This week Nubia has revamped the Z60 Ultra and introduced a sequel to the Z50S Pro. Both of these phones have unique designs that make them look like futuristic cameras, and they have the hardware to back it up. Plus, they offer the performance of the Snapdragon 8 series at a price that beats most flagship phones.
He Nubia Z60 Ultra Leader It’s basically the same as the original Z60, except it switches to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SM8650-AC, which Chinese manufacturers often refer to as the “Leader Edition.” This model also changes the sensor inside the main 35mm camera – the Nubia Z series is old-school in that regard, basically every other smartphone line on the planet has a 20-something millimetre wide lens in the main module.
The AC version of the chipset boosts the speed of the main Cortex-X4 CPU core to 3.4GHz (up from 3.3GHz on the original), and the Adreno 750 GPU clock speed goes up to 1GHz. Unlike its Red Magic cousins, this one only uses passive cooling, but the Z60 can still handle AAA games.
Nubia Z60 Ultra: Highlights of the flagship edition
He Nubia Z60S Pro It sticks with last year’s chip, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the same AC variant that was used in the Z50S Pro. The 35mm main camera switches to a new sensor and the vegan leather back options have been removed, but that’s about it.
Nubia Z60S Pro: highlights
Here are the prices of the two nubia Z60 models:
| Setting | Nubia Z60S Pro | Nubia Z60 Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| 8GB/256GB | – | $649/€729/£649 |
| 12GB/256GB | $569/€669/£569 | $699/€779/£699 |
| 16GB/512GB | 669 $/769 €/669 £ | $779/€879/£829 |
| 16GB/1TB | $769/€869/£769 | $879/€979/£929 |
The Red Magic 9S Pro is available globally and also features a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (AC), albeit with active cooling. That means it’s not IP68-rated like on the Z60 series. This one also has a larger 6,500mAh battery (up from 6,000mAh) with 80W charging. The cameras are more basic (no 64MP 85mm lens here), but with a 50MP main lens (wide-angle lens) and a 50MP ultra-wide, it’s not bad either. Both devices have under-display selfie cameras. The 9S Pro retails for $199.99 at Amazon.ca. 650$/650€/580£ in the international market.
The Honor Magic6 Pro features a 50MP (23mm) main camera, a 180MP 2.5x telephoto camera, and a 50MP ultra-wide camera. However, the pill-shaped hole-punch on the front for the 50MP selfie camera and 3D ToF sensor doesn’t quite have the clean look of the Nubias. This one is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (the regular AB variant) and a 5,600mAh battery with 80W wired and 66W wireless charging. The recommended retail price for this model is quite high at €1,300/£1,100, and the phone has largely held its price tag.
ZTE nubia Red Magic 9S Pro • Honor Magic6 Pro • Xiaomi 14 Civi • vivo X100 Pro
The Xiaomi 14 Civi offers a combination of Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 and an interesting camera setup: 50MP main camera, 50MP 2x telephoto and 12MP ultra-wide-angle, plus dual selfie cameras with 100° wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses. Unfortunately, it is available only in India starting at ₹43,000 (€475 approx.).
Vivo’s X100 series has some real gems, but availability is quite limited. Vivo’s X100 Pro, for example, was launched in India with a Dimensity 9300 chipset and a 50MP triple camera (23mm wide, 100mm periscope, and 15mm ultrawide) with a price tag of Rs 90,000 (around €990).
What do you think about the nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Edition? Are you considering it as an option for your next phone or not?
What about the Nubia Z60S Pro? Is it still a decent phone for 2024, considering it’s barely changed from the Z50S Pro?