【2016 Archives】

If you like wasting money016 Archivesexperimental hardware, then you're going to love this new Android phone from China.

SEE ALSO: Samsung promises foldable phones by 2018

ZTE announced today a brand new, foldable, dual-screen mutant phone otherwise known as the Axon M. The smartphone is sold exclusively through AT&T in the U.S. and will eventually roll out to China, Europe, and Japan.

The Axon M looks like something between a throwback to the T-Mobile Sidekick and two full smartphones bolted together. It's weird, ugly, and frankly makes no sense at all.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The best example of its peculiar design is "Mirror Mode," which lets you watch the same exact thing on two different screens. The owner can fold the phone in half, stand it on the table in an upside-down "V" position, and let two people sitting across the table view the same thing.

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It's a neat trick that serves no practical purpose. Let's take even the most basic scenario: You're stuck at the airport with a friend and have nothing to do to kill the time. You could conceivably fold this phone in half and share the screens, but even still, you'd need to share audio. That would mean either splitting your headphones in half or blasting the volume for everyone to hear. It's not the most elegant solution, and one I can't imagine ever using.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Another weird use of the second screen is "Extended Mode," which lets you use both screens combined into one gigantic screen. This would be great if there weren't any gaps between the displays, but there is a huge one. So if you decide to use both screens combined, you'll see an awkward gap between both halves of the phone.

Imagine watching a YouTube or Netflix video with a gigantic bezel breaking up the image. For someone who likes to pay attention to every little detail in shows, this would be a travesty. I'd much rather watch video on a smaller full screen than a broken larger one. Again, it's a neat feature but one that is hard to imagine actually using in real life situations.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

One of the only legitimate uses of the second screen would conceivably be in "Dual Mode," which lets you run two different apps at once on each screen. You could, for example, watch a YouTube video on one screen while you scroll through Instagram on another. Or maybe you want to control your Spotify playlist while you're ordering a pizza on the other screen. Either way, you can run two apps simultaneously, which has actually proven to be pretty helpful on other phones with split-screen modes like the Note 8.

So what's the consensus on the ZTE Axon M? We'll save our full analysis for our official review, but our first impression is not great. At first glance, it seems like a cheap trick that is basically just begging for your attention. If you're in the market for a new phone, let us suggest any of the half-dozen other phones that are actually really interesting! It will probably save you money (and a few headaches) in the long run.

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