I bought mine from amazon spain for about 380 euros about a month ago and the shipment was about 5 euros, i don't know if this is an option for you but at that time it was the less expensive i found.
The Axon 7, available from JB Hi-Fi for AUD699, will be Daydream-ready once the 7.1.1 Nougat update becomes available, which should happen in the next 2-3 weeks (some people are running a beta build already, and there are very few bugs).
Or you can pick one up from Amazon Italy for ~AUD480.00 shipped (VAT gets removed during checkout). Amazon IT will even honour the 2 Year EU legal guarantee for Australian customers in case you need to make a warranty claim.
So even including a Daydream View headset at full price, the cost need not be even half of what you're suggesting.
Looks officially available on Amazon.de if you want to import.
But with the shit £ looks like it will cost ~£420. Anyone have any idea what the UK RRP would be?
Been waiting since July for a restock, beginning to give up hope it will ever release here :(
https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01I092IPC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Was a bit more expensive than when I bought it, EUR 380 seems pretty reasonable!
I don't really know since I live in US. You can try and buy it on Amazon. https://www.amazon.co.uk/ZTE-Axon-7-grey-unlocked/dp/B01I092IPC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498180038&sr=8-1&keywords=Axon+7
You can try eBay but the seller is from China, so you are expecting a long wait. Not sure how reliable it is getting it shipped from China. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Unlocked-5-5-ZTE-AXON-7-Quad-Core-4G-LTE-Android-6-0-Smartphone-20MP-Dual-SIM-/232240934359?var=&hash=item3612a36dd7:m:mRZKUzAJCTRCM8ImY_mNEQg
Either way, it is under your max budget. You can wait for newer phone to come out if you are interest. There is newer Axon phone but not sure how well it would. It is up to you.
For me, I am just simply happy with my ZTE Axon 7 for its price and performances.
Edit:
Forgot to answer your last part. Well, the "4-6 batteries on screen" is basically where it allows you to monitor how long you have been using your phone while it is on. I don't mean like playing some music and turning off the screen then go on your day. It is more of like you are constantly using your phone non-stop like browsing reddit. Someone can correct me if I am wrong but that is what I believe it is. Of course, you can't really check it on your iPhone because Apple didn't really allow it or something with their battery monitoring app. For Android user, I believe some of us use GSam Battery Monitor.