Nubia Z70 Ultra Review: A Powerful Phone with a Few Quirks

The Nubia Z70 Ultra is the latest in Nubia’s line of high-end smartphones. Known for its distinctive designs and unique camera features, the Z70 Ultra builds upon the strengths of its predecessor, the Z60 Ultra, while offering some notable improvements. Let’s dive into a detailed review.

Pricing and Availability

The Nubia Z70 Ultra launched globally on November 21, 2024. It’s available in several configurations:

• 12GB RAM + 256GB Storage: Approximately $729 from Nubia’s website or $749 from Amazon.
• 16GB RAM + 512GB Storage: Approximately $829 from Nubia’s website.
• 24GB RAM + 1TB Storage: Approximately $949 from Nubia’s website.

The "Starry Night" color option is particularly eye-catching, though it’s only available with the 16GB/512GB configuration.

Buy Nubia Z70 Ultra from Nubia Website

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Design and Build

The Z70 Ultra largely retains the design language of its predecessor. It’s a large phone, feeling noticeably heavier than many other phones on the market, weighing in at 228 grams. While 18 grams lighter than the Z60 Ultra, it still feels substantial, even heavier than some foldable phones.

The back features a smooth satin finish that resists fingerprints and feels pleasant to hold. The camera island, located at the top, features a cleaner design compared to the Z60 Ultra. The main camera lens protrudes significantly, however, causing the phone to wobble when placed on a flat surface.

The phone incorporates flat sides with subtly beveled edges for comfortable handling. The sides share the same texture as the back for a consistent feel. The weight distribution is well-balanced, preventing the phone from feeling unwieldy despite its size.

The power button (with a red accent) sits above the volume buttons. A unique addition is the inclusion of a physical camera shutter button on the right side and a customizable slider button on the left. This slider can be configured to activate features like the flashlight, the gaming utility, silent mode, or voice dictation. The tactility of the dedicated camera shutter button isn’t perfect, feeling a bit different to the power/volume buttons.

The Z70 Ultra boasts IP68 and IP69 dust and water resistance, which means it can be submerged up to 1.5 meters in freshwater and withstand cleaning with a pressure washer. A fast and accurate optical fingerprint sensor is integrated into the display.

Key Design Features:

• Large, heavy design (228g)
• Satin finish back, resistant to fingerprints
• Prominent camera bump
• Flat sides with subtle bevels
• Physical camera shutter button
• Customizable slider button
• IP68 and IP69 rating

Display

The Z70 Ultra features a stunning 6.85-inch AMOLED display with a remarkable feature: no visible camera cutout. Nubia utilizes an under-display camera, making it practically invisible during normal use. This results in a truly immersive viewing experience, particularly beneficial for watching videos and playing games.

The display offers vibrant colors and excellent customization options. While not the brightest display on the market, it remains easily viewable even in direct sunlight. The refresh rate dynamically adjusts between 120Hz for general use and 144Hz for gaming. The display also offers a dedicated reading mode (monochrome) and supports HDR10 for enhanced video playback. The stereo speakers provide a satisfying audio experience with ample volume.

Display Specifications:

• 6.85-inch AMOLED
• 144Hz refresh rate (gaming), 120Hz (general use)
• Under-display camera (effectively invisible)
• HDR10 support
• Dedicated reading mode
• Stereo speakers

Hardware and Battery Life

The phone ensures powerful performance even for graphically demanding gaming sessions thanks to its Snapdragon 8 Elite processor. The 16GB RAM model used for review provides truly excellent smoothness of operation. The internal storage is UFS 4.0 technology.

The device remains cool for general tasks. However, the Z70 Ultra does experience significant heating under intense loads; reaching 59 degrees Celsius during a stress test. This high temperature isn’t overly noticeable however, during typical mobile usage.

The haptic feedback isn’t exceptional compared to other high-end devices. However, it provides good connectivity due to the inclusion of the full suite of Qualcomm codecs, meaning you get high-quality audio support like aptX.

The substantial 6150mAh silicon-carbon battery delivers impressive longevity, readily lasting a day and a half (or more) on a single charge even under heavy use. Fast charging, supported by the included 80W charging brick, goes easily from 0% to 50% in just 15 minutes and fully charges in under 50 minutes.

Hardware Specifications:

• Snapdragon 8 Elite processor
• 12GB/16GB/24GB LPDDR5X RAM
• 256GB/512GB/1TB UFS 4.0 Storage
• 6150mAh silicon-carbon battery
• 80W fast charging
• Full Qualcomm codec suite (including aptX)

Cameras

The camera system comprises:

• Main Camera: 50MP Sony IMX906 (f/1.6–f/4.0) with OIS.
• Telephoto Camera: 64MP OmniVision OV64B (85mm equivalent) with OIS and 2.7x optical zoom which also works well for portraits.
• Wide-Angle Camera: 50MP.
• Front Camera: 16MP (under-display).

The camera app’s interface is straightforward. All rear cameras support 4K video recording at 60fps. While daytime photos generally exhibit good color reproduction and dynamic range, there can be issues with slightly cool color balance, plus a tendency for washed-out color in the wide-angle lens. Focusing is sometimes slow, but shutter lag remains minimal.

Night photography delivers usable results with acceptable detail, though the quality doesn’t compete with top performers like the Vivo X200 or OPPO Find X8. The 64MP telephoto lens, however, does its job quite well.

Camera Summary:

• Good daytime photos, some color inconsistencies
• Usable low-light performance, but not best-in-class
• Decent telephoto and portrait shots
• 4K@60fps video recording with all rear cameras

Software

The Z70 Ultra runs Nubia’s Nebula AIOS, which is essentially a rebranded version of MyOS based on Android 15. While visually similar to its predecessor, the AI features are limited. Outside of a call translation feature and smart signal boosting, there aren’t many prominent AI-powered enhancements. As far as the software’s features go this isn’t an issue in itself, however Nubia’s rebranding effort would have been better served by adding some machine learning related functionality.

The UI is clean and avoids excessive customization, which is commendable in the face of highly customized Android skins. The smoothness and speed of operation are excellent.

However, aggressive memory management occasionally closes background apps, and notification reliability remains problematic, as we’ve seen in previous models. Despite these issues, the overall software offers more polished than its predecessor.

Nubia’s update policy trails some of its competitors. The Z70 Ultra promises three Android OS updates and three years of security patches. This is less generous than several other manufacturers’ commitment for similar class devices. The ongoing delay in updating the Z60 Ultra to Android 15 raises concerns about punctual updates for the Z70 Ultra.

Alternatives

Several strong alternatives exist, each offering different strengths:

• OnePlus 13: Offers similar performance with improved cameras and a less bulky design, including a unique leather back option.
• Vivo X200: Though not widely available in Western markets, delivers superior camera performance and strong underlying hardware (comparable to the X200 Pro).

Should You Buy the Nubia Z70 Ultra?

Buy it if:

• You prioritize cutting-edge hardware at a competitive price point, especially for mobile gaming.
• An all-screen display without a camera cutout is a must-have.
• You prefer a clean, bloatware-free user interface.
• IP68/IP69 water and dust resistance, high-quality audio codecs, and USB-C 3.2 are significant selling points.

Don’t buy it if:

• Timely software updates and feature-rich software are essential.
• Photography is a top priority.

The Nubia Z70 Ultra delivers exceptional hardware and a unique all-screen design. Powerful performance, great battery life, and solid extras make it an excellent choice for users who prize those features above all else. Yet the average camera performance and less stellar software update policy should give users some pause. Overall, it is a very high-performing device, but it’s important to weigh your priorities carefully.

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The Nubia Z70 Ultra boasts significant strengths in hardware and unique design, but its camera system and software update policy hold it back from being a truly top-tier smartphone. If you prioritize sheer power and a full-screen experience, it’s a great option. However, consumers expecting cutting-edge camera quality and timely software updates may find better alternatives available.