The battle for supremacy among Ultra imaging flagships has reached a fever pitch, yet the fight rages on. Nubia has entered the fray with its half-generation upgrade, the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition. After a lengthy buildup, officials have unveiled its core selling points. Compared to the Z70 Ultra, this version boasts upgrades in imaging hardware and battery, along with a special design that pays homage to classic retro cameras.

(Image courtesy of Leikeji)

Price-wise, the Nubia Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition maintains the same tier as the Z70 Ultra, starting at 4599 yuan. After national subsidies, the price drops to 4099 yuan, with the top-tier option featuring 24GB+1TB storage priced at 6299 yuan. In essence, it offers more without increasing the price tag.

Having used this phone for a few days, let me guide you through its performance from my perspective.

Unique True Full-Screen Design and Aesthetic Language

If you're tired of the ubiquitous "super cup" designs, the Nubia Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition offers an intriguing alternative. It eschews rounded corners, opting instead for a sharp, angular look with rounded edges only at the frame's corners. Coupled with its ultra-narrow bezels—the narrowest measuring just 1.25mm—and seventh-generation under-screen camera technology, the front of the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition appears as a seamless full screen.

(Image courtesy of Leikeji)

Previously, true full-screen phones often capped their screen resolution at 1080P to accommodate the front camera. However, thanks to the latest under-screen camera technology, Nubia's and Red Magic's latest flagships now feature 1.5K resolution displays with a 144Hz refresh rate, achieving both fine detail and true full-screen immersion.

Since the Z50 Ultra, Nubia has consistently utilized a true full-screen design with a square, business-oriented aesthetic. This unique design language, coupled with a mature true full-screen solution, sets it apart in the market.

(Image courtesy of Leikeji)

I've also inspected the under-screen camera. Except in extremely low-light conditions at night, it remains virtually unnoticeable during daily use. As for selfies, with AI HD algorithms, they're more usable than ever.

Compared to the Z70 Ultra, the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition's rear panel has undergone significant changes. It now sports a dual-texture glass back, one of which is laser-etched, officially dubbed "leather texture glass," offering a unique tactile feel and ample grip. I highly recommend giving it a try.

My review unit features a black and silver dual-tone design, complemented by a red ring around the main camera and a small red logo in the upper right corner, evoking a classic retro camera vibe.

(Image courtesy of Leikeji)

In addition to the power and volume buttons, the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition includes a two-stage button and a traditional dual-stroke physical camera button. You can half-press for focusing and fully press to snap a photo. Personally, I find it offers a more tangible and engaging interaction experience than integrated camera controls.

This design imparts a sense of ritual when shooting with a retro camera.

As I mentioned, if you're bored with the conventional Ultra phone designs, the Nubia Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition is indeed worth considering. In 2025, as flagship phone experiences and designs converge, only brands like Nubia dare to pursue differentiation.

35mm Leader, Beyond One Inch, Rich Filter Gameplay

Nubia's imaging prowess also stands out through differentiation.

First and foremost, there's 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 courtesy of Leikeji)

Today, more brands are adopting this focal length. The recently released vivo X200 Ultra, for instance, features a main camera with an equivalent 35mm focal length. Ni Fei, President of the ZTE Terminal Business Unit and Nubia Technology Co., Ltd., has expressed high praise for the 35mm focal length and hopes more industry players will follow suit.

While the 35mm focal length demands more space for the lens assembly, making it challenging to fit a large sensor in a slim phone, Nubia has addressed this by equipping the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition with a custom OV Omnivision 990 sensor. With a sensor area of 1/1.3, it rivals the main camera of the vivo X200 Ultra.

35mm is a universally recognized humanistic focal length, offering a narrower perspective than conventional 24mm and 28mm lenses. With negligible edge distortion, it's easier to capture narrative scenes.

(Image courtesy of Leikeji)

Without cropping, the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition's 35mm main camera fully utilizes the entire sensor, providing superior results compared to traditional main camera focal length cropping. Coupled with a large aperture, it creates a natural shallow depth of field purely through optics. The HDR algorithm is active both during the day and night, with swift background processing.

(Image courtesy of Leikeji)

The camera interface prioritizes professional parameters, displaying the focal length by default rather than magnification. The default photo mode is 24mm, cropped from the ultra-wide angle. In system settings, you can toggle whether third-party apps use the main camera or ultra-wide angle lens. This attention to detail is commendable.

Style-wise, Nubia's default color profile tends towards high saturation. The current version exhibits some sharpening and smearing, but overall, it still looks appealing.

After a few days of use, I found the most enjoyable aspect of the Nubia Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition to be its filters, particularly those in the Humanistic Street Photography mode, which offer rich gameplay. If the built-in filters aren't enough, you can import third-party filter files, enhancing the overall playability.

(Image courtesy of Leikeji)

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

(Image courtesy of Leikeji)

Moreover, leveraging AI functionality, each special imaging feature of the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition has the capability for intelligent scene recognition and algorithm matching. Modes like sunset and starry sky are also iconic in the Nubia camera family.

The Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition showcases Nubia's differentiated approach to imaging flagships. The pre-emptively "reserved" 35mm focal length demonstrates enhanced capabilities with the new large sensor, offering better dynamic range and stronger scene adaptability.

With an abundance of film filters and the ability to import local filter resources, Nubia treats the Ultra flagship's imaging more like a retro camera, emphasizing artistic expression and stylization. Those who seek the output of CCD, film cameras, and retro cameras may find this "niche" existence particularly intriguing.

Solid Performance and Battery Life: Ultra Isn't Compromised

Ultra-suffixed flagship phones often compromise on batteries and heat dissipation to accommodate bulky imaging hardware, preserving top-tier imaging capabilities. This is the current industry norm. Limited by stacking space, although imaging flagships are equipped with the latest flagship chips, their performance tends to be more conservative, and increasing battery capacity is challenging.

The Nubia Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition aims to "have it all," packing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Supreme Edition and the largest 6600mAh battery capacity among Ultra flagships.

Let's discuss performance. I briefly ran "Ming Chao" (5G network + extreme graphics quality, 15 minutes of Laguna City map exploration + 15 minutes of wild monster hunting). The average frame rate was a consistent 60 fps, with minimal frame rate fluctuations and active CPU frequency scheduling.

(Image courtesy of Leikeji)

Heat is mainly concentrated on the middle frame. Due to aggressive scheduling, significant temperature rises are inevitable during prolonged high-load gaming. However, for an Ultra-positioned imaging flagship, being able to handle large games for extended periods without frame rate drops or brightness reductions is also a form of "Ultra" excellence.

The Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition supports 80W wired charging, taking approximately 46 minutes to charge from 1% to 100%. Honestly, looking at the charging curve, the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition's strategy isn't much different from mainstream models. However, during the trickle charging stage, it maintains an input power of around 30W, contributing to its shorter charging time.

(Image courtesy of Leikeji)

Charge separation is a Nubia phone tradition, convenient for simultaneous charging and use, and it also reduces heat generation to some extent.

The packaging includes a C-to-C charging kit, and the phone supports high-power PD public protocols. Not being picky about charging heads is always a plus.

Regarding the system experience, I'll summarize briefly. Nubia's latest Nebula AIOS 1.5 has made enhancements in interaction and AI functionality, deeply integrating the DeepSeek large model. It supports long-pressing to wake up the bottom navigation bar and other essential AI features. Overall, it's very smooth to use, with quick response to click operations. Nubia's foundation for system-level scheduling optimization is indeed robust.

If the visual system and interaction coherence of the entire system can be further refined, Nebula AIOS will be an even more polished deeply customized system.

Summary: A Solid and Unique "Ultra"

In today's market, where experiences and designs are highly converged, finding unique values can be challenging. I'm not saying mainstream products are wrong; they cater to the "right" audience. However, there are also consumers who seek something different.

Frankly, whether it's performance, design, or even imaging, any of these aspects alone underscores the uniqueness of the Nubia Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition. In some respects, it even surpasses mainstream Ultra models.

(Image courtesy of Leikeji)

Beyond its uniqueness, the Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition's hardware configuration meets industry standards: reasonably positioned optical fingerprint unlocking, dual speakers, fully functional NFC, an X-axis vibration motor...

From this perspective, Nubia's personality isn't rooted in "capriciousness."

Is the fully personalized Z70S Ultra Photographer Edition still worth choosing? The answer depends on how much you crave "difference." However, I believe it's a relatively balanced "Ultra" that also offers personalization.

Over many generations, Nubia has retained its exclusive and core technologies and selling points. There's indeed something special and persistent about Nubia. Innovations that once caught users' attention are now being followed by the industry. I'm pleased to see this brand, which has always adhered to its original intentions, leading the new direction of mobile imaging development with continuously evolving core technological strength.