Nubia Z60 Ultra Review
The accelerated pace of upstream R&D technology has led to the early release of various new products this year, showcasing different shapes and sizes, such as small-sized straight-screen flagships, one-inch multifocal imaging flagships, high-quality straight-screen flagships, and ultra-bucket all-around flagships—all featuring punched-hole screens.
On December 19, the Nubia Z60 Ultra was introduced as the first under-screen front camera imaging flagship with Snapdragon 8 Gen3, breaking away from the punched-hole screen trend. Let’s delve into the Nubia Z60 Ultra review.
Design and Display
The front design of the Nubia Z60 Ultra is noteworthy for its holeless full-screen design, utilizing the fifth generation of flexible UDC technology. The UDC Ultra-independent display chip, combined with a 400PPI high point under the screen in the front camera area, enhances the overall consistency of the full-screen display compared to its predecessor. The visual impact of the whole screen while watching videos remains impressive.
The phone adheres to Nubia’s recent design language, featuring a square and robust design with an almost flat screen, a right-angle metal frame, and a flat glass back plate. This design deviates from the prevailing roundness of the era, offering a sharp “alternative.” While aesthetically pleasing, the hard chamfered transition may require some adjustment for a comfortable grip.
The Nubia Z60 Ultra’s screen sees a significant upgrade with BOE Q9+ light-emitting materials, addressing issues such as screen color deviation and optimizing power consumption. The screen measures 6.8 inches with a resolution of 2480 × 1116p, supporting a 120Hz high refresh rate and 10-bit color depth. Additionally, it boasts a local peak brightness of up to 1500nit.
Measured results indicate a white background manual maximum brightness of 620nit for the Nubia Z60 Ultra’s screen. Notably, at approximately 110nit and 45% brightness below, the screen switches to 2160Hz high-frequency PWM dimming.
The lens housing design of the Nubia Z60 Ultra stands out as one of the most distinctive designs of the year. The expansive horizontal matrix DECO seamlessly integrates with the back cover, creating a visual impression that transcends the constraints of the edgeless design. Notably, the three lenses exhibit varied shapes and decorative materials, with the primary camera featuring the iconic red circle accent, a nod to Nubia’s imaging brand, NEO VISION.
The aesthetic appeal of the Nubia Z60 Ultra’s design is subjective, garnering admiration from some for its unconventional elegance while others may perceive it as bold and innovative. The rimless and unorthodox lens placement underscores a deliberate emphasis on design aesthetics.
Adding to its distinctive features, the power button of the Nubia Z60 Ultra is adorned with a red studded finish. Moreover, a customized sliding button underneath defaults to the Street Shooter Quick Launch function, offering users the flexibility to configure it for various purposes, such as activating the mute function or flashlight.
Camera Experience
Since its inception, the Nubia brand has continuously explored mobile imaging. Last year marked a significant milestone with the introduction of the industry’s first 35mm custom optical main camera, receiving considerable acclaim for its golden focal length. Users embraced the 35mm focal length shooting mode, yet competing cropped images failed to match the quality delivered by Nubia’s native 35mm capabilities.
The 35mm focal length camera excels in humanities sweeping and other photographic scenes, but when the focus shifts to video scenes, the 35mm view’s content falls short compared to conventional 24mm mobile phones. This discrepancy has placed Nubian mobile phones at a disadvantage in the realm of video content creation.
To address this challenge, the Nubia Z60 Ultra introduces, for the first time, a multi-focal three-main-camera system. Building upon the success of the 35mm golden focal length main camera and an 85mm periscope telephoto lens, the device incorporates an 18mm 50-megapixel 1/1.55″ large bottom ultra-wide-angle lens. This addition facilitates a seamless transition between three practical focal lengths, enhancing the versatility of the camera system.
- Prime: IMX800 1/1.49″ 50Mp f/1.59 OIS 35mm
- Ultra wide-angle: OV50E 1/1.55″ 50Mp f/1.8 OIS 18mm
- Periscope telephoto: OV64B 1/2.0″ 64Mp f/3.3 OIS 85mm
Here’s a set of live-action samples:
The incorporation of the OV50E large-bottom ultra-wide-angle lens significantly enhances the recording capabilities of the Nubia Z60 Ultra. The 18mm aberration-free angle of view offers an improved experience for shooting macro scenes, and all three lenses support 4K 120FPS video recording.
Performance
The Nubia Z60 Ultra features the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen3 processor, known for its excellent energy performance as validated by numerous products. Complementing this, Nubia pairs the LPDDR5X + UFS 4.0 performance duo, offering a maximum memory combination of 16GB + 1TB. The phone also includes an 0815 X-axis linear motor and USB 3.1 Type-C.
Theoretical performance scores include 2.21 million points on AnTuTu and 2210 for GeekBench 6 single-core, with a multi-core score of 7043.
Moving on to the gaming test, the Nubia Z60 Ultra, operating in awakening performance mode with the screen brightness set to 80%, was assessed in a 15°C room temperature environment.
In a 30-minute high-pressure scenario test on the demanding game “Genshin Impact,” running at full high-quality 720p 60 fps mode, the phone exhibited impressive performance. The frame rate remained stable, with only minimal fluctuations observed during intensive moments such as large-scale monster battles and skill executions.
- Results for “Genshin Impact”:
- Final average frame rate: 60.15fps
- Average power consumption: 5.59W
- For “Peace Elite” in smooth image quality:
- Average frame rate: 90.1fps
- Average power consumption: 3.65W
- And for “Honor of Kings” under HD quality:
- Average frame rate: 119.7fps
- Average power consumption: 3.84W
Noteworthy is the gaming space design of the Nubia Z60 Ultra, resembling that of a gaming phone. It features various data panels, auxiliary skills, key mapping, pop-up notifications, and game windows. Combined with the unique straight-screen form factor, the gaming experience surpasses that of many esports gaming phones.
Battery life experience
The Nubia Z60 Ultra boasts a noteworthy battery capacity, utilizing silicon carbon negative high-density material to achieve a substantial 6000mAh super-large capacity. It supports 80W Turbo Spirit Rhinoceros super-fast charging, with the measured peak power reaching about 66W. Charging progress indicates 38% in 11 minutes, 95% in 31 minutes, and a complete charge to 100% in 36 minutes. This charging speed remains impressive, especially considering the substantial size of the battery.
In terms of endurance, simulations of daily heavy use scenarios were conducted. In a setting with a 5G + WIFI network, 120Hz refresh rate, and 100% brightness, the phone underwent successive tests lasting one hour of TikTok, two hours of microblogging, half an hour of Honor of Kings, half an hour of Peace Elite, and one hour of Genshin Impact. Following this five-hour screen-on test, the Nubia Z60 Ultra retained 43% battery. This performance aligns with medium to heavy use scenarios, showcasing endurance comparable to top-tier Snapdragon 8 Gen3 devices.
Conclusion:
The Nubia Z60 Ultra stands out as an exceptionally unique product in the industry. Notably, it features the rare under-screen front camera and a straight screen, coupled with a 35mm custom optical main camera and an 18mm large bottom ultra-wide angle. The inclusion of a 6000mAh silicon-carbon negative electrode large battery adds to its distinctive attributes. Additionally, the moderately placed ultra-thin optical fingerprints and the IP68-rated dust and waterproof capabilities contribute to the overall appeal of the device.
While the product boasts several strengths, there are minor drawbacks such as the motor vibration adjustment and the less pronounced advantage of the three sides. The system also exhibits some small details that could be improved. However, these are minor issues that can be addressed.
Personally, the Author finds great satisfaction with the Nubia Z60 Ultra. In an era of product homogenization, Nubia demonstrates a commitment to introducing new ideas and products to the industry. I look forward to seeing more innovative offerings from Nubia in the future.
Note: This review was originally published by Digital Chat Station.
Don’t miss the latest story – follow us on WhatsApp Channel, Google News, YouTube, and Twitter for the fastest updates!