Earlier this year, tech industry pundits were discussing how smartphones with motorised pop-up/slide-up/flip-up cameras have revolutionised the market. It appears that there are consumers who prefer to have handsets with no notches or hole-punch cutouts that reduce the screen-to-body ratio. Then began talks of a new technology that would allow engineers to set the front-facing camera under the display. In fact, it was speculated at the time that the Samsung S20 series would be the first ones to have it. However, it appears ZTE beat the competition with the debut of the Axon 20 5G.

According to The Verge, the Shenzhen-based company has been teasing its arrival several weeks ago with some news outlets showing renders of the unit in question. The images were purportedly shared on Chinese social media network Weibo by ZTE President of Mobile Devices Ni Fei.

While many doubted the claims and even suspected that all the publicity was for a piece of vapourware, the company assured that it will be available by September 2020. It seems that ZTE delivered on their promise as the Axon 20 5G was unveiled on Tuesday.

Promotional materials for the mobile phone show near-bezel-less design without any visible front-facing camera sensors. It sports a 6.92-inch 2460 x 1080 OLED screen with a 90 Hz refresh rate. Beneath the glass panel is a 32-megapixel under-display wide-angle camera, which the manufacturer describes as possible via "high transparency material that includes new organic and inorganic films."

Additionally, the optical fingerprint sensor is also embedded below the touchscreen, probably for the sake of uniformity. The Axon 20 5G is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G SoC paired to either a 6 GB or 8 GB RAM depending on the internal storage size. As for its main imaging configuration, there is a 64 MP wide-angle main, 8 MP ultra-wide-angle, 2 MP macro, and a 2 MP depth sensor.

ZTE launches the Axon 20 5G smartphone
Promotional materials for the mobile phone show near-bezel-less design without any visible front-facing camera sensors. Photo: ZTE

The ZTE Axon 20 5G is powered by a 4,220 mAh battery that supports 30W Quick Charge 4+ technology. Tests supposedly show that it can charge from empty to 60 percent in 30 minutes. So far, global availability has not been confirmed, but it will retail for around $320 and ship later this month.