As smartphones get faster and smarter, prices tend to go up. Leases have become a trend this year, and the ZTE Lease program has been announced as a way to let folks pick up a new flagship sans the carrier.

We’ve seen a number of companies throw their hat into the wild world of smartphone leasing this year, even if most use fancy buzzwords in place of actually calling it a lease. ZTE didn’t want to be left out of the action, especially with their slick new Axon smartphone lineup. If you reside if the states and have been looking to pick up one of the company’s smartphones, the ZTE Lease program may be just the thing for you.

ZTE has joined forces with SmartPay Leasing for the upcoming ZTE Lease program. While details are a bit vague, the Axon Pro smartphone and the ZTE Spro 2 smart projector will be a part of the promotion along with several other ZTE/Axon devices. The leases will vary between 6 to 24 months with the first payment being made at the time of purchase when you checkout from their online shop.

ZTE didn’t give a date of when the new ZTE Lease program will go live, but we do know it will only be available to customers in the US initially. It remains to be seen how well people will take to the new program, but it’s a good thing if you’ve been hoping more manufacturers would jump on the financing bandwagon.

Would you like to see Samsung and major manufacturers give you the option to buy unlocked devices on a payment plan or lease?