Qotd

For those who don’t want to break their bank account every time the latest and greatest Apple or Samsung smartphone hits the shelves there’s a vast array of options out there.

In fact, the market for budget smartphones is growing and consumers are starting to reap the rewards as the offerings of more reasonably priced manufacturers becomes ever more sophisticated.

Whilst Chinese smartphone manufacturers have long been criticised as copycat manufacturers they’re starting to emerge as viable options for many.

The phone we review here is made by ZTE- a Chinese manufacturer.

ZTE Blade S6

The first thing you notice about the ZTE is its appearance; it looks uncannily like the iPhone 6. A highly unfortunate design error and yet one which many who like Apple but can’t afford their offerings may value.

Still, there is little originality to the phone’s design. While the exterior is somewhat of a pitfall the same cannot be said for the phone’s interior.

In regard to software the phone truly excels, thanks to the inclusion of the Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system. ZTE have added their own twist to the OS with the overlay of a MiFavor 3.0 skin.

Hardware wise the Blade S6 also affords a seriously decent performance output from a budget phone thanks to the addition of a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 64-bit processor. Further to this an average 2GB of internal RAM and 16GB storage are present within the phone; nothing to write home about but certainly enough for the average user.

The only disappointing part of the hardware comes in the form of the low resolution screen and poor battery life.

Finished with two cameras (front and back) and dual sim capabilities, this is a pretty versatile offering from ZTE.

Had they got the design right, we might be comparing the ZTE to a phone from a higher price category. Still, the Blade S6 represents the growing prestige of Chinese smartphone manufacturers, even if they still slip up with the occasional and glaringly obvious copycat faux-pas.