Nubia Z11 review: Work hard, play hard

Performance

Nubia didn't cut any corners when it comes to internals. The Z11 is fully loaded and ready to brush elbows with most any 2016 flagship. It might not quite tick all the boxes, like its close relative the ZTE Axon 7, with its QHD AMOLED panel, but the top-tier Snapdragon 820 is still a shared trait. Plus, the FullHD resolution really does go a long way in boosting GPU performance.

That being said, we can definitely hold the Z11 up to high standards when it comes to synthetics. Chinese OEM's like Xiaomi and Huawei are constantly pushing the envelope on cost-efficiency, so even the Z11's tantalizing price tag in the $400 to $500 ball park doesn't really give it a neck up any more.

Choosing competitors to pit it up against was surprisingly easy. As already mentioned, Xiaomi's pricing has proven aggressive enough to put even the Mi5 flagship in reach. Provided, you can get your hands on one, while keeping shipping and import costs low. But even beyond Xiaomi, there are many other handset that fit the bill. The equally well-equipped OnePlus 3 instantly springs to mind. Huawei also has a wide selection of devices to offer, like the Honor 8, Mate 8 or P9, all under $500.

As for more Western-friendly manufacturers, like LG with the G5 and HTC or Samsung, there is definitely a premium to be paid for flagship offers. But some of the mid-rangers that do stay within budget, still have a trick or two to impress with and don't really fall that behind the Z11 in performance.

Kicking things off with an all-round benchmark, like AnTuTu, and we can clearly see the Snapdragon 820-powered Nubia Z11 hold its own. It is, however, worth noting that the Nubia seems to score a bit below its Snapdragon 820 peers in this benchmark. The differences are far from substantial, so we could easily write it off to poor software optimization.

AnTuTu 5

Higher is better

• Huawei Honor 8
  78710
• Lenovo Moto Z Droid
  77623
• Huawei Mate 8
  76785
• HTC 10
  75229
• Nubia Z11
  71940
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  51156
• Oppo F1 Plus
  47112
• Meizu m3 note
  41838
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  35780
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  35710

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

• HTC 10
  154031
• Lenovo Moto Z Droid
  151619
• OnePlus 3
  141764
• LG G5
  134541
• Xiaomi Mi 5
  131758
• ZTE Axon 7
  129926
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  129229
• Nubia Z11
  129099
• Meizu Pro 6
  99195
• Huawei P9
  98069
• Huawei Honor 8
  94892
• Huawei Mate 8
  91609
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  85162
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  77442
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  76186
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  62818
• Oppo F1 Plus
  51299
• Huawei Honor 5c
  51220
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  49094
• Meizu m3 note
  44898
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  44438
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  35134

Basemark OS II 2.0 paints a pretty similar overall picture to AnTuTu.

Basemark OS II 2.0

Higher is better

• Lenovo Moto Z Droid
  2690
• OnePlus 3
  2365
• Xiaomi Mi 5
  2180
• Huawei Honor 8
  2099
• Huawei P9
  2068
• LG G5
  2065
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  2050
• Huawei Mate 8
  2017
• Meizu Pro 6
  1919
• ZTE Axon 7
  1915
• HTC 10
  1839
• Nubia Z11
  1790
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  1728
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  1696
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  1426
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  1222
• Huawei Honor 5c
  1221
• Oppo F1 Plus
  1092
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  1007
• Meizu m3 note
  852
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  815

Looking at the purely CPU-based GeekBench tests, we can see the four Kryo cores inside the Z11 are pulling their weight and perform pretty much as expected. Upon closer inspection, the GeekBench 3 table does show some room for improvement. The Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, for instance, tops the chart with a good 1300 point lead, which is a notable achievement.

Interestingly enough, Huawei's own Kirin chips seem to be dominating in this kind of multi-threaded loads. Much the same can be said for the deca-core MediaTek Helio x20 in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4.

GeekBench 3 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  6600
• Huawei P9
  6558
• Meizu Pro 6
  6427
• Huawei Honor 8
  6380
• Huawei Mate 8
  6323
• Lenovo Moto Z Droid
  5566
• OnePlus 3
  5520
• LG G5
  5362
• Xiaomi Mi 5
  5358
• HTC 10
  5257
• Nubia Z11
  5249
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  5166
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  5103
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  4140
• Huawei Honor 5c
  3933
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  3695
• Oppo F1 Plus
  3242
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  3083
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  3039
• Meizu m3 note
  3028

GeekBench 3 (single-core)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3
  2383
• HTC 10
  2368
• Lenovo Moto Z Droid
  2345
• LG G5
  2328
• Nubia Z11
  2313
• Xiaomi Mi 5
  2305
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  2151
• Meizu Pro 6
  1905
• Huawei Honor 8
  1831
• Huawei P9
  1819
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  1596
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  1543
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  933
• Huawei Honor 5c
  898
• Oppo F1 Plus
  857
• Meizu m3 note
  807
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  745
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  695

GeekBench 4 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Huawei Honor 8
  5447
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  4456
• Lenovo Moto Z Droid
  4130
• OnePlus 3
  4045
• ZTE Axon 7
  3990
• Nubia Z11
  3926
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  3885

GeekBench 4 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Nubia Z11
  1755
• Huawei Honor 8
  1720
• OnePlus 3
  1719
• ZTE Axon 7
  1702
• Lenovo Moto Z Droid
  1694
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  1551
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  1546

Moving on to graphics, the Adreno 530 inside the Snapdragon 820 is a definite powerhouse by current standards. Combined with the 1080p resolution of the Z11, preliminary expectations were naturally high. However, the slight, but notable, performance handicap we saw in the CPU department is present in GPU tests as well.

Our review unit didn't exhibit any signs of overheating during the tests, so the culprit is definitely not thermal throttling. Still looking at both the Open GL 3.0 and 3.1 tests, the Z11 consistently comes in over 7 frames behind its equally-specked competitors. Perhaps the stylish Nubia UI 4.0 is still in need of some optimization work.

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Lenovo Moto Z Droid
  49
• LG G5
  47
• HTC 10
  47
• OnePlus 3
  46
• Xiaomi Mi 5
  45
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  40
• Nubia Z11
  31
• Huawei Honor 8
  18
• Huawei Mate 8
  18
• Meizu Pro 6
  18
• Huawei P9
  18
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  14
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  9.8
• Huawei Honor 5c
  7.8
• Oppo F1 Plus
  7
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  6.4
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  5.7
• Meizu m3 note
  5.4
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  4.9

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Lenovo Moto Z Droid
  32
• OnePlus 3
  31
• HTC 10
  31
• Xiaomi Mi 5
  30
• LG G5
  30
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  29
• Nubia Z11
  22
• Meizu Pro 6
  11
• Huawei Honor 8
  10
• Huawei Mate 8
  10
• Huawei P9
  10
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  9.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  9.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  9
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  7.2
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  6.2
• Huawei Honor 5c
  4.5
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  4.2
• Oppo F1 Plus
  3.3
• Meizu m3 note
  2.5

GFX 3.1 Car scene (offscreen)

Higher is better

• Lenovo Moto Z Droid
  19
• OnePlus 3
  18
• HTC 10
  18
• Xiaomi Mi 5
  17
• Nubia Z11
  16
• LG G5
  16
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  15
• Huawei P9
  6.5
• Meizu Pro 6
  6.4
• Huawei Honor 8
  6.3
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  5.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  5.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  5.3
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  3.4
• Huawei Honor 5c
  2.7
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  2.6

Onscreen rendering is where the benefits from FullHD kick in. Still, however, with those odds evened as well, the Z11 falls behind the 1080p Xiaomi Mi 5 and OnePlus 3. The performance argument still stands.

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3
  45
• Xiaomi Mi 5
  43
• Nubia Z11
  34
• Lenovo Moto Z Droid
  31
• LG G5
  28
• HTC 10
  28
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  27
• Huawei Honor 8
  19
• Huawei P9
  19
• Huawei Mate 8
  18
• Meizu Pro 6
  18
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  14
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  9.6
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  9.5
• Huawei Honor 5c
  8.3
• Oppo F1 Plus
  7
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  6.3
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  5.7
• Meizu m3 note
  5.4

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3
  30
• Xiaomi Mi 5
  29
• Nubia Z11
  22
• Lenovo Moto Z Droid
  18
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  15
• LG G5
  15
• HTC 10
  15
• Huawei Honor 8
  11
• Huawei Mate 8
  11
• Meizu Pro 6
  11
• Huawei P9
  11
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  9.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  9.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  9
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  6.1
• Huawei Honor 5c
  4.8
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  4.1
• Oppo F1 Plus
  3.3
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  3.2
• Meizu m3 note
  2.5

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3
  18
• Nubia Z11
  17
• Xiaomi Mi 5
  17
• Lenovo Moto Z Droid
  12
• HTC 10
  9.9
• LG G5
  8.8
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  7.8
• Huawei P9
  7.1
• Huawei Honor 8
  6.9
• Meizu Pro 6
  6.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  5.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  5.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  5.4
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  3.4
• Huawei Honor 5c
  3
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  2.6

Last, but not least, there is Basemark X. It is that little bit kinder to the Nubia, but, overall, still mostly singles it out for underwhelming utilization of the Snapdragon 820 and Adreno 530 GPU.

Basemark X

Higher is better

• Lenovo Moto Z Droid
  36322
• Xiaomi Mi 5
  33110
• OnePlus 3
  32715
• LG G5
  29456
• HTC 10
  28882
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  28480
• Nubia Z11
  23899
• Huawei P9
  16942
• Huawei Honor 8
  16592
• Huawei Mate 8
  15593
• Meizu Pro 6
  15209
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  14717
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  13666
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  12190
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  10445
• Huawei Honor 5c
  7735
• Oppo F1 Plus
  6204
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  5383
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  5210
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  5039
• Meizu m3 note
  4567

Basemark X (medium)

Higher is better

• Lenovo Moto Z Droid
  42493
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  40998
• Xiaomi Mi 5
  35292
• Nubia Z11
  30864
• HTC 10
  30680
• Huawei P9
  29583
• LG G5
  29148
• Huawei Honor 8
  28832
• Huawei Mate 8
  27425
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  23846
• Meizu Pro 6
  23774
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  23643
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  23300
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  21164
• Huawei Honor 5c
  16171
• Oppo F1 Plus
  14843
• Meizu m3 note
  11604
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  11199
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  9598

All things considered, we can only make the conclusion that the Nubia Z11 is a well-spec'd underachiever. Don't get us wrong, we are well aware that synthetics rarely translate linearly to real-world performance. The Z11 is just as snappy and responsive as any other recent flagship we have tested in everyday usage scenarios. Even heavy multitasking loads can't bog it down.

However, the numbers don't lie and there is definitely room for Nubia to improve the Z11's performance numbers across the board.