (Helio P22)

RAM & Storage

  • 4GB RAM
  • 64GB internal storage
  • microSD expansion (up to 2TB)

Battery & Charging

  • 4,000mAh battery
  • Wireless charging

Security

Side fingerprint sensor

Rear Cameras

16MP+8MP+2MP rear cameras (types unspecified)

Front Camera

8MP

Ports

USB 2.0 Type-C, Headphone jack

Connectivity

  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac 2.4GHz/5GHz
  • LTE: B2/4/5/12/13/66

Software

Android 11

The ZTE Blade 11 Prime is decidedly a budget smartphone, with a suggested retail price of just $192. It has a MediaTek Helio P22 chipset, which was first launched in the middle of 2018. You probably shouldn't buy a $200 phone in 2021 that has the same hardware as a phone that was $200 three years ago, but ZTE is hoping you'll think otherwise.

The rest of the hardware is about on par for a 2021 budget smartphone. There's 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot for adding more capacity, and a large 6.52-inch 1600 x 720 screen. You also get three rear cameras: 16MP, 8MP, and 2MP. ZTE didn't reveal what each one does, but one of them is an "80-degree wide angle lens."

ZTE's unique selling point for the Blade 11 Prime is that it supports wireless charging, so you can place it on a Qi wireless charger. That is pretty uncommon at this price point, at least in the United States. The $200 BLU G90 Pro supports wireless charging, but the next cheapest phone with Qi support in the U.S. is the iPhone SE 2020 which starts at $399.

The Blade 11 Prime is available starting today from Visible and Yahoo Mobile for $192. However, there are likely better ways to spend your $200. The 2021 Moto G Power has a faster Snapdragon 662 chipset and larger battery, and currently costs $190 carrier-unlocked on Amazon (though it does have less storage than the Blade 11 Prime). The Galaxy A12 is also available at some carriers for under $200, also with a larger battery, though that phone has an older MediaTek Helio P35 chipset.