ZTE Nubia Z50 Review – The cheapest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phone in the UK

I’ve beforehand reviewed a number of of the superb Redmagic telephones, that are the gaming telephones that fall beneath the ZTE Nubia umbrella.

The telephones which can be branded as Nubia are focused in direction of normal customers, with the Nubia Z50 being probably the most reasonably priced telephones that includes the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

The Nubia Z50 was launched nearly a yr in the past, and the UK Nubia web site lists the telephone at £600. Nonetheless, extra not too long ago, it has change into listed on Amazon UK at a discount worth of simply £500 (+ a £30 off voucher on the time of writing). The caveat with this itemizing is that that is the Chinese language variant. It really works completely properly, however there are some limitations.

Unusually, there was little or no press consideration for the Nubia Z50, which is a disgrace as a result of it’s a good telephone if you’d like one thing reasonably priced however with flagship efficiency.

Specification

• Show: 6.67 inches, AMOLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, HDR10+, 1000 nits, 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~395 ppi density)
• Chipset: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm)
• OS: Android 13, MyOS 13
• RAM:12GB LPDDR5
• Storage: 256GB UFS 4.0
• Rear Digicam:
• Sony IMX787 64 MP, f/1.6, 35mm (normal), 1/1.7″, PDAF, OIS
• 50 MP, f/2.2, 14mm, 116˚ (ultrawide), AF
• Entrance Digicam: 16 MP, (vast)
• Connectivity: WiFi 6E + Bluetooth 5.3
• Battery: 5000 mAh
• Charging:  80W wired – No wi-fi
• IP Score: Not Rated
• Dimensions: 163.9 x 76.3 x 8.3 mm
• Weight: 228 g

Chinese language Import Limitations

With this being the Chinese language mannequin, there are a number of issues. It helps English so there are not any considerations there, however out of the field, Google will not be put in. This isn’t a difficulty, because the OS has a one click on set up choice and I’ve been capable of set up all of the apps I exploit.

The Amazon itemizing warns you to verify your SIM Card’s frequency bands. It is because loads of Chinese language imports don’t (or didn’t used to) assist Band 8 for 4G/LTE which is utilized by most networks and band 32 which is utilized by Vodafone. Within the case of this telephone, the supported bands are:

• 5G: SA: n41(2515 MHz- 2675 MHz)/n78/n1/n3/n28(703MHz-733MHz/758MHz-788MHz)/n5/n8;
• NSA: n41(2515MHZ-2675MHZ)/n78;
• FDD: B1/3/5/7/8/4/12/17/20;
• TDD: B34/39/40/41(2515MHZ-2675MHZ)/38;
• UMTS:B1/2/4/5/8;
• GSM:B2/3/5/8;
• CDMA: BC0

So, band 32 is lacking, which can have an effect on the 4G efficiency for Vodafone customers.

For 5G, it seems to be just like the n77 band is lacking which covers 3600-4000MHz and is utilized by Three.  

I did some restricted checks in my workplace. I’ve a SIM card for ID, which makes use of Three and Voxi, which makes use of Vodafone.

In my workplace, with ID/Three, I achieved:

• ZTE Nubia Z50: 515Mbps / 11.2Mbps
• Vivo iQOO 12: 495Mbps / 20.7Mbps
• Pixel 8 Professional: 564Mbps / 17.7Mbps

With Voxi/Vodafone, I don’t get a 5G sign, and I achieved:

• ZTE Nubia Z50: 25Mbps / 17Mbps
• Vivo iQOO 12: 24Mbps / 11.7Mbps
• Pixel 8 Professional: 28Mbps / 8Mbps

So, the telephone works completely properly for me on each Vodafone and Three in my workplace. However clearly, the outcomes will range relying on location and sign.

One other situation many imports have is a scarcity of Widevine L1, which impacts the decision you’ll be able to play on many streaming companies. With out this, a tool will default all the way down to SD decision. Nonetheless, this telephone seems to assist Widevine L1, so once more, there are not any points.

The final caveat I can consider is that that is equipped with a two-pin sort A plug which we usually affiliate with the US.

Putting in Google

Once you initially arrange the telephone, you don’t undergo the traditional set-up course of, as a result of Google will not be put in, so there isn’t a account so as to add.

Nonetheless, as quickly as you utilize the telephone, there’s an icon to put in the Google Play Retailer, and you may then log in together with your account.

Past that, there’s not a lot I can see that differentiates this from most UK/world telephones.

The wallpapers have Chinese language lettering on them, however this may be fastened by assigning your personal wallpaper. The put in keyboard is Android AOSP, although I all the time change to Swiftkey.

Design and Show

I used to be despatched Z50 in black, which is all the time a bit boring for critiques, however I not often pay a lot consideration to how my telephone seems to be when in use. It’s also accessible in silver, mint, and rabbit purple. The included case is a matte gray, so you’ll be able to solely see the black physique the place the digicam cut-out is.

For the show, you might have a 6.67-inch AMOLED display screen working at 1080 x 2400 pixels with a refresh charge of 144Hz and brightness of 1000 nits.

There’s a slight curvature on the sides, which is generally one thing reserved for dearer telephones, although some manufacturers like Google have caught with flat shows for latest flagship telephones just like the Pixel 8 Professional. You then have the selfie cutout within the centre of the show.

The show will not be LPTO, and inside the settings, you might have choices to set it to auto or repair it at 60Hz, 120Hz or 144Hz.

Contemplating the worth of the telephone, the show is great, the colors look vibrant, and the brightness is sweet. I haven’t examined it open air on a really brilliant day, however I’m assured the display screen ought to nonetheless be readable on a sunny summer time day.  

The again of the telephone is listed as glass, although I all the time discover this feels and sounds a bit plasticky if you faucet on it (for many telephones).

Identical to most telephones these days, the general construct high quality is great, and the design of the telephone is sweet however unremarkable.

Digicam

The Nubia Z50 is supplied with two cameras consisting of:

The first Sony imx787 which is a 64-megapixel digicam with a sensor dimension of 1/1.7″ and has optical picture stabilisation.

You then have a 50 MP, f/2.2, 14mm, 116˚  ultra-wide digicam. Nubia has sensibly prevented padding this telephone out with ineffective tertiary cameras that you just see on many reasonably priced telephones.

Whereas the digicam specification isn’t something to get too enthusiastic about, it’s respectable sufficient, and I’ve been impressed with the general efficiency. The primary digicam can deal with difficult lighting situations fairly properly, and I assumed the low-light efficiency was higher than anticipated.

Having a 50MP ultra-wide is a pleasant bonus, reasonably priced manufacturers like Realme will usually use a low-quality 8MP sensor. The ultra-wide digicam can take some nice pictures however doesn’t carry out as properly in low gentle.

For video, this goes as much as 4K@120fps or 8K@30fps. With each of those modes, you lose the antishake operate, it’s a must to drop all the way down to 4K@60fps earlier than that is accessible.

Efficiency and Benchmarks

The Nubia Z50 has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, which is technically not the newest flagship chipset anymore, however it’s nonetheless an excellent chipset with excellent efficiency.

I’ve benchmarked the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 a number of occasions with different units prior to now, and this achieves outcomes which can be increased than regular in some checks, particularly gaming.

ZTE/Nubia seems to favour efficiency over effectivity, and within the 3DMark Wildlife Stress Take a look at, it achieved a rating of 13754 for the very best loop and 10082 for the bottom loop, giving it a stability of 73.3%. This is much better than the Honor Magic5 Professional, however the caveat is the temperature whet type 21° to 55°, which is considerably increased than most conventional telephones. You’d usually see 44° as the utmost temperature.

The battery goes from 99% all the way down to 84%, with a 15percentpt drop additionally being far larger than competing units. This equates to round 750mAh, whereas the used Honor Magic5 Professional 408mAh.

Just like 3Dmark, the Antutu result’s increased than competing telephones, with a rating of 1571838, which is 15% increased than my Honor Magic5 Professional. Nonetheless, the temperature will increase, and the battery drain is considerably increased.

Shifting on to Geekbench 6, the telephone achieves about the identical as different telephones with 1928/5480.

So far as day-to-day efficiency goes, it’s a telephone with the very best chipset for 2023 mixed with a quick 144Hz show, the telephone comfortably handles all the pieces with ease and is a pleasure to make use of.

Battery and Charging

The telephone is supplied with a 5000 mAh battery, which has change into the standard capability for many telephones these days. You then have 80W wired charging however no wi-fi.

With this being the Chinese language mannequin, it got here with a two-pin sort A plug, however the Amazon package deal additionally included an adaptor.

Despite the fact that the benchmarks would point out that this telephone will drain the battery rapidly as a result of increased efficiency, for day-to-day utilization, this isn’t actually noticeable. It will possibly comfortably make it by way of a day of average to heavy use and has considerably higher display screen time than my Pixel 8 Professional.

The 80W cost pace will not be potential with all third-party chargers, as my Anker Prime 12000mAh Energy Financial institution tops out at 26.4W when charging. The telephone reveals as tremendous charging utilizing my Ugreen Nexode 300W, and it seems to be the identical because the included charger.

Android 13 & MyOS 13

As beforehand established, that is utilizing the Chinese language ROM. There are not any vital points with this; it has English built-in, and regardless that Google will not be put in by default, there are not any issues getting it to work. Nubia even has a useful one-click set up icon.

There may be surprisingly not that a lot bloatware, which is uncommon for a telephone designed for the Asian market.

The wallpapers all have some Chinese language textual content on them. I assumed this was only a credit score, nevertheless it appears to have one thing to do with the immediately’s wallpapers function. You possibly can manually obtain and assign wallpapers, setting them for the lock and residential display screen, and the textual content is eliminated.

The App Centre is probably essentially the most annoying app that you’ll have to cope with. That is their very own app retailer, in case you try to sideload apps, it can do a safety scan and attempt to redirect you to this app retailer. The primary App Centre UI is in English, however all of the apps are listed in Chinese language. It isn’t potential to uninstall or disable this app. I discovered the very best answer was to enter the settings and disable all the pieces, then go into the app data and take away as many permissions as potential, in addition to notification entry. That manner, it could’t hassle you, although it can nonetheless be used when sideloading APKs.

Other than that, the opposite apps included are:

• Recreation Centre (may be uninstalled)
• Browser (may be disabled)
• Snapseed (may be uninstalled)
• Theme (may be disabled)
• Z-Assistant
• Z-Backup (may be uninstalled)

That’s not a bloat for any telephone, not to mention a Chinese language telephone, which is kind of spectacular (albeit this needs to be the usual).

It’s also value noting that I used to be capable of register a card with Google Pockets, which isn’t all the time potential with imported telephones.

Worth and Different Choices

The Nubia Z50 is out there on Amazon UK for £499 RRP, and on the time of writing, there was a further £30 off voucher.

The Redmagic 8S Professional is listed at £579 for 12GB/256GB, however this wasn’t in inventory after I checked. That is, in fact, a gaming-focused telephone with an lively cooling fan and shoulder triggers. It has a greater spec in some areas however falls quick in others.

The ZTE Nubia Z50S Pro is listed on Amazon for £700 with £40 off accessible. I believe that is the worldwide variant, as Nubia additionally sells it on their very own web site for £660. This mannequin considerably improves the digicam with a 50 MP 1/1.49″ main digicam and a further 8MP zoom lens. Oddly, this has a flat show with solely a 120Hz refresh charge, however it’s brighter.

The ASUS Zenfone 10 is out there for £720.

The Motorola Edge 40 Professional is listed at £735.

So, the Nubia Z50 is the most affordable Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 telephone accessible from a UK retailer. Nonetheless, contemplating that is the Chinese language variant, you may use a gray import web site resembling Giztop.

The Vivo iQOO 12 is listed at $649 which works out at £515, and can be the Chinese language variant. This has the newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, a greater digicam, and quicker charging.

The Xiaomi 14 is listed at $659 or £522.

The OnePlus Ace 2 Professional is listed at $549 or £435.

Total

For the worth you pay, the Nubia Z50 is a superb telephone.

Sure, you may get cheaper telephones from Giztop and related web sites, however these websites have poor customer support. Returns and guarantee claims will all require you to ship the system again to the vendor, which can doubtless imply sending it again to China at a hefty worth.

So, the Nubia Z50 might be the most suitable choice you might have if you’d like an reasonably priced telephone with a flagship chipset and the peace of thoughts you get with ordering from Amazon within the UK.

Despite the fact that it’s an reasonably priced telephone, there’s a lot to love about it. The digicam efficiency was higher than anticipated, the OS was far much less bloated than anticipated for Chinese language/Asian telephones, and I skilled no noticeable software program glitches.

Total, in case you have life like expectations and are OK with a few compromises with a Chinese language import, then I can simply suggest the Nubia Z50.

Final replace on 2023-12-10 / Affiliate hyperlinks / Photographs from Amazon Product Promoting API