Introduction
Give us a featured camera system any day of the week, and you’re sure to entertain us. Few brands do unusual imaging setups like Nubia, and with the latest Z70 Ultra, we have another combo of focal lengths that no one can match. Along with some more cutting-edge hardware, the latest 35mm camera is packed into an extraordinary body, making for a very attractive proposition overall. But how good is it really?
The Nubia Z70 Ultra is another iteration of parent company ZTE’s quest to create the best 35mm cameraphone. This time, they’ve added a variable aperture to the main camera lens, updated the telephoto to allow close focusing, and fitted an ultrawide camera with some extra wide coverage. However, some good things come without compromises, and we have to see what engineers had to sacrifice.
Nubia Z70 Ultra (left) next to the Z60 Ultra
No sacrifices were made in the chipset department, with the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite ticking away inside the Z70 Ultra, and Nubia has even joined the industry’s move towards silicon carbon batteries. The trendy IP69 rating also makes it have a blocky body, which is especially eye-catching in this alternate Starry Night colorway. Also the lack of a selfie camera hole in the display is hard to ignore (or hard to spot?) – improving the under-display solution is one of the company’s ongoing activities.
ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra specs at a glance:
- Body: 164.3×77.1×8.6mm, 228g; Front glass, aluminum frame, rear glass; IP68/IP69 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes).
- Display: 6.85″ AMOLED, 1B color, 144Hz, HDR10, 2000 nits (peak), 1216x2688px resolution, 19.89:9 aspect ratio, 431ppi.
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM8750-AB Snapdragon 8 Elite (3 nm): octa-core (2×4.32 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix L + 6×3.53 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix M); Adreno 830.
- Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM, 1TB 24GB RAM; UFS 4.0.
- OS/Software: Android 15, NebulaAI OS.
- rear camera: wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.6-4.0, 35mm (standard), 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS; ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.0, 13mm, 122˚, 1/2.88″, AF; telephoto: 64 MP, f/2.5, 70mm, 1/2.0″, 0.7µm, PDAF (15cm – ∞), OIS, 2.7x optical zoom (vs 26mm cam).
- Front Camera: 16 MP, f/2.0, 24mm (wide), under display.
- video capture: rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, 1080p@30/60fps, Gyro-EIS, HDR10, 10‑bit video; front camera:1080p@30fps.
- Battery: 6150mAh; 80W wired, PD3.0, QC4.
- Connectivity: 5G; dual SIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.4, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive; NFC; Infrared port.
- various: Fingerprint reader (under the display, optical); Stereo speaker.
Nubia Z70 Ultra Unboxing
Our review unit didn’t arrive in the standard retail packaging you’d expect to see at your doorstep after ordering a Z70 Ultra. That said, we do have a full set of accessories that should ship with the phone.
It’s nothing fancy, but not completely useless either. You’ll get an 80W Power Delivery-compliant charger, along with a nice USB-C cable rated for 9A. A better-than-expected frosted plastic case is also included, although you might not be totally excited about that covering the back of the handset, especially if you get the Starry Night Edition. More information about this on the next page.
