Sorry, Samsung, Apple! This $600 phone is everything Galaxy S23 Ultra, iPhone 14 Pro will never be

ZTE is one of the pioneers of under-display selfie cameras, which might be why the 4th gen under-display selfie shooter here is literally impossible to see - take notes, Galaxy Z Fold 4. Of course, all under-display cameras have one downside in common, which is the barely passable image quality, so forget about the Nubia Z50 Ultra if you are a vlogger or an influencer.

That being said, the completely uninterrupted display of the Nubia Z50 Ultra isn’t where the design marvels end. Just take a look at the back of the phone! I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen such a unique-looking rear look in a while. I’m a fan of the silver finish in particular, which makes the camera housing and red buttons stand out.

ZTE’s camera system focused on professional lenses shows Apple and Samsung what can be done with some imagination; flagship-grade specs match Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro at half the price

The impossible feat ZTE pulled off doesn’t end with the design. The Nubia Z50 Ultra also pushes the envelope when it comes to cameras, delivering one of the most unique camera systems I can think of. Again, at half the price of mainstream flagships...

• 64 MP, f/1.6, 35mm (standard), 1/1.3", 1.0µm, PDAF, Laser AF, OIS
• 64 MP, f/3.3, 85mm (periscope telephoto), 1/2", PDAF, OIS, 3.3x optical zoom (vs. 26mm cam)
• 50 MP, f/2.X, 14mm, 116˚ (ultrawide), PDAF

All rear camera sensors found on the Nubia Z50 Ultra are very large with the zoom and ultra-wide sensors being noticeably larger than the ones found in mainstream flagship phones like the Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max. But the even more fascinating part is what ZTE has decided to do with the focal lengths of those cameras.

The primary shooter defaults to 35mm, which gives it a much tighter look, closer to what the human eye actually sees. This is done to eliminate that familiar problem where you’re trying to take a photo of something with your primary camera but it looks somewhat distorted and “unprofessional”, or in other words not exactly like what you're seeing with your own eyes (perspective wise).

The photo and video samples I’ve examined appear very natural and certainly flagship-grade. Especially when it comes to photo quality, the Nubia Z50 Ultra seems to hold its own against phones like the iPhone 14 Pro Max, with the latter costing twice as much. Again, bear in mind that I haven’t shot these photos myself. Take a look at this Gizmochina video, which includes camera samples from the Nubia Z50 Ultra.

The rest of the hardware of the Nubia Z50 Ultra also matches the most expensive Android phones on the market, which makes it hard to believe how ZTE managed to pull that off and whether the company is making any money at all here (that's rather unlikely)…

• 6.8-inch, edge-to-edge, 120Hz OLED display, which doesn’t even make the phone that heavy (228g) compared to other phones with large displays Galaxy S23 Ultra (234g) and iPhone 14 Pro Max (240g)

• The Nubia Z50 Ultra gives you 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM for the cheapest, base model (the top-tier version is 1TB/16GB)

• ZTE’s Ultra flagships packs a large 5,000 mAh battery with 80W fast charging (nearly 50% faster than the Galaxy S23 Ultra and twice as fast as the iPhone 14 Pro Max)

Attention, OnePlus! The ZTE Nubia Z50 Ultra is the real flagship-killer (but only if it launches in leaves China, and focuses on delivering extended software support)

Pricing for the ZTE Nubia Z50 Ultra is as follows…

• 8 GB & 256 GB: CNY 3,999 (~US$580)
• 12 GB & 256 GB: CNY 4,299 (~US$625)
• 12 GB & 512 GB: CNY 4,699 (~US$670)
• 12 GB & 512 GB: CNY 4,999 (~US$730) Starry Night Edition
• 16 GB & 1TB: CNY 5,999 (~US$880)

Of course if you know anything about some of the most impressive Android phones on the planet, you already know what the “catch” is… The ZTE Nubia Z50 Ultra likely won’t be leaving China. However, the good news is that for a $100 markup one could easily import the phone. The Nubia Z50 Ultra supports Google apps and services, so “the Huawei factor” shouldn’t hold you back.

Now, I’ll be absolutely honest with you… I probably wouldn’t import/buy the Nubia Z50 Ultra but that’s because I already have plenty of great flagship phones to use and play with. I’ve also decided to stop buying brand new phones altogether (but that’s a different topic). Another reason to skip this one is the questionable software support, which might leave you with just 1-2 major OS updates (judging by ZTE's current record).

And despite that, the tech enthusiast in me is itching to get his hands on this stunning-looking phone, which isn’t even that expensive (all things considered). I mean, my iPhone 14 Pro (6.1-inch) is the equivalent of $1,500 where I live, and I like the design of the Nubia Z50 Ultra way more - Nubia’s flagships also packs (arguably) more impressive hardware at half the price - even when it comes to cameras.

So... I guess, the question I’ll leave everyone with is: "What would happen if ZTE decided to launch the Nubia Z50 Ultra outside of China?". Something is telling me the likes of Samsung, Apple, and Google would get a little bit nervous. I know it’s a hypothetical, but just imagine this one launched in your country at the equivalent of $700 (as much as the OnePlus 11). It’s certainly one of the best-looking $700 phones I’ve ever seen, and competition is always good for the consumer!