nubia Z70 Ultra review

Introduction

Give us a special camera system any day of the week, and you'll be sure to keep us entertained. Few brands do unusual imaging setups quite like nubia, and with the latest Z70 Ultra, we have another combo of focal lengths that no one can quite match. Together with some more cutting-edge hardware, the newest 35mm camera is packaged in a standout body, making for an overall very appealing proposition. But just how good is it in reality?

The nubia Z70 Ultra is another iteration of parent company ZTE's quest on making the ultimate 35mm cameraphone. This time around, they've added a variable aperture to the main camera's lens, updated the telephoto to allow close focusing, and fitted an ultrawide camera with some extra wide coverage. Few good things come without trade-offs, though, and we'll need to see what the engineers had to sacrifice.

No sacrifices were made in the chipset department, the newest Snapdragon 8 Elite ticking inside the Z70 Ultra, and nubia also joins the industry's move towards silicon carbon batteries. The trendy IP69 rating also makes it to the blocky body, itself made particularly eye-catching in this optional Starry Night colorway. Also hard to miss (or is it hard to spot?) is the lack of a selfie camera hole in the display - improving on the under-display solution is another of the company's ongoing pursuits.

ZTE nubia Z70 Ultra specs at a glance:

• Body: 164.3x77.1x8.6mm, 228g; Glass front, aluminum frame, glass back; IP68/IP69 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.85" AMOLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, HDR10, 2000 nits (peak), 1216x2688px resolution, 19.89:9 aspect ratio, 431ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8750-AB Snapdragon 8 Elite (3 nm): Octa-core (2x4.32 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix L + 6x3.53 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.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); stereo speakers.

nubia Z70 Ultra unboxing

Our review unit did not arrive in the standard retail packaging you'd expect to see at your doorstep after you order a Z70 Ultra. That said, we do have the full set of accessories that should ship with the phone.

It's nothing fancy, but also not entirely barebones. You'd get an 80W Power Delivery-compliant charger, together with a nice USB-C cable rated for 9A. A nicer-than-most frosted plastic case is also included, though you may not be fully enthusiastic about covering the handset's back, especially if you get the Starry Night version. More on that on the next page.