The smartphone industry is constantly evolving, with manufacturers pushing the limits of design and performance. nubia, known for its bold approach to innovation, has introduced the nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version, a flagship device that aims to redefine the user experience. With a true full-screen display, cutting-edge hardware, and AI-driven optimizations, this phone targets enthusiasts who demand both power and aesthetics.
The borderless OLED display delivers an immersive visual experience, making gaming, streaming, and everyday use more engaging. With high refresh rate support and vibrant color reproduction, the nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version ensures smooth interactions and crisp visuals, enhancing everything from social media browsing to high-intensity gameplay.
Under the hood, nubia has equipped the device with a high-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and advanced cooling technology, enabling seamless multitasking and sustained performance. Whether handling graphics-heavy games or AI-driven applications, the hardware is designed to maintain stability without compromising efficiency. The focus on optimized power management also ensures that battery life remains competitive, even under demanding usage scenarios.
Read our Review: Nubia Z50 Smartphone Review – Budget-Friendly Phone with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Photography is another area where nubia aims to impress. The AI-enhanced camera system is built to deliver high-quality images in various lighting conditions, offering improved night photography, detailed portraits, and advanced computational photography features. With its combination of hardware and software-driven enhancements, the Z60 Ultra Leading Version promises to be more than just a performance powerhouse—it’s designed to be a complete flagship experience. But does it live up to expectations? Let’s take a closer look.
Unboxing
The nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version comes in a sleek black box with a textured surface, giving it a premium feel. The minimalist design keeps things clean, with “Z60 Ultra” prominently displayed on the top left in a bold, modern font. The nubia branding runs vertically across the box, blending smoothly into the dark background while a touch of red along the edges adds contrast. Turning the box over, we get a look at some of the key specifications and features. The packaging gives off a flagship vibe, hinting at the high-end experience inside.
In addition to Z60 Ultra Leading, inside the box, you’ll find a user manual, a SIM ejector pin, an 80W USB-C charger, a Type-C to Type-C charging cable, and a transparent hard plastic case. The inclusion of a high-wattage charger is a nice touch, ensuring fast charging right out of the box. The provided case is a practical addition, offering some protection without the need for an immediate third-party purchase. While the package doesn’t include extras like earbuds, it’s in line with what most manufacturers offer these days.
The Z60 Ultra Leading Version comes in Black and Silver, and for this review, we have the Black variant on hand.
Design
The rear design of the nubia Z60 Ultra has a distinctive and industrial look, combining functionality with a bold aesthetic. The textured lower half provides better grip, while the upper section houses a large, rectangular camera module that stands out with its unique arrangement. The back panel appears to be made of a sturdy material, likely glass or high-quality plastic, giving it a premium feel. While the design may not be for everyone, it certainly caters to users who appreciate a rugged and professional look over more conventional smartphone designs. It is 8.8 mm thick and 246 grams, focusing on cooling and gaming comfort. At 8.8mm thick and weighing 246 grams, the Z60 Ultra prioritizes effective cooling and comfort, making it well-suited for gamers who need sustained performance without excessive heat buildup.
The Z60 Ultra features a 6.8-inch AMOLED flexible straight display that dominates the front of the device, offering an almost bezel-less experience. With an upper bezel measuring just 1.68 mm and side bezels at 1.48 mm, the design maximizes screen real estate without unnecessary distractions. The AMOLED panel ensures vibrant colors, deep blacks, and sharp contrast, making it a great choice for media consumption and gaming. The flat design also eliminates accidental touches often found on curved screens, providing a more practical user experience.
The Z60 Ultra Leading Version showcases excellent build quality with its robust aluminum frame, giving it a solid and premium feel in hand. The chassis has a clean and minimalistic design with smooth edges. On the right side, the power and volume buttons are positioned for easy reach, with the red power button featuring a textured surface for added grip. A dedicated camera shortcut key is placed at the bottom, which can be customized for quick access to various functions, adding a layer of convenience for users.
The nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version is designed with practicality in mind, offering a well-thought-out port and speaker layout. The top houses an independent infrared remote sensor, allowing the phone to double as a remote control for various home appliances—a useful feature for those who like added convenience. Alongside it, a noise-canceling microphone is positioned to enhance call clarity. At the bottom, the layout is straightforward, with openings for the SIM card slot, a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer, and a speaker grille. The device also features symmetric dual speakers, promising a more balanced and immersive audio experience, whether you’re gaming, watching videos, or listening to music.
The nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version features a striking rear camera module that instantly grabs attention. The setup consists of three lenses, each with a distinct housing, emphasizing the phone’s focus on mobile photography. The large primary sensor, accented with a red ring, serves as the focal point, while the periscope telephoto and ultrawide lenses are neatly positioned to complete the triple-camera setup. The “Triple OIS System” branding reinforces the phone’s emphasis on stability and sharp imaging, especially for handheld and low-light photography. Below the camera array, the nubia logo is subtly placed, blending into the textured lower portion of the back panel, giving the device a clean yet premium aesthetic.
Screen, Under-Display Camera & Fingerprint
The nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version stays true to its full-screen design philosophy, a rarity in a market filled with hole-punch displays. nubia’s commitment to an uninterrupted viewing experience is impressive, and the sixth-generation under-display camera technology plays a big role in making it possible. With the UDC Ultra-independent display chip, the transition in the camera area is smoother, ensuring a more seamless look. The BOE Q9+ panel further enhances the experience with improved color accuracy and stability, thanks to its new light-emitting materials and custom substrates. In daily use, the front camera remains virtually invisible, making for an immersive display without distractions.
The nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version features a 6.8-inch AMOLED display that delivers a premium visual experience. With a 2480×1116 resolution, a high pixel density of 400 PPI, and a 120Hz refresh rate, the screen ensures sharp details, smooth motion, and a fluid user experience. Its peak brightness of 1500 nits keeps visibility strong even in bright conditions, while full DCI-P3 coverage and support for 1.07 billion colors provide rich and accurate color reproduction. The near-borderless design, made possible by COP packaging technology, enhances immersion, and the ZREAL Frame Enjoy Ultra HD certification further guarantees sharpness and responsiveness.
The nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version brings some notable advancements, particularly with its sixth-generation under-screen camera and ultra-thin fingerprint technology. While the concept of a true full-screen experience is appealing, the execution isn’t entirely seamless. The area above the under-display camera has a visible difference in pixel density, forming a faint yet noticeable outline that can be seen under certain lighting conditions. This could be a trade-off to enhance light transmittance for better image quality. On the fingerprint side, the performance remains on par with standard optical sensors, offering reliable and quick unlocking without any significant improvements or drawbacks.
Performance & Benchmarks
The nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version packs Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Version, essentially an overclocked variant of the standard 8 Gen 3. The CPU’s peak clock speed sees a minor bump from 3.3GHz to 3.4GHz, while the AI engine now delivers 73 TOPS, making it the most powerful Snapdragon chip yet. However, in synthetic benchmarks, the performance uplift isn’t groundbreaking. Our unit comes with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage, ensuring fast memory speeds. For testing, we disabled memory expansion and enabled Awakening Mode during gaming to push the phone to its limits and see how well it holds up under heavy loads.
The nubia Z60 Ultra, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Edition, delivers a noticeable performance jump over its predecessor. In our AnTuTu benchmark, the device scored an impressive 18,43,555 points, marking a 19.3% increase compared to the nubia Z50 running Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. This improvement translates to better responsiveness in everyday tasks, faster app launches, and a smoother overall experience, particularly in high-performance scenarios like gaming and multitasking.
Geekbench 6 results further highlight the CPU advancements, with the Z60 Ultra scoring 2190 in single-core and 6673 in multi-core tests. Compared to its predecessor, this represents a 14.90% boost in single-core and a 27.35% improvement in multi-core performance. More importantly, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s enhanced GPU capabilities deliver over 60% better graphics performance. This translates into higher frame rates and better visual fidelity in demanding games, making it a solid choice for mobile gamers.
Storage speeds also meet flagship standards, thanks to UFS 4.0. Our tests recorded sequential read speeds of 3.54GB/s and write speeds of 3.40GB/s, ensuring fast load times and smooth file transfers. Random read and write speeds also remain strong at 824.0MB/s and 976.0MB/s, respectively, reducing stuttering in applications and making high-resolution media handling seamless. These improvements solidify the nubia Z60 Ultra as a top-tier performer in the 2024 smartphone lineup.
In our gaming tests, we focused on two demanding mobile titles: PUBG: Mobile and Genshin Impact. The testing environment was set at a controlled indoor temperature of 28°C, ensuring consistency. Our priority was frame rate stability, but we also tracked power consumption, efficiency, and heat buildup over extended sessions. PUBG: Mobile was tested at its highest available settings with a 90 FPS cap, while Genshin Impact was pushed to its maximum graphical settings to stress the hardware. This allowed us to evaluate how well the device handles prolonged gaming sessions without significant throttling or overheating.
We started our testing with PUBG: Mobile set to smooth graphics at 90 FPS. During a battle, the frame rate consistently hits 90 FPS without noticeable dips or stutters. Looking at the frame time graph, there were no unexpected spikes, indicating stable performance throughout the match. The experience felt fluid, with no input lag or rendering delays, making it an excellent choice for competitive play.
After an hour of gaming, the device maintained reasonable temperatures, with the back of the chassis reaching a peak of 37.9°C and the front hitting 39.6°C. While the front panel gets noticeably warm, especially around the heat-generating components, it never becomes uncomfortably hot to the touch. The cooling system seems to do a decent job of keeping thermals in check, ensuring sustained performance without excessive heat buildup.
Running Genshin Impact at maximum settings with 60 FPS mode enabled and motion blur turned off, we conducted a 30-minute stress test to assess performance stability. The game maintained an average frame rate of 60.41 FPS throughout, with no major fluctuations or sudden drops. Even in demanding scenarios, such as intense battles and dense environments, the frame pacing remained smooth, ensuring a consistent gameplay experience. This indicates that the hardware handles the game efficiently, making it a reliable choice for players who want to enjoy Genshin Impact at its best without performance hiccups.
During our Genshin Impact test, the nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version maintained good thermal control. The highest temperature recorded on the back was 42.8°C, while the front peaked at 42.9°C. Despite these numbers, the heat was well distributed, and the areas where your hands rest remained comfortable. Even during extended gameplay, there was no noticeable discomfort or excessive warmth in the touch-sensitive regions, making for a smooth and enjoyable experience without thermal interference.
MyOS14 with Android 14
The nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version keeps things refreshingly clean with its MyOS 14 skin on top of Android 14. There’s no unnecessary bloatware, which is a big plus, and the level of customization is impressive. You can tweak the UI extensively, from animated wallpapers to system-wide effects, fonts, and Always-On Display settings. Everything looks well-integrated, and unlike some heavily skinned Android versions, MyOS 14 feels polished rather than overwhelming. If you prefer a more stock-like experience, you can ignore most of the extra features without them getting in the way.
The customizable switch on the side adds an extra layer of convenience. It can be mapped to functions like muting notifications, launching the flashlight, camera, voice recorder, or even opening the gaming space app. On top of that, nubia has included a few extra navigation tools like Z-Pop (a shortcut pop-up), ZSmart SideBar (an edge-activated menu), and floating windows for multitasking. The overall experience remains smooth and responsive, ensuring that whether you take advantage of these additions or stick to the basics, the phone won’t feel cluttered or overcomplicated.
Game Space
The nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version takes mobile gaming to the next level with its Game Space utility, a feature that hardcore gamers might recognize from Red Magic phones. The symmetrical in-game overlay provides instant access to crucial performance stats, including CPU and GPU frequencies and a real-time FPS counter. The layout is intuitive, allowing players to tweak settings on the fly without disrupting their gaming experience. This is a serious advantage for those who want to fine-tune performance or monitor system stability mid-game.
Digging deeper into the advanced settings, nubia includes tools that cater to both competitive and casual players. The X Gravity system lets users map external controllers, keyboards, and mice to on-screen touch controls, improving precision in fast-paced titles. Features like Auxiliary Line and AI Trigger add tactical depth, whether it’s tracking ability ranges or automating actions like reloading. The built-in Crosshair overlay can even zoom into specific areas, giving FPS players an edge in gunfights. While the Z60 Ultra might attract buyers for its camera system, its gaming optimizations could be the real reason they stick around.
Camera
The nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version brings a compelling camera setup with its versatile triple-camera system. The combination of a 50MP main camera with a 35mm focal length, a 64MP periscope telephoto lens at 85mm, and an 18mm ultra-wide-angle lens ensures users get a full range of shooting options. The inclusion of optical image stabilization (OIS) on both the main and telephoto cameras helps in reducing motion blur, especially in low-light conditions. The under-display 12MP front camera maintains the phone’s sleek design without compromising on selfies. Complementing the hardware, nubia has integrated a laser focus sensor, flicker sensor, and multispectral color temperature sensor, aiming to enhance autofocus speed and color accuracy.
The nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version packs an extensive set of camera modes, conveniently tucked into the “camera family” menu on the far left of the camera app. From star trails and moon photography to light painting, slow motion, macro, and even multi-camera options, there’s plenty to explore. While most users might not rely on these features daily, they add an extra layer of creativity when the right moment arises. Whether capturing a detailed close-up or experimenting with long-exposure shots, these options help make mobile photography more engaging.
Where the Z60 Ultra Leading Version truly stands out is in its AI-powered imaging enhancements. Features like AI Telephoto Super Score improve zoomed-in shots by reconstructing fine details, while the AI Ultra HD Algorithm sharpens images in real time for a more natural look. Night photography sees a boost with the AI Telephoto Moon feature, designed to capture detailed and well-defined shots of the moon. The AI flash capture mode ensures quick snaps are crisp, making street photography or spontaneous moments easy to capture. With this advanced camera system, nubia is clearly pushing mobile photography to a new level. But does it translate into real-world performance? Let’s dive into some sample shots to find out.
The nubia Z60 Ultra takes a different approach to mobile photography with its custom Sony IMX906 main camera. Unlike the standard 24mm focal length found in most smartphones, this sensor offers a slightly tighter field of view, reducing the need for digital zoom or cropping when framing shots. This design choice makes subject isolation more natural, especially in portrait and street photography. Additionally, the large sensor helps maintain a balanced color profile, avoiding the overly boosted contrast and saturation often seen in smartphone cameras. The result is a more true-to-life image that closely matches what the human eye perceives.
The main camera of the nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Edition handles direct lighting impressively, maintaining bright areas without overexposure while keeping shadows detailed and well-defined. Noise is well-controlled, ensuring a clean and balanced image. In low-light conditions, the camera excels at preserving fine details while effectively reducing noise, producing sharp and natural-looking night shots. Even without advanced photography skills, users can capture stunning night scenes with ease, making it a solid choice for those who want reliable camera performance in various lighting conditions.
The 85mm periscope telephoto lens delivers a 2.4x optical zoom, which might seem lower on paper, but in real-world use, it produces results comparable to phones with a 3.5x zoom. Images taken with this lens show a noticeable boost in color saturation compared to the main camera, making photos appear more vibrant. Details in highlights and shadows remain well-preserved, and textures come through clearly, ensuring that subjects retain a natural look without excessive sharpening. While it doesn’t push boundaries in zoom performance, it holds its own with solid image quality and reliable consistency.
The 50MP ultra-wide-angle lens on the nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version is designed to capture expansive scenes with impressive clarity. Thanks to its large sensor, it brings in plenty of light, preserving details even in challenging backlit conditions. Whether you’re shooting landscapes or group photos, the camera delivers well-balanced exposure with natural-looking highlights and shadows. nubia has also included automatic distortion correction, which helps maintain straight lines and prevents the stretching effect often seen at the edges of wide-angle shots. This ensures that images look natural and true to life without unwanted warping.
The nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version delivers a versatile and well-rounded camera system, featuring a 50MP main sensor with a unique 35mm focal length, an 85mm periscope telephoto lens, and an 18mm ultra-wide lens. With optical image stabilization (OIS) and AI-powered enhancements, it aims to provide sharp, detailed images in various lighting conditions. The camera app is packed with creative modes, making it a solid choice for photography enthusiasts. While it brings impressive hardware and software optimizations, real-world performance will ultimately determine if it stands out in the competitive flagship market.
Battery
The nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version makes a strong case for battery endurance, thanks to its massive 6000mAh silicon-carbon anode battery. With AI-driven power management, the device significantly reduces overnight battery drain, making it more efficient than its predecessor. In real-world usage, the phone easily lasted beyond a full day on a single charge, even with moderate to heavy usage. This is a notable improvement over many flagship smartphones, which often struggle to maintain such longevity under similar conditions.
Despite the increased battery capacity, nubia has retained the 80W fast charging, ensuring quick top-ups when needed. In our tests, the device reached 33% in just 10 minutes and achieved a full charge in 42 minutes—impressive for a battery of this size. With nearly 13.5 hours of screen-on time, the Z60 Ultra Leading Version is a powerhouse for users who prioritize long-lasting performance without compromising on charging speed. Whether you’re gaming, streaming, or working on the go, this phone minimizes battery anxiety and keeps up with demanding tasks effortlessly.
