Being unique doesn't mean it's not good.

Up to now, most mainstream Ultra imaging flagships have been released, but the battle for Ultra is far from over.

Nubia enters the market with the half-generation upgraded Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition. The official has preheated its core selling points for a long time. Compared to the Z70 Ultra, it has been upgraded in terms of imaging and battery hardware, and also brings a special appearance that pays homage to classic retro cameras.

(Image from Leitech)

In terms of price, the Nubia Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition maintains the same level as the Z70 Ultra, starting at 4599 yuan. After the national subsidy, the price starts at 4099 yuan, with a maximum option of 24GB+1TB (6299 yuan). It can be said that it offers more without increasing the price.

I have been using this phone for a few days. Next, follow my perspective and see how this special Ultra flagship performs.

Unique True Full-Screen and Design Language

If you're tired of the "super-sized" phones on the market, the Nubia Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition will be an interesting option.

The Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition has almost nothing to do with smoothness, at most only the curvature of the four corners of the frame. Coupled with the narrow black borders of the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition's screen, the official data shows that the narrowest part is only 1.25mm. With the seventh-generation under-screen camera technology, the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition looks like a complete screen when viewed from the front.

(Image from Leitech)

In the past, true full-screen phones generally had a screen resolution of 1080P to accommodate the display effect of the front camera area. Combining the latest under-screen camera technology, Nubia and Red Magic's latest flagship models are equipped with 1.5K resolution displays that support a 144Hz refresh rate, achieving both fine display resolution and true full-screen aesthetics.

Since the Z50 Ultra, Nubia has continued to use true full-screen design with a square and business-oriented aesthetic. Its design language is unique, and it is currently the only company with a relatively mature true full-screen solution.

(Image from Leitech)

I've also checked the position of the under-screen camera. Except for extremely low-light scenes at night where it might be noticeable, it's basically impossible to notice the front camera in daily use. As for front camera selfies, with the support of AI high-definition algorithms, they are more usable than before.

Compared to the previously released Z70 Ultra, the back of the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition has undergone more significant changes, mainly in the rear cover. It replaces the glass with a dual-texture design, one of which is laser-etched, officially known as "leather texture glass." The touch is unique, with sufficient friction. I recommend giving it a try.

The Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition I have is a black and silver combination, complemented by the red ring around the main camera and the small red logo in the top right corner, giving it a classic retro camera vibe.

(Image from Leitech)

Besides the power and volume buttons on both sides, the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition also has a two-stage button and a traditional two-stroke physical camera button. You can half-press to focus and fully press to take a photo. Personally, I think it provides a more tangible interaction compared to integrated camera control solutions.

I have to say, with this set of designs, the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition does have a sense of retro camera ritual.

As I said before, if you're tired of the mainstream Ultra phone designs, the Nubia Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition is indeed a product worth considering. After all, by 2025, flagship phone experiences and designs will gradually converge, and only brands like Nubia dare to pursue differentiation.

35mm Leader, Beyond One Inch, Rich Filter Play

Nubia's imaging is also differentiated.

First, let's talk about Nubia's fifth-generation 35mm high-end optical lens. As early as the Z40 series, Nubia introduced a main camera with a native 35mm focal length.

(Image from Leitech)

Nowadays, more brands are choosing this focal length. The recently released vivo X200 Ultra has a main camera with an equivalent focal length of 35mm. Ni Fei, President of the ZTE Mobile Devices Division and Nubia Technology, has expressed high recognition for the 35mm focal length and hopes that the industry will follow suit.

Getting off topic, the 35mm focal length has higher requirements for lens group space. Considering phone thickness control, large sensors generally cannot be accommodated. Even though a large aperture can achieve a light intake "comparable to one inch," the upper limit of a 1/1.56 sensor is ultimately limited.

Therefore, the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition replaces it with a custom OmniVision OV990 sensor, increasing the sensor size to 1/1.3, almost on par with the main camera of the vivo X200 Ultra.

The 35mm focal length is recognized as a humanistic focal length in the industry. Its perspective is narrower compared to conventional 24mm and 28mm focal lengths, with almost negligible edge distortion, making it easier to capture narrative scenes.

(Image from Leitech)

Without cropping, the 35mm main camera of the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition can utilize the entire sensor, providing better results than traditional main camera focal length cropping. Coupled with a large aperture, it can create a natural shallow depth of field effect purely optically. Whether it's day or night, the HDR algorithm is actively engaged, and the background processing speed is relatively fast.

(Image from Leitech)

The camera interface focuses more on professional parameter presentation, defaulting to displaying the focal length rather than the magnification. The default photo mode is 24mm, cropped from the ultra-wide angle. In the system settings, you can also switch whether third-party apps call the main camera or ultra-wide-angle lens. It's very thoughtful.

In terms of style, Nubia's default color scheme tends towards high saturation. The current version has some sharpening and smoothing, but overall, it still looks good.

After a few days of experience, the most fun part of the Nubia Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition is actually the filters, including those in the Humanistic Street Photography mode, which offer rich play options. If you feel the built-in filters are insufficient, you can import third-party filter files, keeping the fun in your hands.

(Image from Leitech)

The flagship-level periscope telephoto and ultra-wide-angle lenses are both excellent, with the former supporting a minimum focusing distance of 15cm.

(Image from Leitech)

In addition, based on AI functionality, each special imaging feature of the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition has the ability for intelligent scene recognition and algorithm matching. Modes like sunset and starry sky are also very iconic within the Nubia camera family.

From the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition, it can be seen that Nubia's approach to imaging flagships is also based on differentiation. The 35mm focal length, which it "claimed" early on, has demonstrated even stronger capabilities with the new large sensor, offering better dynamic range and stronger scene adaptability.

With rich film filters and local filter resource imports, Nubia seems to be treating the Ultra flagship's imaging like a retro camera, emphasizing stronger artistic and stylized elements. Those who pursue the output of CCD, film cameras, and retro cameras may find this "niche" existence more interesting.

Solid Performance and Battery Life, Ultra is Not Inferior to Performance Phones

Flagship phones with the Ultra suffix often compromise on battery and heat dissipation for heavy imaging hardware to maintain top-notch imaging capabilities. This is the current industry consensus. Therefore, due to limited stacking space, although imaging flagships are equipped with the latest flagship chips, their performance release tends to be relatively conservative, and battery capacity is difficult to increase.

The Nubia Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition chooses to "have it all," equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen2+ and the largest 6600mAh battery capacity among Ultra flagships.

Talking about performance, I briefly tested "Honkai: Star Rail" (5G network + extreme graphics, 15 minutes of Laguna City map running + 15 minutes of wild monster hunting). The average frame rate throughout was pulled to 60fps with minimal frame rate fluctuations, and CPU frequency scheduling was quite active.

(Image from Leitech)

The body heat is mainly concentrated on the frame. Due to aggressive scheduling, playing high-load games for a long time inevitably results in a noticeable temperature rise. But thinking positively, for an Ultra-positioned imaging flagship to be able to play large games for a long time without frame rate locking or brightness reduction is also a kind of "Ultra".

The Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition supports 80W wired charging, taking about 46 minutes to charge from 1% to 100%. To be honest, looking at the charging curve, the strategy of the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition is similar to that of mainstream models. However, during the trickle charging stage, it still maintains an input power of about 30W, which is one of the reasons for its shorter charging time.

(Image from Leitech)

Charge separation is an old tradition of Nubia phones, convenient for charging and using simultaneously, and it also reduces heat slightly.

Meanwhile, the packaging comes with a C-to-C charging kit, and the phone itself supports higher-power PD public protocols. Not being picky about chargers is also a good thing.

Regarding the system experience, I will briefly summarize it as well. Nubia's latest Nebula AIOS 1.5 has made some upgrades in interaction and AI functionality, deeply integrating the DeepSeek large model. It supports long-pressing the bottom navigation bar to wake up and other AI functions as expected. Overall, it is very smooth to use, with responsive tap operations. Nubia's foundation in system-level scheduling optimization is indeed solid.

If the visual system and interaction coherence of the entire system can be further upgraded, Nebula AIOS will be a deeply customized system closer to perfection.

Summary: A Solid and Unique "Ultra"

Today, with highly convergent experiences and designs, it's actually difficult to find some differentiated value in the phone market. I'm not saying that mainstream products are wrong; they cater to the "correct" side. However, there are also people in the market who hope to pursue something different.

Honestly, whether it's performance, design, or imaging, any of these aspects alone is enough to prove the uniqueness of the Nubia Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition. In some aspects, it can even surpass mainstream Ultra models.

(Image from Leitech)

Despite its uniqueness, the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition's hardware configuration tries to meet the industry's average standards: reasonably positioned optical fingerprint unlocking, dual speakers, full-featured NFC, an X-axis vibration motor...

From this perspective, Nubia's personality is not based on "capriciousness."

Is the personality-packed Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition still worth choosing? The answer depends on how much you desire "difference." But I believe it is a relatively balanced "Ultra" that also showcases personality.

Being able to retain exclusive and core technologies and selling points through so many generations, Nubia does have something unique and persistent. Innovations that once caught users' eyes are now being followed by the industry. I am also pleased to see that this brand, which has always adhered to its original intentions, is leading the new direction of mobile imaging development with its continuously iterated hardcore technological strength.

   Source: Leitech