ZTE Blade S6 Smartphone Runs Android 5.0 Lollipop on Snapdragon 615 Processor

Android 5.0 (Lollipop) was released on last October, together with Motorola Nexus 6 phone running the latest version of the operating system. Since then some other global brands like Samsung, HTC, or Sony have ported Android 5.0 to some of their devices, but it’s currently pretty hard to find a Lollipop smartphone on Aliexpress made by low cost Chinese manufacturers. ZTE Blade S6 is one of the first “Chinese” smartphone boasting Android 5.0, so let’s have look.

ZTE Blade S6 smartphone:

• SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (MSM8939) Octa-core processor with 4x Cortex A53 @ 1.5 GHz, 4x Cortex A53 @ 1.0 GHz, Adreno 405 GPU, Hexagon V50 DSP, and a 4K HEVC capable video decoder.
• System Memory  2GB RAM
• Storage – 16 GB eMMC – No micro SD slot
• Display – 5.0” capacitive touch screen IPS display (16M colors). 1280×720 resolution
• Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi , Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, FM Radio
• Cellular Network:
  • 2G GSM – 850/900/1800/1900MHz
  • 3G – UMTS/WCDMA 900/2100 MHz
  • 4G LTE – 1800/2600/900/700MHz
  • Two nano SIM slots; Dual SIM, dual standby (DSDS) support.
• Audio – Speaker and microphone, 3.5 mm audio jack for headphones
• USB – 1x micro USB 2.0 OTG port
• Camera
  • 13MP rear-facing with flash light and auto-focus
  • 5MP front-facing camera
• Sensors – Gravity sensor, Light sensor, Proximity sensor
• Battery – 2,400 mAh Lithium battery. Standby time: 2 to 3 days.
• Dimensions – 144 x 70.7 x 7.7 mm
• Weight – 129 grams

The phone ships with the battery (nice…), a USB cable, a user’s manual, and a power adapter.

Some reviewers in the US got the phone, including Liliputing (hands-on for now), and Android Authority (full review). The latter gave it a positive review and score (8.5/10), with the only downsides being the “uninspiring design and questionable build quality”. The phone gets about 28,000 points (unverified) in Antutu 5.6.

In the press release, ZTE mentions “The retail price for the ZTE Blade S6 is $249.99 US. ZTE Blade S6 will be available online globally on AliExpress, and with Amazon and eBay in selected markets”. It’s also available on GeekBuying and GearBest for the same price. GeekBuying told me it’s already in stock. [Update: Use coupon ZTES6 on GearBest to get it for $220]

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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