ZTE nubia Flip

ZTE nubia Flip Review

Design

The ZTE nubia Flip is a foldable smartphone with a primary focus on a compact form factor when closed, while offering a larger screen when unfolded. It measures 170mm in height, 75.5mm in width, and a slim 7mm in depth when open. The phone weighs 214g, which is expected for a foldable device. It comes in three color options: Cosmic Black, Sunshine Gold, and Flowering Lilac. The design incorporates a side-mounted fingerprint sensor for convenient unlocking. The foldable nature of the phone is its primary design feature, allowing for a pocketable device that transforms into a larger screen experience.

Display

The primary display is a 6.9-inch foldable OLED panel with a resolution of 1188 x 2790 pixels, resulting in a pixel density of 439 ppi. It supports 1 billion colors and has a 120Hz refresh rate, which should deliver smooth visuals and vibrant colors. The display has a 21:9 aspect ratio and includes features like DCI-P3 and full sRGB standard color gamuts. It’s also a 10-bit panel, which enhances color accuracy. The screen is scratch resistant, capacitive, and multi-touch enabled. The display also has a hole-punch notch. It lacks LTPO technology. The foldable display is frameless.

Performance

The ZTE nubia Flip is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 (4 nm) chipset. The octa-core CPU configuration includes one Cortex-A710 core clocked at 2.4 GHz, three Cortex-A710 cores at 2.36 GHz, and four Cortex-A510 cores at 1.8 GHz. Graphics are handled by an Adreno 644 GPU. The phone features 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM with a configuration up to 12 GB available in some regions. It has an Antutu score of approximately 690,000 (v10). The phone includes a cooling system to manage heat during demanding tasks. Storage options include 256 GB with some versions having up to 512 GB, and it lacks SD card expansion.

Camera

The rear camera setup includes a 50MP primary sensor with an f/1.7 aperture, a CMOS BSI sensor, and a 2MP depth sensor with an f/2.4 aperture. There is no optical image stabilization. The main camera is capable of shooting 4K video, and offers features such as digital zoom, digital image stabilization, autofocus, touch focus, continuous shooting, geotagging, panorama, HDR, face detection, and night mode. The phone also has slow-motion video at 120 fps. The front-facing camera is a 16MP sensor for selfies.

Battery Life

The ZTE nubia Flip includes a 4310mAh Li-Polymer battery. It supports 33W fast charging, and does not have wireless charging capabilities. The battery is non-removable and includes features for reverse charging.

Software

The phone runs on Android 13 with no clear information on possible future Android version updates.

Pricing

The ZTE nubia Flip is positioned as a medium-priced device. The 8GB RAM / 256GB storage configuration is around $541 to $581 depending on region and retailer.

Overall Verdict

The ZTE nubia Flip offers a blend of foldable technology with a relatively mid-range chipset. Its strengths include the large, high refresh rate OLED display, the foldable design, and a decent main camera. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 should offer a solid experience for most users, with the 120Hz screen further enhancing visual performance. The device supports 5G and has a decent battery with fast charging. The lack of expandable storage and wireless charging could be a drawback for some users. The Android 13 version out of the box may be a minor issue for users who prefer the latest software. Overall, the nubia Flip is a competitive device within the mid-range foldable market.