The smartphone market in Japan is an interesting place where we can admire devices that may never be available outside the country, such as the ZTE Libero Flip. This phone is a direct competitor to the Galaxy Z Flip5 and has a unique feature – it costs a fraction of the price. The ZTE Libero Flip has a list price of JPY 63,000 ($420 USD), but pre-orders receive a significant discount, bringing the final price down to JPY 39,800 ($265 USD), making it the most affordable folding phone available.
This new foldable ZTE phone features a 6.9-inch OLED display with FHD+ resolution and a secondary 1.43-inch round cover screen with 466 x 466px resolution. The secondary screen, known as the Sub Display, allows you to take calls, control media playback, and can also function as a viewfinder for using the main camera on the back.
The phone includes a 50MP primary lens alongside a 2MP depth helper. Additionally, the main 6.9-inch display also houses an embedded 16MP front-facing camera housed in a punch-hole cutout.
ZTE also packed a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset alongside 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. The device runs Android 13 with ZTE UI on top, and ZTE included some foldable-specific features allowing you to separate menu items across both sides of the folding screen.
ZTE Libero Flip
The phone includes a 4,310mAh battery with 33W fast charging compatible with Quick Charge 4+ and PD3.0 standards. It also has an IP42 water and dust rating, which provides minimal protection against water and dust, so even splashes of water could cause damage.
The ZTE Libero Flip is available in White, Gold, and Blue colors, and ZTE is offering a variety of back covers to suit your style. The device is available for pre-order from the Japanese carrier Y! Mobile, with open sales scheduled to begin on February 29.
Source (in Japanese)
