nubia Z70S Ultra review

Introduction

It's been some six months since the last Z-series nubia, so it's time for a new one - hence the Z70S Ultra. Another installment in the brand's camera-centric lineup, this one brings a larger sensor to go with the signature 35mm lens, some extra battery capacity, and yet another fresh restyling.

For this latest edition, the nubia gets a 1/1.3" sensor for its main camera - the one with the 35mm lens. In a way, that's as good as the vivo X200 Ultra, and it's quite the testament to where the Z70S Ultra's aspirations are - in theory, at least. The previous generation had a smaller sensor (1/1.56"), but also an f/1.6-f/4.0 variable aperture lens. The aperture is now fixed at f/1.7 on this S model. The telephoto and the ultrawide remain unchanged, but the under-display selfie camera is now a little better at gathering light.

The other new development is the increase in battery capacity - a cool 10% more compared to the Z70 Ultra. And, well, that just about completes the list of upgrades, really.

Then there's the next round of restyling, the Z70S Ultra switching to a leather-like retro-looking texture for its back panel. It's no Starry Night, but it's pretty special in its own right.

ZTE nubia Z70S Ultra 5G specs at a glance:

• Body: 164.3x77.1x8.6mm, 228g; Glass front (Longxi glass), aluminum frame, glass back; IP68/IP69 dust tight and water resistant (high pressure water jets; immersible up to 1.5m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.85" AMOLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, HDR10, 2000 nits (peak), 1216x2688px resolution, 19.9:9 aspect ratio, 431ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8750-AB Snapdragon 8 Elite (3 nm): Octa-core (2x4.32 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix L + 6x3.53 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix M); Adreno 830.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM, 1TB 24GB RAM; UFS 4.0.
• OS/Software: Android 15, Nebula AIOS 1.5.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.7, 35mm, 1/1.3", 1.2µm, PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 64 MP, f/2.5, 70mm, 1/2.0", 0.7µm, multi-directional PDAF (15cm - ∞), OIS, 2.7x optical zoom (vs. 26mm cam); Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.0, 13mm, 122˚, 1/2.88", 0.61µm, multi-directional PDAF.
• Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.0, 24mm (wide), 1/2.8", 1.12µm, under display.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS, HDR10, 10‑bit video; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 6600mAh; 80W wired, PD3.0, QC4.
• Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.4, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive; NFC; Infrared port.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); stereo speakers.

nubia Z70S Ultra unboxing

Our review unit of the nubia Z70S Ultra arrived without a charger, a reality that customers in the EU should be familiar with by now. It did include a cable, in the usual red color. Also included is a clear snap-on protective case, with particularly tacky shiny edges.