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Nubia Z60 Ultra: $600 Galaxy S24 Ultra killer - the definition of “the best phone you’ll never buy"?

Published: Dec 31, 2023, 5:04 AM

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This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.

Nubia Z60 Ultra: $600 Galaxy S24 Ultra killer - the definition of “the best phone you’ll never b

Ever since the Huawei ban, which came into effect in 2020, the global smartphone scene hasn’t been the same.

With Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo taking a while to release their phones globally (if at all), Apple, Samsung, and Google’s hegemony has only been growing stronger and stronger.

OnePlus, Nothing and Motorola began to challenge the big dogs with a few respectable offers in the past year or so, but the smartphone scene has still been missing an old-school Chinese flagship-killer available for everyone to buy. However, the wait is now over thanks to one of the most impressive smartphone offers I’ve come across in a very long while.

Apple, Samsung, and Google’s biggest challenger comes from a very unlikely source (ZTE), and it’s called the Nubia Z60 Ultra. And while it boasts an unbelievable package for the price, arguably the best “feature” it has might be immediate global availability, which is pretty much unheard of when it comes to flagship-killer phones from China.

The Nubia Z60 Ultra is up for pre-order through Nubia's website and will start shipping on December 29. As mentioned, the Nubia Z60 Ultra’s superpower is that the phone will be available in North America, Europe, the UK, and Mexico - from day one. Not two, not four, not six months later (looking at you, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo…).

ZTE Nubia Z60 Ultra prices:

8/256GB - $599 / €679 / £679
12/256GB - $649 / €749 / £749
16/512GB - $779 / €899 / £899

Nubia is running early bird offers in the US, UK, and Europe. You get $30 in the US; €80 and €120 off for the 12/256GB and 16/512GB models in Europe, and £80 and £120 off for the 12/256GB and 16/512GB models in the UK (offers end December 29).

But can ZTE/Nubia be the one to shake up the smartphone market in the US, UK, and Europe?

ZTE Nubia Z60 Ultra: Available in the US, UK, and Europe, ZTE’s new flagship phone is a Galaxy S24 Ultra at half the price - under-display camera; fastest chip, insane battery, and a flagship camera at $600

Show me a more impressive spec sheet than that of the Nubia Z60 Ultra for $600. Or $800. Or $1,000.

So, fine… good prices for an Ultra-branded flagship phone, and global availability… But is there anything special about the Nubia Z60 Ultra? Well, to my surprise, yes…

While similar “flagship-killer” offers from the likes of Nothing and OnePlus tend to cut some corners in order to make the phone more affordable and still earn a profit, I’m not sure if ZTE will be making much/any money here. And that’s because the hardware we’re talking about is truly flagship-grade with only one notable exception - wireless charging.

The ZTE Nubia Z60 Ultra is the first globally-available phone with the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. On top of that, Nubia is generous enough to give you 256GB of storage with the base $600 model. Come on now…

While back in the summer of 2023, Nothing decided to equip the $600 Nothing Phone 2 with last year’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, ZTE is going all in with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for the same $600 starting price, which is pretty unbelievable

ZTE has given the $600 Nubia Z60 Ultra a seriously impressive camera system with a pro-grade twist - a 35mm prime lens with a more realistic focal length; a 64MP, 3.3x periscope zoom camera, and the largest ultra-wide camera sensor in any flagship (1/1.55-inches), with the largest aperture (f/1.8); the Nubia Z60 Ultra is also the first phone able to record 120fps videos with all of its three rear cameras

To help you understand how impressive the camera hardware on the Nubia Z60 Ultra is, keep in mind that the $1,000 Galaxy S24+ is expected to use a 50MP 1/1.56-inch sensor with an f/1.8 aperture for its primary camera. Meanwhile, Nubia’s $600 flagship is bringing an identical 50MP sensor to its ultra-wide camera. My guess is that Nubia wants the UWA snapper to be as good as possible and act as an alternative to the primary lens, which is fixed at 35mm (an equivalent of 1.5x zoom compared to traditional wide cameras).

At 6,000 mAh, the Nubia Z60 Ultra has the largest battery of any flagship phone in 2023-2024. You can charge it to full in just about 40 minutes.

But maybe you’re not impressed yet? How about the largest battery in any flagship phone at 6,000 mAh, and 80W of fast charging? For reference, the new Galaxy S24 Ultra is expected to launch with the same 5,000 mAh cell as the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Pixel 8 Pro, and none of then come even close to the charging speeds of the Nubia Z60 Ultra, which can get from 0-100% in about 40 minutes (despite the humongous 6,000 mAh battery)

In a very surprising turn of events, ZTE has even gone out and splurged to give the Nubia Z60 Ultra an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance - something other $600 flagship-killers can’t give you (granted, you get this feature on cheaper phones from Samsung, Apple, and Google but they cut multiple corners to get there)

The ZTE Nubia Z60 Ultra is the only globally available flagship phone with a 100% uninterrupted display, thanks to a 12MP under-display camera, which is literally invisible to the eye; ZTE is a pioneer in UDC tech, and this is the 4th gen UDC they deliver

Being a ZTE phone (ZTE makes excellent gaming phones), the Nubia Z60 Ultra also brings some gaming-centric enhancement like an aerospace-grade thermal plate, a large vapor chamber with superconducting nanocarbon fiber, and a dedicated Game Space with features like Super frame stabilization for smoother gaming

While I’m not a big gamer, I like the idea of going the extra mile to make sure a flagship phone has a good enough cooling system to keep the SoC cool under heavy loads. Pixel users would know what I’m talking about.

The ZTE Nubia Z60 has it all apart from wireless charging but: Not “perfect” but perfect for the price

ZTE’s questionable software support track record is the biggest red flag about the Nubia Z60 Ultra. Is ZTE ready to promise reliable software support at some point?

Now, like every other phone, the Nubia Z60 Ultra isn’t going to be “perfect”, and there are some things you should be aware of:

ZTE (like many other Chinese brands) has a questionable software support track record, meaning the Nubia Z60 Ultra won’t be getting software upgrades as fast as a Pixel/Galaxy, and likely not for as long

The incredibly well hidden under-display selfie camera in the Z60 Ultra is an awesome engineering feat but sacrificing quality over having a tiny hole in your display might not be everyone’s cup of tea in the age of TikTok

As mentioned earlier, the most obvious hardware omission from the Nubia Z60 Ultra is wireless charging - again, not a big deal for everyone, especially considering the super-fast wired charging ZTE is offering; generally, I’d take fast charging over wireless charging any day but I feel like making the phone $10-20 more expensive to add wireless charging would’ve been the right move

Much like the Galaxy S23 Ultra (236g) and the upcoming Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Nubia Z60 Ultra is a big, boxy, and heavy phone (246g), which won’t be the best fit for people with small hands; if I was on the market for an amazing deal, this would be the biggest dealbreaker for me but it just so happens that almost everybody today likes large phones, so I guess I’m a minority

I haven’t talked about the design of the Nubia Z60 Ultra since this one’s rather subjective, but I love the fact that ZTE is going for something… different. Sure, I’m not a big fan of the boxy shape and sharp corners (just like I don’t like them on Samsung’s Ultra flagship), but the aesthetic is on point here - especially with the SIlver color.

Is the ZTE Nubia Z60 Ultra a real contender in a world dominated by Samsung and Apple flagships, and can it make a name for itself?

At half the price, the Nubia Z60 Ultra looks at least 90% as good as the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the upcoming Galaxy S24 Ultra. If not even better?

I’m not sure what ZTE was thinking, but it’s pretty safe to say that the “ZTE Nubia Z60 Ultra” is the wrong name for a phone that’s trying to make a name for itself. Let’s go with something shorter next time?

The unbelievable price in the US, as well as the UK and Europe (where Apple, Samsung, and Google flagships have been getting extremely expensive) makes the Nubia Z60 Ultra a special, special phone.

For reference, the iPhone 15 Pro Max starts at $1,200 in the US, £1,200 in the UK, and a whopping €1,450 in Europe, while the price of the upcoming Galaxy S24 Ultra should be pretty similar to that of Apple’s premium flagship. I’m not great at math but I’m pretty sure this makes the $600 Nubia Z60 Ultra (at least) half as expensive as other “Ultra” flagships.

At the same time, other $600 phones like the Nothing Phone 2 don’t come close to the hardware offered by the Z60 Ultra. Nothing’s supposed flagship-killer has an SoC that’s two generations older now; an inferior camera system without a zoom lens; a far smaller battery; no IP68 rating; and it starts at just 128GB of storage.

Of course, we have to review the Nubia Z60 Ultra to find out exactly how good of a phone it is. However, on paper, ZTE is giving us what might be the most impressive flagship package I’ve seen in a very, very long time.

Now, does all of this automatically make the Nubia Z60 Ultra an actual contender? Well, given Nubia’s more or less non-existent reputation in the US, UK, and Europe and the fact that mainstream flagships like the iPhone 15, Galaxy S23, and Pixel 8 offer less “bang for the buck” but a greater brand promise… I’m afraid ZTE is going to struggle to make an impression. But I suppose the key phrase here is “bang for the buck”.

If you want the most impressive (truly globally available!) flagship $600 can buy, nothing comes even close to the Nubia Z60 Ultra, and this might be the case for the entire 2024. I’d be shocked to see any other phone-maker launch a more impressive phone for just $600.

So… what is ZTE trying to achieve here? Is this an official declaration of war against Samsung, Google, OnePlus, and Apple, or just a one-off? I certainly hope it’s the former. What do you think?

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Martin, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, brings a unique blend of humor and insight to his work. His fascination with smartphones began with a Galaxy Young and evolved through a series of trades and upgrades, making him a self-proclaimed smartphone nerd. Martin's content often combines current analysis of market trends with historical references and future predictions. Whether it's a deep dive into technical issues or a first-person commentary on industry events, Martin's articles are designed to inform and engage. His critical perspective is driven by genuine curiosity and a desire to keep readers informed, not by any corporate sponsorship.