ZTE Axon 9 coming this year, CEO confirms
The Axon 7 and Axon 7s were a lot of phone for not a lot of money and ZTEs pivot to a close to stock Android made us wish for a successor. Well, in an interview ZTE CEO Cheng Lixin talked about the foldable Axon M, but also announced that the company will launch a new device in the line.
It will be called ZTE Axon 9. The number 8 is getting skipped over, reportedly because of how it sounds in Chinese - axon sounds like sky machine, but add the 8 and it starts sounding like mess up.
Whatever the name, ZTE wants to boost its market presence mostly in China as the company is pleased with its performance in the US. Before the Axon M, the Axon line hadnt had a flagship in a while. The nubia line does get high-end devices more regularly, but it de-emphasises its ZTE heritage.
Source (in Chinese)