ZTE Nubia Z90 Ultra Review: specs and features, camera quality test, gaming benchmark, user opinions and photos

ZTE Nubia Z90 Ultra - Gradual Fixing of Flaws

For the past few years, the Chinese company ZTE's flagship smartphones have evoked a range of admiration and outright hatred among buyers. Originality, numerous competitive advantages, and an incredible combination of price and features have coexisted with mediocre software optimization and a number of other controversial issues. The hero of today's review hasn't completely eliminated these shortcomings, but it has become much less of a compromise.

The new device's appearance is stunning. The placement of the front camera inside the display, a rare feature even for a premium smartphone, along with a fingerprint scanner, incredibly thin bezels all around the screen, a distinctive camera module, a variety of colors to suit every taste, and full IP68 water resistance combine to create a stunning exterior. The nearly 7-inch AMOLED panel doesn't set any clarity records with a resolution of 2688x1216 pixels, but individual pixels are also invisible. However, they help images reach flagship levels thanks to a smooth 144Hz refresh rate, peak brightness exceeding 5000 nits, and well-calibrated color reproduction. Among the drawbacks, the selfie camera is still poorly suited for artistic photography.

Technical specifications include a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro chipset, 12GB/16GB of storage, and an Adreno 850 graphics adapter. This is a new standard for high-end phones. The processor easily surpasses the 4,500,000 point mark in AnTuTu, a performance that will be appreciated by both casual users and the most demanding gamers. Fortnite, Diablo Immortal, Zenless Zone Zero, and dozens of other resource-intensive games will run perfectly at maximum graphics presets and frame rates exceeding 120 frames per second. Meanwhile, the case's temperature during gameplay is far from critical, and throttling is hardly noticeable. The 8000mAh battery provides up to 10-12 hours of screen-on time. Wireless charging, with a whopping 80W, is complemented by a wired 100W option. 512GB/1024GB of storage is available.

Photography capabilities have been brought up to par with key competitors. The large 200-megapixel main sensor and 64-megapixel telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom are equipped with a hybrid image stabilization system and are up to the task in even the most challenging shooting situations. Even an inexperienced photographer can capture images with excellent detail in low light or with lots of moving objects. A 50-megapixel wide-angle lens is also a useful addition. Stereo sound is decent, but nothing more; it won't replace a full-fledged Bluetooth speaker. NFC contactless payments, eSIM support (not available in all regional versions) and 5G frequencies, liquid CPU cooling, and an affordable price tag for this segment round out the list of pluses, which doesn't include the software. Some app features are limited, and you might occasionally encounter an untranslated word. But such shortcomings don't detract too much from the overall impression of this ambitious and well-balanced device.