ZTE At CES 2017: Android Nougat And Project CSX Updates Among Announcements

Las Vegas -- Among ZTE’s CES 2017 announcements were details about its Android N update for the Axon 7, an update on Project CSX and information about a new mid-range device.

ZTE announced that the device developed within its crowdsourced initiative called Project CSX will be called Hawkeye. The smartphone is scheduled for a release during the third quarter of 2017, selling for $199.99 and featuring “eye-tracking capabilities and a self-adhesive back.” At this point, Hawkeye remains a concept device; however, ZTE showcased prototypes of the smartphone at its press conference Wednesday.

Continuing in its crowdsourcing spirit, ZTE has put Hawkeye on Kickstarter as a preorder option. Hoping to raise $500,000; supporters can pay $199.99 for the device if the project is fully funded by Feb. 18.

ZTE also introduced its Blade series, global mid-range smartphone option will be coming to the U.S. The Blade V8 Pro will be available for preorder starting Jan. 3 at B&H.com, NewEgg.com and zteusa.com for $229.98.

The Blade V8 Pro will feature a 5.5-inch Full HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 chip, 13-megapixel dual rear cameras and an 8-megapixel front camera, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, a 3,140mAh battery, USB-C, Android 6.0 Marshmallow and a fingerprint scanner.

Finally, ZTE has confirmed that the Axon 7 smartphone will soon update to Android Nougat; however, it did not give a timeframe for the rollout. ZTE noted that the Axon 7 will be compatible with Google Daydream.