ZTE confirms Axon 7 will be updated to Android 8.0 Oreo

If you’re still feeling glum about the sad revelation that the Axon 7 has been axed from ZTE’s production slate, then hopefully today’s news direct from the Chinese company’s mouth will help soften the blow.

In a surprising turn, ZTE has confirmed that its beloved mid-range phone will be updated to Android 8.0 Oreo in the near future. In a post on the unofficial ZTE community forums, Z-Union, a ZTE spokesperson said:

“We are announcing now that we are already developing Android 8 for the Axon 7, your positive feedback has been inspiring us a lot and made us very happy and because of this we try to get it customer ready as soon as possible for the best customers in the world, and I ask for your understanding because we still need some time to perfect it.”

While there’s no confirmed timeframe – the thread is titled “Android 8 is just around the corner” – the news that the Axon 7 will enjoy all of the myriad benefits of Oreo is enough reason for celebration.

The Axon 7 originally launched in mid-2016 rocking Android Marshmallow out of the box with ZTE’s MiFavor UI over the top. The flagship killer was later upgraded to Android Nougat, which some may have assumed would be the end of the line for major OS updates.

As the folks over at Phandroid note, the confirmation comes via a European forum, although it seems likely that the Oreo update will eventually roll out to other regions, including the US.

In addition, it’s worth remembering that Axon M users are still waiting on Google’s latest update to arrive and ZTE will no doubt prioritize its unique dual-screen phone. It’s also unclear whether or not ZTE will stop at 8.0 or continue on to version 8.1 that recently rolled out for the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.

Although it’s not quite the Axon 8 announcement some fans are hoping for, today’s news could mark a nice final hurrah for a phone that remains a firm favorite here at Android Authority.