Nubia's products always catch the eye

For me, Nubia has always been a somewhat special brand.

Compared to Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, Nubia is much more low-key, but it is indeed the only manufacturer still insisting on updating its under-display camera technology in the market. It is precisely this persistence that brings a touch of vitality to the otherwise somewhat dull mobile phone market. Although I don't quite understand why Nubia is so obsessed with under-display cameras, at least it shows us possibilities beyond the punch-hole design.

And recently, Nubia released its latest flagship product – the Nubia Z60 Ultra Advanced Edition. As the only imaging phone with an under-display camera on the market, what is its actual experience like?

(Image source: Lei Technology)

OK, let's dive straight into the actual testing.

Square and sturdy, but the feel is...

The first impression of the Nubia Z60 Ultra Advanced Edition is "square." Whether it's the overall shape of the phone, the vertical borders, the right-angle corners, or the camera module on the back, they all highlight the word "square." Coupled with the flat screen and back panel, it gives off a "tough guy" vibe.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

The front of the Nubia Z60 Ultra Advanced Edition is very pleasing to the eye. Both the forehead and the left and right borders are handled quite well, and this border narrowness is top-notch in the entire mobile phone market. By the way, it's also one of the few phones on the market that uses under-display camera technology, so in terms of front appearance and screen-to-body ratio, it is definitely "far ahead."

Since we're talking about the screen, let's mention the screen parameters: 2480*1116 resolution, 1500nit local peak brightness, 2.5D flexible straight screen, 2160Hz ultra-high-frequency PWM dimming, 120Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 wide color gamut, making it a relatively standard screen.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

Of course, the biggest highlight of the Z60 Ultra is not the screen parameters but the front camera that has nearly completely "disappeared." According to the official description, it is equipped with a UDC Ultra independent display chip, independent pixel drive, and high-transparency invisible circuit, among other high-tech configurations. Setting aside these promotional terms, from a personal perspective, the Z60 Ultra will make you completely forget the existence of this front camera during daily use, whether it's a white page or a black page. If you don't look carefully, you won't even notice it.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

Flipping to the back, its camera module design also continues the "rugged" style of Nubia's Z series. Within the rectangular module, the main camera is surrounded by Nubia's classic "red ring" as a decorative ring, along with Nubia's own "neo" red dot, and this protruding and three-dimensional periscope camera, creating a seemingly casual but actually very eye-catching camera Deco.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

The two-stage toggle button, which has received rave reviews on Nubia's Z series, has also been carried over to the Z60 Ultra. At first glance, it looks like the silent toggle button on an iPhone, but in fact, it's a button that can quickly wake up the camera (of course, you can also change it to other functions in the settings, with the default being to open the camera's street photography mode). In actual tests, it can quickly switch to the camera page whether in-game or in a power-off state, which is quite commendable for a phone that focuses on photography.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

In summary, the design of the Z60 Ultra is indeed unique in today's market, with its square body, excellent front appearance, and "exaggerated" camera module, making it suitable for users who prefer a rugged look. However, the right-angle borders of the Z60 Ultra are a bit "too straight," and combined with its already not-thin body, the grip feel can only be described as average, and it's even worse without a case.

If Nubia can consider reducing the screen size or rounding the corners in the future, it might significantly improve the grip experience.

35mm main camera, still unique

In this era of one-inch sensors, Nubia has still chosen not to follow the trend but to stick with the 35mm custom lens. This time, the Z60 Ultra's main camera is equipped with the IMX906 sensor, which upgrades to a larger aperture, further improving the light-gathering aperture of the lens. This is also the largest main camera light intake in the industry, even surpassing one-inch sensors.

(Image source: Nubia official)

I suspect many readers are still confused at this point, so let me explain in more detail. In most cases, the focal length of a phone's main camera is 23mm, while Nubia uses 35mm. These two focal lengths are also very common in photography. These two focal lengths represent the same angle of view in APS-C and full-frame formats, respectively, and the conversion factor between them is 1.5. In other words, a 1.5x magnification of an equivalent 23mm main camera is exactly equivalent to 35mm. By the way, the conversion factor between Nubia's sensor and a one-inch sensor is also roughly 1.5.

In the simplest terms, when shooting 35mm photos, the Nubia Z60 Ultra Advanced Edition can use the entire CMOS and lens, resulting in better imaging performance and higher pixel count.

The reason Nubia has insisted on 35mm is simple: this focal length is closest to the human eye's field of view, better emphasizing the subject and making people focus more on the specific scenes and situations being captured rather than exaggerated perspectives, giving a strong sense of detachment from the equipment. This is also true in the photography industry, where the 35mm focal length is widely applicable for subjects such as landscapes, portraits, street photography, and close-ups.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

By the way, the periscope telephoto lens of the Nubia Z60 Ultra Advanced Edition also uses a custom 85mm focal length, which is suitable for shooting half-length portraits and some humanistic scenes, and is also a commonly used focal length among many photography enthusiasts. Just from the focal length aspect, it can be seen that Nubia has a unique and professional understanding of photography. If you're also a photography enthusiast, the Nubia Z60 Ultra Advanced Edition will definitely give you a familiar feeling.

As can be seen from the photos, the imaging quality of the main camera and telephoto lens of the Nubia Z60 Ultra Advanced Edition is almost impeccable, with no smearing or noise issues, and the overall color performance is also very pleasing and natural.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

However, Nubia may not have put much effort into flare suppression, and if there are high-brightness light sources in the image, the overall imaging performance will be affected. Although I don't recommend taking photos directly against light sources like the sun, mediocre anti-flare capabilities can limit many compositional techniques, and I hope Nubia can improve this in the future.

The street photography mode is a major highlight of the Nubia Z60 Ultra Advanced Edition and the one I've used most frequently these days. After enabling this mode, you can select various film filters in the upper right corner of the page, and several of these filters are color-tuned so well that it feels like using a film camera.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

In addition, in certain scenes, the Nubia Z60 Ultra Advanced Edition will thoughtfully add vignetting to enhance the overall atmosphere, which is also a common shooting technique in photography, showing that Nubia's photography team truly understands the various shooting needs of photography enthusiasts.

Flagship specifications, performance taken to the next level

Of course, as a flagship product starting at 4,299 yuan, the Nubia Z60 Ultra Advanced Edition doesn't hold back on specifications. It is equipped with the third-generation Snapdragon 8 "Advanced" processor, which is currently the most powerful processor in the Android market. Compared to the third-generation Snapdragon 8 processor, its CPU supercore frequency is increased to 3.4Ghz, and the GPU frequency is increased to 1Ghz, making it a typical half-generation overclocked version.

Without further ado, let's dive into the testing. In the popular AnTuTu benchmark test, the Nubia Z60 Ultra Advanced Edition scored 2,054,529 points without enabling performance mode, truly deserving of the title of the current benchmark king.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

In GeekBench6, the Nubia Z60 Ultra Advanced Edition also achieved excellent scores of 2188 for single-core and 6867 for multi-core, still leading the pack.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

As for why performance mode was not enabled during the benchmark tests, it's because I found a small bug in Nubia's system. Perhaps Nubia is very confident in its gaming performance, and whenever a user enters the performance mode in the Game Cube, the system plays an "exaggerated" animation to inform the user that "the phone has entered performance mode," which is understandable. However, when AnTuTu finishes rendering and prepares to move on to the next step, the built-in Game Space immediately plays the animation again, resulting in unstable frame rates throughout the test process and lower scores than in regular mode.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

Next up is the gaming test section that everyone is more concerned about. Actually, most readers can already guess the results. Currently, these mobile games on the market are no match for the third-generation Snapdragon 8 Advanced.

First is "League of Legends: Wild Rift." Under room temperature conditions of 26℃, after playing three or four games continuously, the Nubia Z60 Ultra Advanced Edition can stably maintain around 120 frames throughout, with no lag during either the laning phase or team fights.

In "Genshin Impact," with graphics and frame rate set to the highest, the average frame rate during a half-hour run was 59.4 frames, showing no signs of pressure.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

It is clear that current games pose no challenge to the Nubia Z60 Ultra Advanced Edition, and perhaps future mobile chip developments will focus more on energy efficiency rather than performance, as there are very few scenarios today that can fully utilize the processor's capabilities.

While on the topic of charging, the Nubia Z60 Ultra Advanced Edition is equipped with a massive 6000mAh battery, which is one of the reasons why its body is slightly thicker. The 80W wired fast charging, while somewhat standard by today's standards, can still quickly replenish the battery for users.

Summary: Still the most distinctive flagship

As usual, I'll summarize some of the pros and cons of this phone.

Pros:

1. Excellent imaging performance, and the insistence on the 35mm focal length is commendable;

2. Aggressive performance scheduling, not inferior to some gaming phones;

3. Reasonable focal length settings, making it easier to get started.

Cons:

1. Average grip feel, with room for improvement;

2. There are still quite a few minor issues with the system that require more OTA updates to resolve.

By the way, the starting price of the Nubia Z60 Ultra Advanced Edition is 4,299 yuan, with the top-end model priced at 5,999 yuan. This pricing also aligns with its position as an imaging flagship.

(Image source: Nubia official)

In the era when the smartphone market was highly competitive, Nubia managed to accumulate a considerable fan base due to its exceptional innovation. Features like the 2.5D glass with a bezel-less design, diverse camera functions such as shooting the night sky and the Milky Way, the built-in fan for extreme performance, and the all-screen design of the Nubia X all redefined consumer perceptions. Many of these advanced concepts were also adopted and continued by numerous competitors.

Today, Nubia remains true to its innovative spirit. While the industry trends converge, Nubia continues to follow its unique path, making continuous advancements in areas like the 35mm main camera and under-screen camera technology. Although its screen may not be the best, its camera may not be top-tier, and its charging speed, battery capacity, and performance aren't perfect, it offers a well-rounded experience in its price range with some unique highlights. Thus, I believe the Nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Edition qualifies as a good product.

However, it is worth noting that despite its balanced and distinctive features, the Nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Edition still has some shortcomings in its system. Hopefully, Nubia will address these issues in future OTA updates, transforming it into a truly user-friendly flagship all-rounder.