Why you may belief Digital Digicam World
Our skilled reviewers spend hours testing and evaluating services and products so you may select the most effective for you. Learn the way we take a look at.
The Nubia Z80 Extremely is a really distinctive proposition. It is virtually equal components gaming system and digicam telephone, and it is completely bursting with flagship-level specs. On the identical time, it is priced like an higher mid-range telephone, that means it is extremely reasonably priced.
With the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC, a 7200 mAh battery with 80W wired/wi-fi charging, an enormous uninterrupted show, and high-resolution cameras with massive sensors, this telephone looks like it ought to value twice as a lot. So, what is the catch? Sadly, there are a couple of, however the value level would possibly make all of it worthwhile.
Nubia Z80 Extremely: Specs
|
Processor |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen |
|
RAM / Storage |
12GB+256GB / 16GB+512GB / 16GB+1TB |
|
Display screen |
6.85-inch 144Hz OLED 2688×1216 |
|
Extensive Digicam |
35mm 50MP f/1.7 (1/1.3-inch) |
|
Ultrawide Digicam |
18mm 50MP f/1.8 (1/1.55-inch) |
|
Telephoto Digicam |
70mm 64MP f/1.48 (1/2-inch) |
|
Entrance Digicam |
16MP f/2.0 under-display digicam |
|
Video |
As much as 8K30 / 4K120 |
|
Battery |
7200 mAh / 80W wired + wi-fi charging |
|
Working System |
Nebula AIOS 2, primarily based on Android 16 |
|
Dimension |
164.5 x 77.2 x 8.6 mm |
|
Weight |
227 g |
Nubia Z80 Extremely: Value
The Nubia Z80 Extremely begins at simply $649 / £579 for the bottom mannequin, which comes with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It is also accessible with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $799 / £709 or with 16GB+1TB for $899 / £799.
So, regardless of having loads of flagship-level specs, the Nubia Z80 Extremely is priced extra equally to upper-mid-range gadgets just like the Xiaomi 15T Professional and Honor 400 Professional. It is notably spectacular that Nubia managed to incorporate the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor at a value like this.
Nubia Z80 Extremely: Design
The Nubia Z80 Extremely has an analogous design to the previous few Z-series telephones. It is a big telephone with a boxy design, squared-off corners and a gently rounded body. Within the hand, it jogs my memory of the Galaxy S24 Extremely, earlier than Samsung flattened out the aspect rails.
I’ve the white mannequin in for testing, but it surely’s additionally accessible in black or with a wild Vincent Van Gogh-inspired Starry Evening mural on the rear. It is good that there is one thing for everybody, whether or not you are trying to mix in or stand out from the gang. It ought to be famous, although, that the bottom mannequin is just accessible in Black.
It is a hefty telephone, with a 6.85-inch display screen and weighing in at 220g, however I discovered it comfy to make use of. It ought to be famous, although, that I’ve pretty massive fingers; these with smaller paws might discover it tough to succeed in the higher portion of the show.
Picture 1 of 3
The telephone has a customisable sliding swap on the left aspect, a bit just like the slider you’d discover on a traditional iPhone or OnePlus system. This may be set to open the digicam, entry the gaming menu, toggle the flashlight, begin the voice recorder or swap sound profile. It is a good tactile addition that I discovered fairly helpful.
On the opposite aspect of the telephone, you will discover the same old energy button and zoom rocker, in addition to a devoted digicam button. It is similar to the one on Sony Xperia flagships; it may be half-pressed to focus, and absolutely depressed to take a shot. In the meantime, a double click on can open the digicam, even when the telephone is locked.
On the rear, the cameras appear like they imply enterprise. Particularly the primary digicam, which stands pleased with the digicam island with a reasonably hefty lens housing. I fairly just like the look general; it is fairly a novel design, however the digicam placement appears somewhat haphazard. In the event you’re a fan of symmetry, you won’t be so into it.
Probably the most uncommon issues about this telephone is its selfie digicam. It is hidden underneath the show, and except you are actually in search of it, you may be simply satisfied that there isn’t any selfie digicam in any respect. It is a comparable expertise that earlier Galaxy Z Fold gadgets used, and also you get the identical factor on Redmagic gaming telephones, with which this telephone shares some DNA.
It is definitely a formidable feat of engineering, it means you get a beautiful full-screen expertise with no notches or cutouts – good for gaming or watching motion pictures in your travels. It is fairly an odd alternative on a camera-focused telephone like this, although, because it means the entrance digicam high quality is fairly dire – however extra on that later.
Elsewhere, the display screen specs are nothing however spectacular. There is a super-quick 144Hz refresh price, 2592Hz PWM dimming to stop eye-strain and a peak brightness of 2000 nits. The display screen additionally options an ultrasonic under-display fingerprint scanner, which suggests it will work nicely when your fingers are barely moist, and it will not blind you in a darkish room.
It is also price mentioning that the audio system and haptic suggestions are very spectacular, maybe additionally inherited from the Redmagic gaming lineup. I’d have cherished to see the three.5mm headphone jack make an look, too, however alas, you will must depend on Bluetooth or a USB dongle with this one.
The telephone has an IP68/69 score for mud and water resistance, so it will deal with dunks in recent water, sprays of scorching water and mud ought to trigger no points. When you have adventurous plans, this telephone ought to have the ability to maintain tempo.
Nubia Z80 Extremely: Digicam Efficiency
The Nubia Z80 Extremely has a triple digicam system on its rear. There is a 50MP most important sensor with a 35mm equal focal size and a large 1/1.3-inch sensor. It is joined by a 50MP 18mm-equivalent ultrawide digicam, and that additionally has an unusually massive sensor, it is 1/1.55-inch, rivalling a whole lot of most important cameras. Lastly, there is a 64MP 70mm-equivalent telephoto with a 1/2-inch sensor.
Each digicam has autofocus, however the ultrawide and telephoto lenses are higher for close-up capturing. The ultrawide can focus only a few centimetres from the lens, whereas the telephoto has a 15cm minimal focus distance. The principle digicam requires you to again as much as round 25cm or so.
After all, now we have that intelligent under-display digicam across the entrance, and as spectacular as it’s, except you are in completely good lighting situations, the outcomes are horrible. The preview appears like a Vaseline-smeared webcam from the 90s, and if you snap an image, extraordinarily heavy processing makes you look cartoonish and unnatural. In the event you care about selfies, it is protected to say this telephone is not the one for you.
The rear cameras, however, impressed me quite a bit. Turning the telephone round to snap a self-portrait with the primary lens, I used to be shocked by the shallow depth of discipline and readability. Nonetheless, you need to know that this telephone provides a beautification filter by default, so you will have to dive into the settings and switch off Clever Magnificence, except you wish to look extremely airbrushed.
The digicam loadout jogs my memory of the Vivo X200 Extremely, one among my favorite telephones of 2025. You get the identical 35mm most important digicam, which offers a really natural-looking FOV in comparison with most telephones, which normally hover across the 23mm mark. Plus, you get a really massive sensor on the ultrawide digicam, so in the event you want a 23mm-ish shot in low mild situations, you need to have the ability to crop into the ultrawide barely and nonetheless get good outcomes.
Picture 1 of 4
The dealing with of the telephoto lens is sort of unusual. The digicam app defaults to an 85mm focal size, but it surely’s truly a 70mm lens. Except you mess around with the settings, you could be fooled into pondering it is 85mm-native.
I am in two minds about this. 85mm is one among my favorite focal lengths, so I’ve no complaints about capturing like that, but it surely additionally means you are not getting the very best high quality from the digicam by default, because the slight digital crop degrades the picture high quality. Regardless, you will get again to 70mm with a few faucets, but it surely’s price understanding about.
Total, I used to be fairly happy with the pictures I acquired from the rear cameras. They typically rival the pictures that I take with telephones that value twice as a lot. Nonetheless, there are two key areas the place the digicam system falls brief.
The primary is digital zoom. In the event you push the telephone to 10x or above, you should not count on high quality outcomes. Different manufacturers are utilizing every kind of tips to reinforce these long-range zoom photographs, and Nubia’s processing cannot compete. The telephone can push to a most of 50x zoom, however in the event you get anyplace shut, you may count on a blurry mess of a picture.
Picture 1 of 9
The opposite downside is the picture processing. It’s extremely contrasty and extremely sharpened by default, which may look nice in the precise situations, however it might additionally destroy photographs. This telephone would not have the extent of consistency that we have come to count on from top-tier flagships, however when it hits, it might look magnificent.
Fortunately, you may shoot RAW in the event you enter the Professional mode, so you may deal with all of the processing your self, in the event you desire. There’s additionally a variety of filters with iPhone-inspired tone controls, so there are many choices if you wish to change up the look.
Picture 1 of 3
Above: testing the AI-assisted superzoom
Picture 1 of 3
Above: here is how the Z80 Extremely’s cameras carry out at night time
In relation to video capturing, it is a bit of a blended bag. You possibly can shoot at as much as 4K 120fps on all three rear lenses, which is a real rarity on this value vary, and really helpful for some cinematic slow-motion pictures. You possibly can even shoot at 8K 30fps on the primary digicam, however I am not satisfied anybody must.
The place it falls aside is with the stabilisation. For some cause, EIS is off by default, which suggests the footage may be very shaky, particularly on the ultrawide (which appears to lack OIS). Turning on “Anti-Shake Mode” makes issues look significantly better, however in the event you swap lenses whereas recording, it simply digitally crops in, moderately than truly switching to the subsequent digicam.
This makes capturing with the Z80 Extremely very irritating, as if you’re utilizing Anti-Shake, you will want to consider which lens you wish to shoot with earlier than hitting report.
Nubia actually wants to transform the video mode to make it extra user-friendly, as a result of as soon as all the things is about up appropriately, the footage appears nice. However, by default, you are going to find yourself with some disappointingly shaky pictures.
Nubia Z80 Extremely: Cellphone Efficiency
The Nubia Z80 Extremely is powered by one of the vital highly effective chips available on the market, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. In the event you’re not acquainted, all it is advisable to know is that this telephone is an absolute rocket.
I’ve already talked about that this telephone shares some similarities with the Redmagic gaming gadgets, and that is most evident within the software program. It has all the identical in-depth gaming customisation choices, from overclocking and notification blocking, to tremendous superior options, like the power to play panorama video games in portrait mode or use AI to routinely decide up gadgets.
The software program optimisations and intensely highly effective {hardware}, mixed with the beautiful notch-free show, make this the most effective gaming handsets round – the truth that it has respectable cameras solely sweetens the deal. It runs essentially the most demanding video games at most settings with out breaking a sweat.
Picture 1 of 3
Outdoors of gaming, the Nubia Z80 Extremely’s software program is somewhat hit or miss. It runs nicely sufficient, and I did not encounter too many bugs, but it surely’s not my favorite OS aesthetically. It lacks some polish in comparison with the competitors, and you may typically encounter clunky translations or the occasional Chinese language character. It isn’t exhausting to stay with, but it surely cheapens the texture of an in any other case premium telephone.
What bugged me essentially the most was that the telephone would not appear to assist Circle to Search, and you aren’t getting the same old Google Uncover display screen if you swipe proper on the house display screen. As a substitute, you get Nubia’s Z-Board, which is crammed with spammy app suggestions and clickbait information. Fortunately, the Z-Board display screen could be turned off in Settings.
With that each one stated, I discovered the Nubia Z80 Extremely straightforward to maneuver into. Most options perform equally to your common Android handset, and there is some fairly deep integration with Google companies. The default gallery app is Google Photographs, as an example, and Gemini is the default assistant.
The Nubia Z80 Extremely has a big 7200 mAh battery, one of many largest I’ve used apart from the Oppo Discover X9 Professional. As you would possibly count on, this ends in phenomenal battery life, and I typically discovered myself going for 2 days on a cost. After all, with plenty of gaming and digicam use, the lifespan will shorten.
It costs tremendous fast, too, whether or not you choose to make use of a wire or a wi-fi charging pad. In both case, it helps speeds of as much as 80W, which is sufficient to get you from flat to full in underneath an hour. Sadly, there isn’t any wall adapter included within the field, only a cable, however discovering a appropriate 80W brick should not be too exhausting. Discovering an 80W wi-fi charger, however, would possibly show more difficult.
One of many greatest downsides, in comparison with a mainstream handset, might be the software program assist phrases. Nubia says, “The system will obtain software program assist for as much as three years, together with one main Android improve. Extra firmware updates and optimisations can even be rolled out primarily based on market demand”.
It’s kind of of a wishy-washy promise. You would possibly get three years of updates, otherwise you would possibly simply get one Android replace. It is a great distance behind the likes of Apple and Samsung, which promise 7 years of updates on their flagship fashions, however maybe the financial savings are a worthy tradeoff.
Nubia Z80 Extremely: Verdict
The Nubia Z80 Extremely is astonishingly good worth. It is superb that simply $649 / £579 can get you the most recent Snapdragon chip, an enormous battery, speedy wired and wi-fi charging, and such good digicam specs.
Nonetheless, it is vital to contemplate the downsides, too. The software program is a bit tough across the edges, and the assist phrases are unimpressive. Photographs from the selfie digicam look terrible, and the picture processing as a complete may be very hit or miss.
That stated, in the event you’re equal components gamer and photographer, nobody is coming near providing you this a lot. Particularly contemplating the worth. For the precise individual, this telephone is a superb purchase.