Shanghai/ Los Angeles. While the digital world increasingly merges with our physical habitat the demand for sophisticated, integrative devices grows. However, for many businesses the true integration of the physical and digital worlds in their products still remains a key challenge. An industry that stands out in this respect certainly is telecommunications, with smart phones having become the harbinger of integrated experiences. To take this experience yet one step further, ZTE corporation’s mobile devices division has partnered with BMW Group daughter company Designworks to create ZTE’s new flagship smart phone, the AXON 7.
Seamless is the new black.
Innovation needs integration: In the future, business success will significantly depend on the ability of companies to offer truly integrated, seamless experiences. As a BMW Group daughter company and experienced wanderer between the worlds of many industries, Designworks is dedicated to creating premium interactions between information, products and people with creative solutions. This is what ZTE was looking for when they tasked Designworks with the product and user experience design for their new AXON 7. The result is a smart phone that is not just about superior casing, but equally about information design, resulting in an interface where function meets art.
The Design of AXON 7: An Emotional Icon of Digital Life.
Given the plethora of information at the user’s fingertips, AXON 7 was kept pure, sleek and simple and without a single tooled edge to snag the tactile experience. Its paper-thin form is elegant, comfortable to hold, and streamlined to fit within a user’s pockets. By focusing on and enhancing the human aspects of the user interaction with AXON, it offers a highly intuitive user experience that virtually “warms up” technology. It thereby creates an experience that is not only natural and desirable but also one that is memorable and will be closely linked to the ZTE brand.
Unique product features of AXON 7 include ZTE’s dual speaker layout, which is called out expressively in the design via refined grilles on either side of the phone. Designworks also optimized the authentication ritual which often is not very ergonomic, involving a risk of the user dropping the device. With the new AXON 7 authentication becomes intuitive and easy by tapping an index finger on the back of the phone where the user’s index finger naturally grips it. The recess around the fingerprint ID sensor provides haptic feedback to the user so he is able to locate the fingerprint ID sensor by feel without smudging the adjacent camera lens.
The design team´s premium and innovative approach to color, material, and finish treatment significantly contributes to the phone´s sensuous appeal: sophisticated rich premium finishes were chosen while the jewel-like detailing is inspired by handmade timepieces. Authentic materials were used to create a substantial, durable feel which highlights its superior craftsmanship. The AXON 7 is a smart phone that is timely and timeless in its appeal. It is unrivalled in the market and an emotional icon of digital life.
Designworks, A BMW Group Company
Designworks is a BMW Group company and a creative consultancy that’s been driving innovation for more than forty years. Acquired by BMW Group in 1995, Designworks enables its parent company as well as internationally-renowned clients outside the automotive industry to grow their businesses through design and creative consulting services. With clients including BMW, MINI, Rolls Royce, HP, Microsoft, Corsair, Coca Cola, Embraer, Neil Pryde, John Deere, Siemens Trains and Singapore Airlines, Designworks is deeply immersed in a broad cross-section of industries. With studios in Los Angeles, Munich and Shanghai, Designworks draws upon unique and vibrant resources of knowledge to create the future.
www.bmwgroupdesignworks.com
The BMW Group
With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2015, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.247 million cars and nearly 137,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2015 was approximately € 9.22 billion on revenues amounting to € 92.18 billion. As of 31 December 2015, the BMW Group had a workforce of 122,244 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.
www.bmwgroup.com
ZTE Mobile Devices
ZTE Mobile Devices is a division of ZTE Corporation, a global telecommunications equipment, networks and mobile devices company headquartered in Shenzhen, China. ZTE is a publicly traded company listed on the Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock exchanges.
ZTE is one of the global leaders in the mobile handset manufacturing industry in the world, offering a complete range of mobile devices, including mobile phones, tablets, mobile broadband modems and hotspots and family desktop integration terminals. ZTE has partnered with over 230 major carriers, including the world’s top 50 carriers, and distributers in more than 160 countries and regions around the globe.
www.ztedevice.com
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