Close to a month ago, a ZTE community member shared an image of the Axon 7 running Android 8.0 Oreo, prompting suggestions that the company had commenced the beta program. As it turned out, this was perhaps another case of the ever-increasing instances of pre-mature OS releases.

On the brighter side, ZTE has now made it official that the Axon 7 Android 8.0 Oreo beta program is now open to those with model number A2017U. It’s about six months since Google released Oreo and only a few weeks before the first Android P developer preview goes live, but it’s nothing unusual for a non-Google company, especially one from China, to be struggling with OS upgrades at this point in time.

If it makes you feel better, the leading smartphone vendor in the world, Samsung, has yet to make a major mark in the world of Android Oreo, especially after halting the Galaxy S8 Oreo update that had started rolling out last week.

To take part in the Axon 7 Oreo beta program, ZTE says that you need to be using the most recent software with build number B35. Also, you need to hurry since space is limited. You can submit your interest to join the program by filling this form.

The ZTE Axon 7 was unveiled in 2016, but there was no Axon 8 in 2017. As a result, the company is said to be working on a new Axon 9, which you can read all about here.