The ZTE Blade V9 looks like every other phone, but at €269 that's just fine

A simple dual-camera phone with impressive specs for the price.

ZTE hasn't put out a traditional flagship since 2016 (no, the Axon M doesn't count), but the Chinese company's bread and butter, at least outside of its home country, continues to be the low-end and mid-range of the Android world.

Building on the success line, which came to the U.S. in 2017 with the V8 Pro, comes the Blade V9, an impressive piece of hardware for €269. Its claim to fame is a 5.7-inch 18:9 screen with vivid colors and excellent viewing angles, with an 84% screen-to-body ratio. There's also a Snapdragon 450, either 3GB/32GB or 4GB/64GB of RAM and storage, a dual camera setup with a 16MP primary sensor that excels in low light, a 3100mAh battery, and Android 8.1 out of the box with a minimal skin.

ZTE isn't bringing the Blade V9 to the U.S. anytime soon — this particular release is aimed at Spain, Germany, Russia, Mexico, and China. There's also going to be a smaller Blade V9 Vita with a smaller 5.45-inch screen, a larger 3200mAh battery, and either 2GB/16GB or 3GB/32GB of RAM and storage.

With a design that looks pretty much like every other metal-and-glass phone sandwich these days, the Blade V9 has little going for it but its competitive price and ZTE's relative trustworthiness when it comes to software quality and updates.

Are you interested? It's unclear when the Blade V9 will be released, but it shouldn't be long.