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ZTE Leads the Invasion of Ultra Low Priced USB Type-C Phones in the US

For a while the countries like China and India enjoyed ultra low priced phones with the new USB Type-C interface, while in the US, early USB Type-C phones were flagship models like the LG G5, HTC 10, Samsung Galaxy Note7, and Lenovo's Motorola Moto Z Droid that were quite pricey.  

The ZTE ZMAX PRO is the first USB Type-C phone that breaks this mold and sells for an incredible $99 price level through MetroPCS.

However, unlike a lot of the cheaper phones sold in China, the ZTE ZMAX PRO supports fast charging through Qualcomm Quick Charge (although it's only using Quick Charge 1.0).

The ZTE ZMAX PRO is so popular it's already sold out on the MetroPCS website.  Calling a MetroPCS dealer, you need to purchase a MetroPCS service plan with this phone unless you purchase directly from MetroPCS online.

When it was finally available in-store, we went to the MetroPCS Corporate Store in Santa Clara, CA.

MetroPCS is focused on selling very competitively priced phones including lower end models from Samsung and LG.  This is a perfect marketing environment for Chinese makers like ZTE who is huge in China but has very little name recognition in the US.

Coolpad, another Chinese brand which can be found in many emerging economies, is also selling a phone for less than $20.

MetroPCS doesn't use contracts so everything is pre-paid.  In order to take advantage of the special pricing of these phones, you just need to pre-pay for 1 month of service which ranges from $30 to $60 depending on the plan you choose.  You'll need to keep on regularly pre-paying for another month of service or after a while you will lose your phone number.

Taking back the purchased ZTE ZMAX PRO, we then opened up the phone's box.

The main accessories of the ZTE ZMAX PRO include a AC charger, USB Type-A to Type-C cable, SIM card, SIM removal pin, and Quick Start Guide.

The ZTE ZMAX PRO supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 1.0 but only comes with a simple 5 volts @ 2.1 amps charger.

You can then connect this charger to the ZTE ZMAX PRO using the USB Type-C to Type-A cable accessory.

The ZTE ZMAX PRO has some useful pealable overlays that point out the major functions of the phone, provide warnings, and gives some scratch protection during initial handling.

For its price, the ZTE ZMAX PRO has a remarkably large screen and has the feel of a quality phone.  It doesn't have all the latest features you'd expect from flagship models but for what it does have, it's a great value.

The ZTE ZMAX PRO's USB Type-C interface supports USB 2.0 speeds and Qualcomm Quick Charge 1.0.  There is no support for USB Power Delivery and DisplayPort.  We'll be testing the ZTE ZMAX PRO with various chargers next.