When mentioning Nubia, what keywords come to mind first? Borderless? Star photography? Indeed, all of these! For instance, the stunning visual impact brought by the Z11 with its left and right borderless design, along with the “red circle imaging” concept left by multiple generations of the Z series. Over the years, Nubia has shown a persistent pursuit, or perhaps an obsession, with a complete screen and a highly playable imaging system. This is once again well demonstrated in the brand new Nubia Z60 Ultra!
Design: Unique
To be honest, while waiting for the Nubia Z60 Ultra delivery, I prepared myself for various expectations, but when I received the actual device, I was pleasantly surprised!
This unit is my personal favorite, the most special “Starry Sky Collector’s Edition”. The entire outer packaging is a famous painting by Van Gogh, “Starry Night”, and it features a special naked-eye 3D effect, reminiscent of the cards we played with in the 80s and 90s, which is very interesting!
Unlike the standard version, the Nubia Z60 Ultra “Starry Sky Collector’s Edition” comes with two sets of charging heads and data cables in the packaging. Additionally, it includes a dedicated phone case featuring the starry night design, beautifully integrating the main camera with a golden full moon, forming a massive swirling nebula, which is stunning! A small detail is that we can also see a magnetic ring similar to MagSafe at the bottom. Yes, this phone case supports magnetic attachments, making it more convenient for expansion accessories!
Now, let’s turn our attention back to the main body of the Nubia Z60 Ultra “Starry Sky Collector’s Edition”. It is evident that the Nubia Z60 Ultra maintains a relatively robust overall style. The back can be roughly divided into two areas: the upper part features a large camera deco, while the lower area uses AG frosted glass. Through millions of micron-level crystal structures combined with a unique high-resolution starry micro-etching process, a beautiful starry sky is “painted” on this glass. Just like the packaging, this beautiful “starry painting” also has a naked-eye 3D star diamond relief effect, which is very special.
Additionally, upon closer inspection, you will find that the upper camera deco area is also cleverly divided into two sections: the upper part is made of AG matte glass, while the lower part is glossy glass. You may even notice that the shapes of the three lenses on the Nubia Z60 Ultra are all different. Although it seems a bit complex, the overall treatment gives the back of the device a rich sense of layering.
The Nubia Z60 Ultra’s middle frame adopts a popular straight-cut small edge design, which continues the overall design language of the previous generation. The edges are slightly rounded, so although it looks relatively robust, it does not have a noticeable sharp feel in hand.
The buttons on the left and right sides of the device are concentrated on the right side, including the volume up/down buttons, a red power button, and a quick access button that can be toggled up and down, which can be set to quickly launch the game center and other operations. In the previous generation Z50 Ultra, this button was located above the volume buttons, but in this generation, it has been moved below, making it more ergonomic and easier to operate!
Screen: Eye-Catching
Now we arrive at the core highlight of the Nubia Z60 Ultra: the screen! To be honest, it is indeed captivating! This is a 6.8-inch next-generation flexible UDC full-screen, using BOE Q9+ luminous materials. Most importantly, it achieves a complete full-screen effect without any irregular cutouts by hiding the front camera under the screen. The moment the screen lights up, the almost borderless and interference-free display effect is truly stunning.
In terms of other specifications, this screen has a resolution of 2480×1116, supports 100% DCI-P3 wide color gamut, displays 1.07 billion colors, has a 120Hz refresh rate, and 2160Hz high-frequency PWM dimming. As for the display issue in the front camera area, based on our actual usage, with the support of the fifth-generation flexible under-screen camera technology and the UDC Ultra independent display chip, it has almost reached a level of daily use without perception, so you can rest assured!
Imaging: Stable and Fun
Nubia’s imaging system is well-known for its playability in the smartphone circle. In the Z60 Ultra, the good genes have been well preserved while also undergoing significant upgrades.
First, looking at the hardware specifications, the Nubia Z60 Ultra features a brand new NEOVISION Taishan imaging system, consisting of three high-definition optical main cameras: a 50MP equivalent 18mm starry main camera, a 50MP equivalent 35mm cultural main camera, and a 64MP periscope telephoto lens primarily targeting 85mm, touted as the 85mm portrait lens king. Even better, all three lenses support OIS optical image stabilization, blue glass coated IR filters, and have added a laser focus module to enhance the camera’s focusing performance. Below is a set of real shooting samples for you to experience!
As we can see, under ample daylight, the overall performance of the Nubia Z60 Ultra is quite satisfactory, with relatively accurate color reproduction and rich detail retention. Even indoors, it can effectively reproduce the scenes visible to the naked eye.
In complex lighting conditions at night, the Nubia Z60 Ultra’s performance is surprisingly stable, with highlights not overexposed and shadows retaining detail, resulting in a clean overall image, which is quite impressive!
In terms of playability, leveraging computational photography technology, the Nubia Z60 Ultra offers various shooting modes, including ultra-wide galaxy night scenes, starry portraits, starry color grading, and starry time-lapse photography. Among them, the starry portrait mode is a newly added exclusive feature. Previously, when using a phone or camera to capture starry portraits, the subject had to remain still for a long time; any movement would result in noticeable motion blur, affecting the final image quality. Now, with this feature, it is easier to capture stunning shots with clear portraits and a starry galaxy background. Unfortunately, the recent weather in Chengdu has been poor, and I can’t even see the moon, but when I have the opportunity to go to the western Sichuan plateau, I will definitely take several shots and share them in detail later!
Performance: Powerful Output
As a flagship phone, the Nubia Z60 Ultra does not skimp on hardware specifications, and its “family genes” ensure that its output is exceptionally strong!
The Nubia Z60 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 flagship chip, paired with LPDDR5X + UFS 4.0 storage specifications, placing it firmly in the top tier. I ran an AnTuTu benchmark in a room temperature environment, achieving a score of 2,176,800, which is still advantageous compared to many other models also using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3!
We tested the Nubia Z60 Ultra in a room temperature environment while playing the game “Genshin Impact” at maximum graphics settings. The data recorded by PerfDog clearly shows that the frame rate remained stable at around 60 FPS throughout the entire gaming process, with a flat frame rate curve and no significant fluctuations.
After the test, I used an infrared thermometer to check the device’s heat performance. The room temperature in Chengdu was around 12°C, and the highest temperature recorded was 31.7°C, indicating that the overall temperature control performance is quite impressive.
Of course, powerful performance output is supported by long-lasting battery life. The Nubia Z60 Ultra surprisingly maintains the same phone size while housing a massive 6000mAh battery, which is a 20% increase compared to the previous generation model.
Additionally, as mentioned earlier, Nubia has equipped the Z60 Ultra Starry Sky Collector’s Edition with two sets of charging heads. One is an 80W single USB-C charging head with a non-foldable plug, featuring a custom starry night hand-painted texture, suitable for home or office use to meet daily fast charging needs. The other is a compact 65W three-port charging head with a foldable plug, including two USB-C and one USB-A port, making it convenient for travel, allowing simultaneous charging of the phone and other devices like laptops and tablets, which is very thoughtful!
Final Thoughts
Friends who often follow the smartphone industry should know that over the years, the development of smartphones has been focused on achieving ultra-high screen-to-body ratios. Many explorations have been made in this regard, including previous pop-up camera structures and the current under-screen hidden cameras. The goal is simple: everyone wants a truly full-screen experience!
However, looking at it now, there are very few manufacturers still committed to the hidden under-screen camera technology and continuously launching products equipped with this technology, apart from Nubia. For this relentless pursuit of perfection, we must indeed give Nubia a thumbs up!
Of course, returning to the product itself, the overall performance of the Nubia Z60 Ultra is still outstanding, with its ultra-high aesthetics, excellent imaging, powerful performance, and the long-lasting battery life provided by the large capacity battery, all of which are sufficient to meet everyone’s needs for a smartphone. What do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section!
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