The final Nubia telephone that I used with any quantity of regularity was the Redmagic 6 Professional, and whereas the gaming telephone had lots to supply on the {hardware} aspect of issues, the software program was one of many worst I might used. It was buggy, vulnerable to distinction crashes, and filled with translation errors. Fortunately, Nubia made quite a lot of modifications within the final three years, and the Z60 Extremely provides a clear Android interface with none overt customization or bloatware — a refreshing change of tempo.
That is a superb start line, and the excellent news retains on coming. The Z60 Extremely has an all-screen design with none seen cutout because of an under-display digital camera, making it invisible. Greater than anything, this differentiates the telephone from each different system available in the market, and it instantly brings again reminiscences of the OnePlus 7 Professional.
You additionally get the newest Qualcomm silicon, a big 6000mAh battery, first rate cameras, and a stellar worth. However do you have to purchase the telephone in lieu of extra established units? Let’s have a look.
Nubia Z60 Extremely: Pricing and launch date
Nubia launched the Z60 Extremely on the finish of December, and the telephone is now obtainable globally. There are three variants obtainable: a base mannequin with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $599, a 12GB/256GB model that prices $649, and a 16GB/512GB mannequin that is obtainable for $779.
The Z60 Extremely is bought in silver and black variations, however the base mannequin is not obtainable within the silver variant.
Nubia Z60 Extremely: Design
The Z60 Extremely is an enormous slab of a telephone, and it dwarfs each different system on this space. It’s taller and thicker than even the Galaxy S24 Extremely, and coming in at 246g, it’s 14g heavier than Samsung’s flagship. And whereas Samsung went with a design that makes the S24 Extremely slightly simpler to make use of, Nubia made no such issues — the Z60 Extremely has flat sides that do not present a lot in the way in which of grip.
However the principle spotlight of the system is that it has an under-display digital camera on the entrance, so you do not have a cutout of any form. Meaning you get an all-screen design that appears unimaginable, and whereas you may make out the cutout when you’re viewing the display screen at an off-axis angle, it is not noticeable in day by day use.
One other key speaking level with the design is the digital camera island on the again; the Z60 Extremely has an enormous rectangular housing that in some way overshadows the likes of the Xiaomi 13 Extremely and Discover X7 Extremely, two units which have larger digital camera modules. The housing takes up a 3rd of the again, and it has a two-tone design that highlights the principle digital camera slightly higher.
Not that it wants any further consideration; the sensor itself is encircled by a big ring with a crimson accent, and the zoom lens equally has an oblong design protecting it. Just like the finest Samsung telephones, the Z60 Extremely will get IP68 mud and water resistance, and it does an important job weathering the weather.
The glass again has a silky texture that feels nice, and it does not choose up any smudges. The metallic sides would have benefitted from a matte end as that may have made utilizing the telephone a smidgen simpler, however that is not the case. You get the facility and quantity buttons on the suitable, and there is a slider beneath the facility button — much like the alert slider on OnePlus units — that permits you to management sound modes, launch the digital camera, flashlight, or gaming mode.
The slider is a nifty inclusion, however I might have appreciated the flexibility to customise the toggle actions; proper now, you simply have a set of six actions. Regardless, it’s a good way to launch the digital camera, and the one quibble I’ve with it’s that it’s positioned too far down on the aspect — placing it on the left would have been significantly better.
Though there are quite a lot of buttons to the suitable, the facility button has a textured end that makes it straightforward to establish, and it has a crimson accent. The general design could be summed up as blocky, and this is not a tool constructed with usability in thoughts. Within the week I used the telephone as my day by day driver, I discovered myself getting pissed off with the flat sides and the sheer dimension and heft of the system.
On that be aware, the black colour variant is fairly boring, and in order for you a tool that stands out a bit extra, you may must get the silver mannequin. I am irritated that the Starry Night time version is proscribed to China; that mannequin seems to be beautiful, and Nubia actually ought to have launched it globally.
Nubia Z60 Extremely: Show
The most important speaking level on the Z60 Extremely is the 6.8-inch AMOLED panel. The display screen has 120Hz refresh and goes as much as a most of 1500 nits, and whereas that is not as excessive because the likes of the OnePlus 12 or Honor’s Magic 6 Professional, it’s nonetheless greater than ample in day by day use. You miss out on a number of the extras that you just get with different units, however the upside is that there isn’t a cutout.
Nubia makes use of an under-display digital camera, and it’s invisible until you view it in brilliant daylight. This results in an all-display design that simply seems to be cleaner, and instantly takes me again to the OnePlus 7 Professional and Redmi K20 Professional. Sure, the cutout on most fashionable telephones is small and never very noticeable, however not having one in any respect makes an enormous distinction, and it results in a way more immersive expertise in nearly any state of affairs.
The show has good colour vibrancy and distinction, and it’s simply enjoyable to make use of. Clearly, an under-display digital camera is not going to be nearly as good as a normal selfie lens, however for what it is price, Nubia did an honest job on this space, and the digital camera holds its personal throughout video calls and face unlock. It does not take selfies which are wherever nearly as good as common telephones, so if that is a consideration, you’ll need to contemplate one other system.
However when you miss the times of all-screen designs and wish one thing that emulates that to an important extent, the Z60 Extremely is the plain selection in 2024.
Nubia Z60 Extremely: {Hardware}
Nubia hasn’t put a foot fallacious with regards to the {hardware}, and the Z60 Extremely is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 — identical to all of the telephones I reviewed just lately. It comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage within the base model, and also you get 12GB/256GB and 16GB/512GB variants as effectively, with all fashions utilizing UFS 4.0 storage.
The telephone is extremely fluid more often than not, and it once more jogs my memory of legacy variations of OxygenOS. However this is not the case all through, and there have been occasions after I encountered a definite lag, virtually like a jerky movement, when doing mundane issues like scrolling in Chrome or switching between apps. It is not wherever as pronounced because the jelly scrolling impact, however it’s noticeable in day-to-day use.
A restart types out the difficulty, and the UI goes again to being easy, so it may simply be a difficulty of optimization. It is solely evident as a result of the UI is in any other case fluid, and to Nubia’s credit score, the model rolled out a software program replace on the day of publishing this assessment that addresses system stability points, and I did not see any lag within the new construct (14.0.10MR2).
| Class | OnePlus 12 | Nubia Z60 Extremely | Honor Magic 6 Professional |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCMark Work 3.0 (General) | 12542 | 20530 | 17314 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Net Searching) | 10157 | 20402 | 15748 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Video Modifying) | 6057 | 8628 | 7707 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Writing) | 16945 | 25584 | 21271 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Photograph Modifying) | 23586 | 49807 | 36257 |
| Geekbench 6 (single-core) | 935 | 2140 | 1908 |
| Geekbench 6 (multi-core) | 4729 | 6622 | 6816 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive (rating) | 4062 | 5050 | 5121 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive (FPS) | 24.325 | 30.24 | 30.67 |
| 3DMark Photo voltaic Bay (rating) | 7826 | 8539 | 8623 |
| 3DMark Photo voltaic Bay (FPS) | 29.76 | 32.47 | 32.79 |
Apart from that, I did not see any points in day by day use or gaming, and the Z60 Extremely delivers secure framerates in demanding titles, and there is little to no throttling. If something, the telephone may use with a bit extra optimization on this situation, as a result of the facility limits of the Qualcomm silicon are unrestricted right here. I do not suppose I’ve used some other system apart from Qualcomm’s reference fashions that do that, and the result’s that the Z60 Extremely will get sizzling. Very popular. So sizzling which you can’t use it.
Within the 3DMark Photo voltaic Bay stress take a look at, the telephone hit a stability of 86% — one of many highest scores but — however it additionally went to up an insane 60 levels, considerably greater than some other system I examined. To provide you some context, most 2024 telephones I examined did not go previous 45 levels Celsius, and the Z60 Extremely did not simply get sizzling — it was on the level the place I could not even choose it up. I needed to go away the telephone apart for 10 minutes earlier than I may return to utilizing it.
That is one thing Nubia clearly must work on, and whereas the Z60 Extremely delivers blistering energy, you possibly can’t use it throughout prolonged gaming periods due to the dearth of thermal administration. Switching to connectivity, the telephone has all the newest modems: you get Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, dual-band GPS, NFC, AptX Lossless audio codec, and USB-C 3.1.
Nubia Z60 Extremely: Battery life
The Z60 Extremely has the biggest battery of any telephone I examined in 2024, and it places it good use. The 6000mAh unit lasts two days between expenses, and even with heavy use, you possibly can rise up to a day and a half earlier than you may must cost the system.
Battery anxiousness simply is not a difficulty with this system, and when it’s good to cost the telephone, there’s 80W charging tech that makes use of the usual USB PD 3.0 protocol, so any normal GaN charger that goes as much as 100W will suffice. Nubia bundles a charger within the field, and you should use it to cost different units. The telephone misses out on wi-fi charging, however actually, it is not that large of an omission contemplating the sheer dimension of the battery and the way lengthy it lasts.
Nubia Z60 Extremely: Cameras
The Z60 Extremely has lots to supply on the imaging entrance, with the system that includes a 50MP f/1.6 fundamental digital camera with OIS, 50MP f/1.8 wide-angle lens with OIS, and a 64MP f/3.3 telephoto lens that goes as much as 3.3x — and sure, this digital camera has OIS as effectively. The digital camera positioned on the entrance is a 16MP lens.
Nubia’s digital camera interface is in want of a little bit of polish, however it has most capturing modes and normal settings simply accessible. Apparently, the digital camera interface makes use of focal lengths to toggle between the three sensors on the again — 35mm for the principle digital camera, 18mm for the ultra-wide, and 85mm to change to the zoom module.
There’s a Professional mode obtainable that offers you granular management over images, and the Milky Means Night time mode is fascinating because it permits you to take images of evening skies. Coming to video, the telephone permits you to shoot 4K video at 60fps from all of the lenses, and also you even get 4K at 120fps from the principle digital camera — a pleasant addition.
Picture 1 of 8
The digital camera takes nice images in daylight, providing a superb dynamic vary and good colour steadiness. Foliage is rendered appropriately, you aren’t getting overly saturated colours, and there is not any seen noise. The telephone does a superb job with autofocus as effectively, and it’s first rate at taking images of shifting objects — albeit not on the identical degree because the Pixel 8 sequence.
The wide-angle and zoom lenses additionally maintain their very own in well-lit circumstances, and whereas the picture high quality at 3.3x is not on par with what you get on the likes of the Galaxy S24 Extremely and even the OnePlus 12, it’s serviceable. Portrait pictures come out with loads of element and vibrancy, and that is an space the place the Z60 Extremely excels.
The telephone takes good pictures in low-light eventualities as effectively, however it takes a second to save lots of the images to the gallery. Once more, the resultant high quality is not on par with different flagships, however it is not a foul digital camera by any measure. That almost sums up the digital camera of the Z60 Extremely — it is not fairly on par with the very best Android telephones, however you get usable pictures in any situation from all of the cameras, and that is ok.
Nubia Z60 Extremely: Software program
To say that I used to be shocked by the software program on the Z60 Extremely could be an understatement. The telephone runs Nubia’s MyOS 14 based mostly on Android 14 out of the field, and in distinction to all different Chinese language producers, you get a clear software program with out overt customization and little to no bloatware.
The software program has quite a lot of parallels to OxygenOS 9.5; it has loads of customizability do you have to want it, however you need not tinker with the settings to get the system set as much as your tastes. You’ll be able to simply us it as is out of the field and nonetheless be happy with what the interface has to supply, and that simply is not attainable with some other Chinese language pores and skin immediately.
Sure, there are points with optimization, however these are prone to be ironed out, and there’s a lot to love with the software program as an entire. Nubia embraced the Materials You aesthetic wholeheartedly, and the result’s in depth UI customizability that is above and past what most units provide.
The one problem with the software program is the aggressive reminiscence administration; it’s extra restrictive than different manufacturers, and I would not even get textual content messages if I did not have the SMS shopper working. I’ve had points with getting push notifications for Gmail and Instagram, and they’d solely present up as soon as I woke the display screen. Whereas Nubia provides a setting to disable battery administration, doing so made no tangible distinction.
That is one thing that may be addressed with a software program replace, however because it stands, the reminiscence administration makes utilizing the Z60 Extremely annoying at occasions. On that be aware, the telephone is not prone to choose up software program updates concurrently its instant rivals.
Nubia Z60 Extremely: The options
The apparent various to contemplate on this class is the OnePlus 12R. The system additionally has a terrific worth, and whereas you aren’t getting absolutely the newest {hardware}, it holds up extremely effectively in day by day use in addition to gaming. The cameras are additionally nice this time round, and so they’re higher than what you get on the Nubia. The software program is not as clear, however it has quite a lot of customizability, and it’s fluid.
The common OnePlus 12 is an excellent better option. Coming in at $799, it is among the finest telephones you will get for the time being, providing cameras that may rival the may of the Pixel 8 Professional, together with a beautiful design that is considerably simpler to carry and use than the Z60 Extremely, standout battery life, and ultra-fast charging tech.
Nubia Z60 Extremely: Do you have to purchase it?
You can purchase this if:
- You need a gaming telephone on a finances
- You want the newest {hardware} and a vibrant 120Hz panel
- You need nice battery life
- You want a clear software program with out a lot bloatware
You should not purchase this if:
- You need a telephone that is not heavy
- You want long-term updates
The Z60 Extremely misses out on design refinement, however the upside is that that is essentially the most reasonably priced option to get your arms on Qualcomm’s newest silicon. What the telephone lacks in polish it greater than makes up for by means of highly effective {hardware} and an enormous battery. That stated, it’s heavy and unwieldy to make use of, to the purpose the place it makes the S24 Extremely look small.
The {hardware} completely holds up in day by day use, and the telephone is a good selection when you’re trying to play video games. The cameras are nice as effectively, and the battery lasts two days between expenses. I just like the software program fairly a bit as effectively, and it is not typically you come throughout a clear UI on this section.
In fact, an enormous differentiator is the invisible entrance digital camera, and this makes the Z60 Extremely stand out significantly. There’s a lot to love right here, and whereas the software program is clear and devoid of bloatware, Nubia must reign within the battery administration; because it stands, it is irksome to make use of the system due to these limitations.
Software program updates are additionally an unknown, and the Z60 Extremely is not prone to choose up main updates wherever as early as its rivals. For those who do not actually care about all of that and simply need a system that has the very best {hardware} on this section, then sure, you may love what the Z60 Extremely has to supply. It embodies the ethos — if not the design — of the OnePlus 7 Professional, and it’s a nice selection when you’re trying to improve.