Yota Devices and ZTE have announced a new partnership this morning. From the next generation onwards, the chinese OEM will produce YotaPhones for the Russian manufacturer, with the 3rd gen smartphone scheduled for a Q1 2016 release. The companies haven’t revealed specifics on the financial terms of the deal, but it will see future YotaPhones be made in China and see a significant reduction in the cost of producing the devices. Previous models were built in a Hi-P factory in Singapore…

Yota expects that getting ZTE onboard to assemble devices will reduce manufacturing costs by more than 30-percent, perhaps enabling the company to launch the YotaPhone 3 at a much lower price to consumers than its predecessors. As part of the ‘cooperation’, ZTE will use the YotaPhone 3 as a platform to show off its mobile apps, to build its presence in the Android software world.

“The partnership involves the production of new generation of YotaPhone smartphones, as well as the development and integration of mobile services and software,” the company’s report said. At the same time the special edition of YotaPhone will be assembled in Russia.

YotaPhone is a unique device which features two screens. The front display is a traditional color touchscreen, while the rear panel is a monochromatic E-ink display similar to that used on Kindle e-book readers and Pebble smartwatches. Although it has a slower refresh rate than the primary display, it does allow users to have useful widgets constantly on display, or to read books without consuming much battery juice. The most recent version, the YotaPhone 2, was the first to be available in the States and by the end of 2014 was sold in Russia, plus 20 other countries across the globe.

Between now and the YotaPhone 3’s launch, Yota Devices hopes to expand its presence to further markets and will open new offices in Canada, China and the States soon. It’s clear then, the YotaPhone wasn’t just an unusual tester device, or experiment. Yota is serious about expansion and growth, and by securing a deal with one of the world’s biggest device manufacturers, it could have just secured itself a bright, financially stable future.

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