ZTE's elegant Axon Pro sports good looks and powerful specs (pictures)

The premium Axon Pro is ZTE's first flagship handset and features a Snapdragon 810 processor, two rear-facing cameras and a 5.5-inch display. It's available in the US for $500.

The handset has a metal back plate and comes in three color variants: silver, gold and a dark blue with gold accents.

The 5.5-inch screen has Corning Gorilla Glass 3, a 1440p resolution and 534ppi.

The phone measures 6.06 by 2.9 by 0.37 inches. Though it doesn't look as slim and sleek as some high-end Nubia handsets (which is a subsidiary of the ZTE brand), it still has a solid build quality.

Along with a volume rocker, the right edge houses a textured shortcut button below the power key for quick access to the camera.

Powering the handset is an octa-core 2GHz Snapdragon 810 processor from Qualcomm, and a 3,000mAh nonremovable battery that features Quick Charge 2.0 technology.

The Axon Pro runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and features decorative aesthetic accents, which run near the top and bottom bezels, and in between the camera lenses on the device's back.

The handset has an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. On the back is a 13-megapixel shooter that can record 4K HD. A second 2-megapixel lens, which sits above the standard camera, lets you adjust a photo's depth of field after you've clicked the shutter.

The Axon Pro is hands-down the best phone ZTE has made for the US. But it faces stiff competition against the OnePlus 2, another unlocked device that costs $350 and has much of the same specs. Click here to learn more about ZTE phones.