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Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 Review: Cheap Phone with Triple Rear Camera

Consider throwing away your old smartphone and changing to the new one? The Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 could be your next smartphone.

Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 Review

The Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 smartphone was launched in 2020. Today, many smartphones are floating around the market, from the cheapest to the most expensive ones, from entry-level to flagship ones. Each brand offers its own selling points and looking for one that fits us the most could be very exhausting.

The Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 is a smartphone with a budget-friendly price. Nevertheless, it still has several advantages for users. Let’s say their triple camera, the ideal battery capacity, and the large display screen for us to experience the device.

However, deciding to buy a new smartphone requires a lot of thought. You can’t just buy random smartphones because it would cost you much. The Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 review will give you a big picture of the device, and hopefully, it suits your needs.

Key Specs

Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 specifications:

Weight195g
Dimensions164.3 x 76.7 x 8.8mm
OSAndroid 10
Screen size6.4-inch
Resolution720 x 1560
ProcessorMediaTek Helio P22 (MT6762D)
CPUOcta-core (8×1.8 GHz Cortex-A53)
Storage32GB
Battery5,000mAh, Non-removable
Rear camera16MP + 8MP + 2MP
Front camera8MP
FeaturesFingerprint Reader, Fast Charging

Design

Consumer Cellular ZMax 10
Consumer Cellular ZMax 10

There is nothing special with the Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 appearance. It looks similar to most other smartphones. This phone is fairly big, with a length of 164.3mm and a width of 76.7mm. The big battery contributes greatly to the phone’s 195g weight. However, it’s naturally fine and easy to grip. Comfortable enough in our palm hand.

Let’s take a look at the front area. The Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 gives us a 6.4-inch display screen surrounded by narrow bezels. The three main buttons are placed on the screen, which honestly the screens could be stretched a little more to give us more space. The front camera is also in a tear-drop design at the top center.

As for the other part, you won’t see anything except the triple rear camera with a rectangular design, plus the LED flash. A fingerprint reader and the Consumer Cellular big logo are also on the bottom.

Read also: Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 User Manual

Display

Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 Display

The Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 has a 6.4-inch display screen that scratches almost the entire screen. This screen is quite a big canvas for users to navigate and do all their digital activities. Thanks to the big size, we don’t need to make our eyes do the extra work to see the small phone’s contents.

A 720 x 1560 pixel resolution is complemented by the Consumer Cellular ZMax 10’s big screen. It means you can enjoy an HD+ display screen, the standard quality of a budget smartphone. Even though it is not the best quality, like full HD+ or AMOLED, we can still experience a rich and vivid color.

On top of that, the Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 also has a pressure sensitive touchscreen. This feature allows us to easily click and navigate the phone’s operation.

Camera

Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 Camera

The Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 is equipped with a triple rear camera. The best thing you will get on an entry-level smartphone, though. It doesn’t have a high megapixel, but these triple cameras can make your photography experience more satisfying.

These cameras consist of 16MP as the main camera to capture a high-quality picture, an 8MP ultra-wide camera for taking a panoramic picture, and a 2MP camera to take a close-up picture. The cameras are already integrated with the Artificial Intelligence (AI) feature.

The 8MP front-facing camera also works nicely to take a selfie. It would be useful if you’re a heavy user of video meetings. Whether the front or back camera can record a video with 1080p resolution.

Storage

With the triple rear camera we expect a huge phone’s storage. But unfortunately, the Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 only has 32GB of internal storage to store the phone’s contents and applications. It is a standard size for a budget smartphone, but we didn’t think it was enough since we could barely get the entire storage.

However, the Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 comes with an expansion storage choice. This phone is quite generous by allowing us to expand the MicroSD storage by up to 2TB. To do this, you must buy the external storage separately and install it into your smartphone.

Read also: Wiko Voix Review: Dual Camera With Advanced Security Features

Performance

Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 Side View

The Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 performance depends on the MediaTek Helio P22 (MT6762D) as its processor. This is the most common processor you can get from a budget phone. It is designed to carry on maximum performance while maintaining power efficiency.

The 1.8GHz clock rate speed is helpful to ensure the device has a smooth and stable performance without overloading. Even though it doesn’t give us high-speed performance, this is still reliable for lightweight tasks.

It is possible to access lightweight activities such as browsing the internet and social media, watching videos, and playing small games. However, it is different when you’re accessing high-intense apps such as playing 3D games and scrolling through e-commerce. The performance will drop to a low level.

The Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 comes with Android 10 as its operating system. This is one of the phone’s weaknesses since this version is outdated, even though you can update it to the latest one later.

The Android 10 lacks some advanced features but still has nice improvements. For example, this version still has better privacy management. It gives you full control over how your data will be shared. Android 10 also has a dark mode and a smart reply feature.

Securing the Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 could be done with a fingerprint lock. The fingerprint reader can be found on the back of the phone. You can unlock the device within a second with this sensor.

Connectivity

The Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 relies on 4G LTE connectivity as its main network connectivity. You can even use the older bands, but we recommend you keep up with the 4G one because it is the most reliable connection. VoLTE can also be enjoyed for clear call quality.

With the Consumer Cellular ZMax 10, users can also experience other connectivity for sharing purposes such as Bluetooth and the USB Type-C cable. Bluetooth allows you to wirelessly transfer your personal content. In contrast, USB Type-C allows you to transfer files into a computer with a wire.

Battery

The Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 battery is one of our most satisfying aspects. It has a large 5,000mAh battery capacity, enough to accompany us all day. Although the real-time battery performance will vary for every user. Remember, the more intense you get with the device, the quicker battery will be drained off.

Moreover, the Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 also comes with a fast-charging feature. Another plus point is that we can expect the battery to be fully charged within 2 hours or so. A non-removable battery type is also advantageous since it’s more durable than the other type.

Verdict

The Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 only cost us $119. It’s considered affordable for an entry-level smartphone with several interesting specs and functions. The triple rear camera and huge battery are many reasons to buy the device.

However, we notice several drawbacks, such as low internal storage and the operating system still using Android 10. It isn’t very pleasant, but if you don’t mind those, you can still give it a go.

Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 Pros:

  • Affordable price
  • Triple rear-camera
  • Huge battery

Consumer Cellular ZMax 10 Cons:

  • Low internal storage
  • Android 10

Alternatives

There are two entry-level smartphone options if you aren’t satisfied with the Consumer Cellular ZMax 10. First off, we came up with Visible Midnight. This phone is far cheaper and comes up with better specifications; Android 11 and wireless charging.

The other smartphone option is the Cricket Dream 5G. It also has a lower price and is equipped with a quad-camera and wireless charging.