ZTE’s sub-brand Nubia just released a brand new smartphone in China, the ZTE Nubia Z11 Mini S. This will be an upgraded version of the Z11 Mini that was announced six months back powered by Snapdragon 617.

The new generation Nubia Z11 Mini S comes with a 64-bit Snapdragon 625 octa-core chipset with 4GB RAM and 64GB / 128GB of internal storage further expandable up to 200GB via MicroSD. At the back, the phone comes with a powerful 23MP camera while up front, there is a 13MP shooter. Inside, you get a 3000mAh battery as well. Other features of the phone include a fast fingerprint sensor located at the back, fingerprint payments, dual SIM dual standby and a 5.2-inch 1080p display with 2.5D glass on top.

RELATED: Nubia Z11 Review: A True Flagship

The Z11 Mini S comes with an all metal body (98% metal) and new antenna design. You will also find the traditional red colored circle for home button on the front. Overall, the Nubia Z11 Mini S is a good-looking smartphone and at 1499 Yuan ($223), it quite decently priced as well, at least, according to Nubia’s standards.

You can check out the hands-on images of the Nubia Z11 Mini S from down below, courtesy of mydrivers.com.

The post Nubia Z11 Mini S Hands on Images: 98% Metal Body, New Antenna Design & Rear Fingerprint appeared first on Gizmochina.

How about Snapdragon 821 for 299$ ? Or a very well build smartphone with Helio X20 + 4GB Ram for 200 $ ? Yes this price range is where the fun begins, where competition brings us to amazing phones for every taste out there  and shows us how much more interesting the future of the smartphones might be.

So let’s begin..

Vernee Apollo Lite

209 $

Display: 5.5 inch FHD 1920x1080p Sharp IGZO

CPU: MTK Helio X20

RAM: 4GB LPDDR 3

ROM: 32GB eMMC 5.1 (up to 128GB)

Rear Camera: 16.0MP Samsung S5K3P3 sensor, 6P lens, ISOCELL , RWB

Front Camera: 5.0MP Samsung S5K5E2 sensor

Battery: 3180mAH Li-polymer

OS: Android 6.0 out of the box (Vernee OS, CM)

Features: Type-C port (supports Type-C earphone, 3.5mm jack retained), Pump Express 3.0 quick charging (5 minutes charging = 1 hour calling), LED notification, Metal unibody, 0.1s fingerprint ID (ISP smart chip, smart key), OTG, Gyro, E-compass,（2.4G/5G）WIFI, Dual SIM Dual standby / SIM + SD card, Open Kernel Code

Dimensions : 15.20 x 7.60 x 0.90 cm, 178g

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz; WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, FDD LTE: B1/B3/B7/B20

This one is a real champ for this price. I had the chance to review one of the “gray” Apollo Lite myself and I must say, build quality is top-notch, one of the best colors on a metal body smartphone. 5.5″ Sharp IGZO screen is amazing, Helio X20 is enough almost for every duty including games. Speaking of MediaTek Helio X20 and X25 series, I think there is no need to spend money for Helio P10 based smartphones anymore (might be exceptions of course, personal taste for example), why ? Please check the picture below :

I have Apollo Lite for almost a week and it had 2 OTA updates in this time, this shows us that Vernee is serious about rom business too, this is an important topic as you all may agree. Paying for hardware is something but paying for good ROM is more important in most cases. Well optimized software that can use all the hardware features without any problems is very precious. So if you have around 200$ to send for a new series smartphone, Vernee Apollo Lite won’t disappoint you.

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/08/07/vernee-apollo-lite-review-one-pleasant-surprise/

Coolpad Cool1

209$  3GB/32GB, 225$  4GB/32GB, 259$ 4GB/64GB

Display: 5.5 inch FHD 1920x1080p 450nit

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 Octa Core

RAM: 3GB/4GB

ROM: 32GB/64GB

Rear Camera: Dual 2 x 13.0MP back camera, Camera Maximum resolution: 4160×3120, Camera maximum recording capacity: 4K / 1080P @ 30fps, Slow recording capacity: 720P @ 120fps, F2.0 large aperture, PDAF, ball-type closed-loop motor, quick focus, Color temperature flash, back-illuminated CMOS

Front Camera: 8.0MP, F2.2 large aperture, 80 ° super wide-angle lens

Battery: 4060mAh Li-polymer

OS: EUI 5.6 base on Android M OS

Features: Type-C port, OTG, Gyroscope, NXP smart PA TFA9897, AAC Speaker BOX, LED notification, Fingerprint recognition, Infrared remote control.

Dimensions : 152 x 74.8 x 8.2 mm, 167g

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz; WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, FDD LTE: B1/B3/B5/B7/B8

New kid in town from the marriage of LeEco and Coolpad, the Cool1. With the experience of Coolpad in camera department, this new model is trying to give customers Dual Camera setup for an affordable price powered from Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 octa-core CPU. Design is better than LeEco series for my taste, seems more compact with round corners and very good metal construction body. I wish they had a color option like Apollo Lite’s gray or even matte black. 4060mAh battery will help you to carry your Cool1 at least whole day with heavy usage without worrying about power. Cool1’s dual camera setup is like that we have seen on Huawei P9 before, one is RGB camera, second shoots only black&white. The result is better low light performance, sharper images and unique effects of course.

As for Rom department, we know LeEco takes this seriously and software updates mostly are coming in right time.

Xiaomi Redmi Pro

224$ 3GB/32GB, 254$ 3GB/64GB, 300$ 4GB/128GB

Display: 5.5 inch FHD 1920x1080p LTPS-AMOLED

CPU: Mediatek MT6797T Helio X25 | MT6797 Helio X20 Deca-core 2.5 GHz – Exclusive edition | 2.3 GHz – High edition |  2.1 GHz – Standard edition

RAM: 3GB/4GB

ROM: 32GB/64GB/128GB

Rear Camera: Dual Setup, 13 MP Sony sensor and 5 MP Samsung sensor

Front Camera: 5MP, f/2.0 lens

Battery: 4050mAh Li-polymer

OS: Android 6.0 – Marshmallow

Features: Finger print sensor under home key front, OLED screen, TYPE-C connector, metal unibody, microSD – upto 256 GB.

Dimensions : 151.5 x 76.2 x 8.2 mm, 174 g

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz; WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, FDD LTE: B1/B3/B7

Xiaomi version of affordable Dual Camera setup and first metal unibody metal body model of the maker, the new Redmi Pro. The contender of Cool1 in this price range with rear dual cameras. If you like front replaced finger print sensor more, if you like deep blacks more (who doesn’t ?), if you don’t mind about the maker of the CPU, i’m saying that because there still many people who just buy Qualcomm processor  based phones, then Redmi Pro is your choice. This phone uses MediaTek’s high-end line (until X30/X35 comes to market) Helio X20 and X25, both as an option. Both are equal or better CPU’s then Qualcomm’s 652. Rest is like always,  taste. As for rom/software support Xiaomi is way in front of every maker, has world’s biggest forum support behind. If you want to buy high end model with X25 + 4GB Ram + 128GB Rom, this will cost you 300$ and there you might consider other alternatives too. Base model seems most logical as Redmi Pro offers SD card slot for storage upgrade. Dual camera setup differs from Cool1’s, Redmi Pro’s setup has 2 RGB (color) cameras, main is 13MP, second “depth” camera is 5MP.

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/08/29/xiaomi-redmi-pro-review/

LeEco Le 2 Pro

229$

Display: 5.5 inch FHD 1920x1080p 

CPU: Mediatek MT6797T Helio X25

RAM: 4GB

ROM: 32GB

Rear Camera: 21 MP, f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, 1/2.4″ sensor size

Front Camera: 8.0MP, F2.2 large aperture

Battery: 3000mAh Li-polymer

OS: EUI 5.6 base on Android M OS

Dimensions : 15.60 x 7.80 x 0.75 cm, 185gr

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz; WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, FDD LTE: B1/B3/B7

Complete package with 4GB Ram, 32GB Rom, very good workmanship/quality, plus powerful engine with Helio X25. LeEco Le 2 Pro is naturally in our list. Beeing developer friendly, bootloader  can be unlocked with a simple fastboot command, not only this model, talking about every LeEco models, has many custom ROMs online, LeEco community is growing among power users.

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/05/10/leeco-le-2-review/ .

Nubia Z11 Mini

239$

Display: 5.0 inch FHD 1920x1080p 

CPU: Qualcomm MSM8952 Snapdragon 617 (Octa-core (4×1.2 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4×1.5 GHz Cortex-A53))

RAM: 3GB

ROM: 64GB, microSD up to 256 GB

Rear Camera: 16 MP, f/2.0, 1/2.8″ sensor size, 1.12 µm pixel size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR

Front Camera: 8 MP, f/2.4, 1.4 µm pixel size, 1080p

Battery: 2800mAh Li-polymer

OS: Android OS, v5.1.1 (Lollipop)

Dimensions : 141.4 x 70 x 8 mm , 138gr

GSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100;  TD-LTE B38/39/40/41; FDD-LTE B1/3/7

What do you want from a smartphone these days ? Picture (camera) quality and very good sound output are enough for you ? You want these specs in a very good looking 5″ screen phone right ? Then go grab a Nubia Z11 Mini and all done. The little brother of Z11 family shares same 4-axis OIS Sony IMX298 sensor with its big brother Z11 and Xiaomi’s Mi5, flagship grade camera performance, both pictures and videos (4K). For music lovers AKM’s latest audio chipset is onboard too. Being a former DJ myself, I always test audio outputs of smartphones in first place. Nubia’s powerful and clean sound output been always my favorite and Z11 Mini carries this tag too.  You love taking many pictures and videos and listen to music, this means you need storage too, 64GB onboard + microSD up to 256 GB are more than enough. Build quality of Z11 Mini is one of the best in the market, worldwide. Rom updates ? This is where ZTE comes behind its competitors, usually slow. Had mobile data bug in Z9 series, I hope they will take more care with new Z11 models.

Qiku 360 N4S

239$

Display: 5.5 inch FHD 1920x1080p 

CPU: MTK Helio X20

RAM: 4GB

ROM: 32GB, microSD up to 128 GB

Rear Camera: 16 MP, f/2.0, ISOCELL, PDAF, geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR

Front Camera: 8 MP, f/2.0

Battery: 5000 mAh Li-polymer

OS: Android 6 Marshmallow

Dimensions : 151.3×74.6×8.35mm, 169gr

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz; WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, FDD LTE: 1800/2100/2600MHz

Take Nubia and Meizu, mix them, you get 360 N4S design. Full metal body, 2.5D glass on top, high build quality. Put a Helio X20 CPU with 4GB Ram and 32GB Rom (microSD up to 128 GB) in it and power all these elements with a 5000 mAh battery (biggest capacity in our list, higher than Mi Max, coming next). How does it sound ? Price should be normally a bit lower, but this phone is very hard to find, so if you want an alternative you need to pay 239$ for this beast. Cameras look very good on paper. An infrared remote control is a bonus too. 360 N4S runs its own OS, 360 OS 2.0.

Xiaomi Mi Max

219$ 3GB/32GB Snapdragon 650, 259$ 3GB/64GB Snapdragon 652

Display: 6.44-inch, full HD (1920×1080 pixels)

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 650/652

RAM: 3GB

ROM: 32GB/64GB, microSD up to 128 GB

Rear Camera: 16 MP, f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash

Front Camera: 5 MP, f/2.0

Battery: 4850 mAh Li-polymer

OS: MIUI 8 based on Android 6.0 OS

Dimensions : 173.1 x 88.3 x 7.5 mm, 203gr

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz, WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, LTE-FDD: 1800/2100/2600MHz (B1/B3/B7)

I love big screen ! I always did, and now I’m using a Mi Max as my daily phone (first time using a Xiaomi), 3GB/64GB with Snapdragon 652 CPU, bought it for 259$ and I must say worth every penny. If you like big screen phones too, there is nowhere else to look, with 4850 mAh huge battery Mi Max will suit your needs in a quality metal body, having everything including infrared remote control and a good camera (good for my taste, can shoot good pictures in dark room with dual flash). Audio quality is surprisingly very good too. I tested Mi Note Pro’s ES9018 DAC last week, Mi Max’s output is nothing less, high output with clean sound. This big fellow is made for multimedia for sure.

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/06/12/xiaomi-mi-max-review-lot-xiaomi/

LeEco Le Max 2

239$

Display: 5.7 inch 2560×1440 Pixel

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 64bit, Quad Core, 2.15GHz

RAM: 4GB

ROM: 32GB

Rear Camera: 21MP 6P, f/2.0 for 4K video

Front Camera: 1.4μm 8MP f/2.2

Battery: 3100 mAh Li-polymer

OS: eUI Android 6.0 OS

Dimensions : 15.68 x 7.76 x 0.80 cm, 185gr

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz; WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, FDD LTE: B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/20/25/26

Wellcome to the first league, talking about CPU and GPU power. Are you an Antutu freak too ? Then you should start from here.

Quote : ” Do we need so much power in our cell phones ? Can software follow this hardware power ? These are only phones, ok smart phones with operating systems in it, but what are we doing with them when its about CPU power ? Using 10 applications same time ? Playing 2-3 power hungry games same time ? Not enough..? We need somehow take this power out of these little gadgets to our desktops and push their limits with much more options like creating. After then, this “race” about making more and more powerful CPU’s for phones can come to a logical state. And when those days come, every one of us will use just one ARM powered PC for every computer based job, our Qualcomm’s, MediaTek’s or Fusion’s…”

130K is the minimum score of Snapdragon 820, best CPU that Qualcomm has made till now (+821). And you can grab it just for 239$ thanks to LeEco. The only phone in our list that has a 2K screen in 5.7″ size, if you care about that, this is your only choice, a good one indeed. Lossless audio over Type-C, excellent build quality, awful color options

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/05/28/leeco-le-max-2-review-beauty-meets-power/

ZUK Z2

259$ (4GB Ram)

Display: 5-inch, 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels)

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 64bit, Quad Core, 2.15GHz

RAM: 4GB

ROM: 64GB

Rear Camera: 13 Megapixel, Samsung ISOCELL sensor, f/2.2

Front Camera: 8MP

Battery: 3500 mAh Li-polymer

OS: ZUI 2.0 base on Android 6.0 OS

Dimensions : 141.65mm x68.88 mmx8.45mm, 149gr

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz , WCDMA: Bands: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, LTE FDD: 1/2/3/4/5/7/8

And the fun continues. Ok you want Snapdragon 820 but 5.7″ screen is too big for you ( Le Max 2 ), how about a 5″ in a matte black metal frame ( my favorite ) and front finger print scanner ? And a bigger battery compared 3500mAh to 3100 mAh ? + 32GB more storage for 20$ more ? Here is your phone, ZUK Z2 from Lenovo. Still no official multilanguage ROM from the maker, but there are custom ZUI based ROMs supporting your language, or even CM14 Android 7 if you are familiar with flashing ROMs ( if you are not we will help you with our guides for sure ). It’s good to have community behind a model and Zuk Z2 does that. Best 5″ that 259$ can buy for sure.

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/06/27/zuk-z2-review-beautiful-fast/

Xiaomi Mi5

269 $

Display: 5.15 inches, 1080p Full HD 

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 64bit, Quad Core, 1.8GHz

RAM: 3GB

ROM: 32GB

Rear Camera: 16 MP, f/2.0, 1/2.8″ sensor size, 1.12 µm pixel size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR

Front Camera: 4 MP, f/2.0 – , 1/3″ sensor size, 2µm pixel size, 1080p@30fps

Battery: 3000 mAh Li-polymer

OS: MIUI 8 Android 6.0 – Marshmallow

Dimensions : 144.6 x 69.2 x 7.3 mm, 129g

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz, WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, LTE-FDD: 1800/2100/2600MHz (B1/B3/B7)

Famous Xiaomi Mi5, love the black version (especially with the ceramic back). Talking of color, new Mi 5s models don’t have black as color option, why Chinese phone makers don’t use black in every model, I will never understand that. Support of MIUI community, the power of Snapdragon 820 and one of the best cameras in the market, Sony IMX298. If you are a Xiaomi fan you probably get this one under 300$, it surely deserves this money. But I must remind you this version has only 3GB Ram and Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 clocked at 1.8Ghz, not at 2.15 like others, will you feel it as less performance in daily use ? No, you will not, only less Antutu score that’s all, but why Xiaomi reduces clock speed ? To make higher models more attractive ? But it does not. Just make all the clock speeds same and the ram to 4GB in all Mi5 models, it will be easier to sell.

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/03/13/xiaomi-mi5-review-beast-smartphone/

LeEco Le Pro 3

299$

Display: 5.5 inches, 1080p Full HD 

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 64bit, Quad Core, 2.35GHz

RAM: 4GB

ROM: 32GB

Rear Camera: 16 Megapixel, Sony IMX298, PDAF, F2.0, 1/2.8″ sensor size, 1.12 µm pixel size

Front Camera: 8 MP, f/2.2, 1.4 µm pixel size, 1080p

Battery: 4070 mAh Li-polymer

OS: eUI Android 6.0 OS

Dimensions : 151.4×73.9×7.5mm, 175g

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz; WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, FDD LTE: B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/20/25/26

Our final model and most powerful model as CPU and GPU power because it has a Snapdragon 821 onboard. Higher clocks of 820 give us about 20K more Antutu score. But, like I always say, scores are not the first key point when you want to buy a smartphone. Talking about LeEco Le Pro 3 it’s not just CPU power, the new model of the firm finally has one of the best cameras, Sony IMX298, finally has enough battery power 4070 mAh, much better comparing to Le Max 2’s 3100 Mah, 2.5D glass on top, which gives a much better look and feel, a new brushed metal body and all this in 7.5mm thickness, for just 299$ ! Many of you may say so why bother to make a list, this one is  a real bargain for this price, who would anyone buy a Mi5 for 269$ if you can buy this beast for 30$ more ? I agree with you, speaking of science, of course, rest is, like we always say, taste and budget (and better software optimizations)….

Every phone in our list is on par or even better (price/performance ratio) then famous phone makers like Samsung, iPhone, HTC, Sony or LG. I don’t count Google’s new Pixel line, nonsense costs for that ugly HTC made phones. So why pay 600$-900$ if we can buy almost same quality and absolute android freedom for 1/3 – 1/4 the price ?

Please don’t forget to check our new compare tool for full specs of phones at Gizmochina (phones are still being added to our database): http://www.gizmochina.com/compare/?pos=97354-99299-97579

The post Smartphone Buyers Guide: Best Value For Money Chinese SmartPhones $200-$300 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Nubia was present at IFA Berlin this year, which means we got some time to play around with the three new smartphones showcased at the event.

The ZTE Nubia Z11 was the pick of the Nubia devices at the event, coming with top-end hardware including Snapdragon 820 and a beautiful bezel-less display. Our reviewer Linas got some time to play around with the three devices which were shown off at the event, the ZTE Nubia Z11, Z11 Mini and the Z11 Max. You can check out our first hands-on with these three devices from the video down below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKk4aRn6GUQ

The Z11 mini is the most compact and cheapest device of the lot as it retails for around $230. But the international availability is yet to be confirmed.

The phone sports a familiar design we’ve seen on a lot of phones. It uses metal and glass, which is a huge fingerprint magnet.

The phone is compact due to its 5” display and it has almost 70% screen to body ratio.

The main specs include a Snapdragon 617 chip, 64GB of expandable storage and 3GB of RAM. We have a 16MP camera on the back and it is said to be very good but I will tell you what I think in the full review.

Unfortunately, the phone comes with Android 5.1 out of the box the Nubia’s skin on top of it. The update to the Android 6.0 should definitely arrive soon.

The UI runs fast and there are quite a few features and customization options that I will go through in just a bit.

The Nubia Z11 Max is the largest smartphone as it has a 6” 1080p display, which is sharp and vibrant, just like on the Z11 mini.

It has similar specs but it comes with a more powerful Snapdragon 652 chip, 4GB of RAM, larger battery, and fast charge support.

Last but not least, we have the Nubia Z11, which is a true flagship device and it will be officially available for purchase for 499 EUR later this month in some countries in the EU, India, Asia and in north and south America.

The phone sports a 5.5” 1080p true bezel-less display, which looks just gorgeous. In fact, the phone has 81% screen-to-body ratio, which is one of the best in the business.

The build quality is top notch. The phone is made of metal and it feels solid in the hand. We have a 16MP camera on the back and it is said to provide DSLR-level photos and we can’t wait to test it out in our full review.

Other specs include Snapdragon 820, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. In fact, you can opt it for a gorgeous looking Black Gold Edition model, which will cost more but it has 6GB of RAM.

As for UI, the phone runs on the Android 6.0 with the Nubia’s skin on top of it. There are plenty of features to use that bezel-less display that we haven’t seen on other phones, e.g. you can swipe from one edge to change the desktop. Also, you can swipe down from the edge to switch between recently used apps.

All in all, the Nubia Z11 lineup has some pretty solid phones that we can’t wait to test them out. Our reviews of these devices should be up soon, so stay tuned!

The post Nubia Z11, Z11 Max and Z11 Mini Hands on (Video) appeared first on Gizmochina.

For the past couple of years, we have been regularly hearing about Nubia smartphones. The company is known for its premium quality built and capable cameras on smartphones, especially its Z series devices. Given that the company was established only back in 2012, it has really done a good job getting the attention of consumers in China and a few other markets. Now, Nubia has just announced that it will be expanding into new markets such as Europe and Latin America soon. So, fans in markets such as Mexico, Argentina, Russia, Spain and Germany will soon be able to purchase Nubia smartphones locally. The company has confirmed that the Nubia Z11 Mini, Z9 Max and the Z9 Mini will be available in these regions soon.

After Suning’s RMB 1.93 billion investment, which comes to $297 million in Nubia back in January 2016, the company is now preparing to expand its reach in new markets. Given that the Chinese market is saturated at the moment and there are lots of other markets where Chinese smartphones are popular, this might actually be a smart move on the part of the company.

Both Argentina and Mexico’s demand for high-end smartphones have been growing recently, thanks to the rapid development of 4G infrastructure as well as the boom in the e-commerce business. The company reveals that in Mexico, there are around 96 million smartphone users, of which, roughly 30 million purchase new phones every year. Further, Argentina is a good market for expansion since 90 percent of the country’s phone market share is represented by international brands. And Nubia aims to be one of these brands real soon.

READ MORE: Nubia’s Z11 Max Has An Amazing Screen To Body Ratio!

As for the more mature markets of Europe, Chinese smartphones are already popular in countries such as Russia. Moreover, both Germany and Spain, with millions of smartphone users turn out to be good markets for expanding Nubia’s reach this year. Apart from the above-mentioned markets, the company also confirms that it has sights on more European markets such as France, Italy, Poland and Turkey. It also mentions some Southeast Asian countries such as India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

With Nubia appointing Cristiano Ronaldo as the brand ambassador, it’s evident that the company is all set to make its presence felt globally. Special C. Ronaldo limited editions of the Nubia Z11 Mini and Z11 Max are also going on sale in China.

The post Nubia Reveals Plans To Expand Into Europe & Latin America Soon appeared first on Gizmochina.

ZTE’s Nubia division has just announced its newest smartphone, the ZTE Nubia Z11 Mini, aimed at compact smartphone lovers. The company is particularly focusing on the compact size of the device, in this market which is flooded with phones that come with screen sizes upwards of 5.2-inches.

When we look at the specs of the Z11 Mini, they aren’t powerful. But then, Mini series was never supposed to be a flagship smartphone. In fact, if the company had continued with the tradition, it would have unveiled two more smartphones in the series today, namely the Nubia Z11 Max and the Nubia Z11 flagship. But, surprisingly, this event was just for the Z11 Mini.

The Nubia Z11 Mini takes its design cues from its predecessor to some extent. It comes with a metal body and the trademark Nubia circular button just below the display. There will be a fingerprint sensor located at the back of the device. Despite its ‘Mini’ tagline, the phone looks quite premium.

Coming to the specs, the Nubia Z11 Mini features the Snapdragon 617 chipset under the hood with octa-core architecture. There will be Adreno 405 graphics inside with 3GB of RAM and an ample 64GB of storage, further expandable via MicroSD.

Nubia series smartphones are known for their cameras, and the Z11 Mini tries to keep up the repuation with a Sony IMX298 16MP sensor at the back with PDAF. Up front, you will find an 8MP shooter ideal for selfies. The company has updated its Neovision software and now, there are new features such as 3D Noise reduction and Clone camera.

Given its small size, Nubia decided to use a 2800mAh non-removable battery inside. Other features of the phone include dual band Wi-Fi, DTS sound, dual SIM support, VoLTE, 8mm body and 138 grams weight. Unfortunately, the phone comes with Android 5.1.1 out of the box with Nubia 3.9 on top. Kind of surprising that it doesn’t come with Marshmallow, but the company will probably update the OS in the coming months.

The Nubia Z11 Mini will come in black, white and gold colors and will go on sale for a decent 1499 Yuan ($232) price tag in China. Registrations have already started and the phone goes on sale on April 25. The company is also offering a special wooden back cover for the device, which you can see in some of the pictures above.

For now, no word on the Nubia Z11 or Z11 Max, but we expect a launch in the coming months.

So, what do you think? For $232, does Nubia Z11 attract your attention?

The post ZTE Nubia Z11 Mini Announced With Snapdragon 617 & 3GB RAM appeared first on Gizmochina.

ZTE’s Nubia division is soon going to unveil a brand new smartphone, namely the Nubia Z11 Mini. The company has been teasing the features of the device for the past few days and till now, we know that the phone will be compact and will feature 2.5D glass design on both the front and the back. Now, Nubia has revealed a few details about the camera of the upcoming Z11 Mini.

First of all, the teaser confirms that the new handset will feature an updated NeoVersion camera system. Nubia is famous for its camera technology, so it would be interesting to see what new features comes with the updated version. However, the company failed to give out specific details. All we know is that the camera will be “Simply Beautiful”.

Nubia is no longer restricted to the Chinese market, with its presence now in a couple of markets outside. The company is teasing the new Z11 Mini launch via its official Facebook page as well, which could hint at a simultaneous international launch of the device. Till now, we have seen two main teasers for the device, focusing on the camera. One of the teasers is even hinting that the camera on the Z11 Mini will be fast.

Company’s GM Ni Fei also revealed a new feature of the device, called as the Clone Mode. And guess what, the feature was revealed via the Nubia Z11 Mini smartphone itself, which you can see from the image below. We are not entirely sure how the clone mode works but expect more details at the conference on April 19.

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Nubia Z11 Mini is all set to be announced on April 19. While we don’t know whether the two other rumored devices in the lineup, the Nubia Z11 Max and the Z11 will be showcased at the event, for now, the company seems to be focusing on the small screen flagship.

The company has started teasing the new device, and has already confirmed that it will come in a small form factor. And now, the general manager of Nubia smartphones, Ni Fei has revealed a new interesting feature of the device.

According to the latest post from the GM, Nubia Z11 Mini will most likely come with a Super Screen Video capture mode, which is basically a feature to record your screen. Instead of just taking a picture of the screen, this particular mode will take a video of the screen in action, just like screen capture on your desktop PC or laptop. You can see a live demo of the Super Screen capture mode from the video down below.

This particular feature could be directly embedded into the Nubia UI, and can be a good selling point for the OS. You could easily capture your screen live, while playing games or make tutorial videos without much fuss. Not a unique feature, still it can come in handy in some cases. Ni Fei also revealed that there would be new UI changes and optimizations on the upcoming Nubia version to improve the overall experience using the device. More details will be revealed in the coming days to the launch.

Meanwhile, we can also expect the company to reveal a few of the hardware features of the Nubia Z11 before April 19, when the phone will finally be official.

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Nubia smartphone has just released a new teaser for a conference on April 19. While the teaser or the company have not yet revealed the main theme of the conference, it is possible that this event is for the launch of the long-rumored Nubia Z11 series models.

Previously, Nubia had released a teaser for something special on March 29. However, it turned out to be just the promotion for existing handsets, which disappointed a lot of fans. Now, with this new conference in the picture, it looks like fans will finally get to see the new Z11 handsets pretty soon.

Apart from the timing of the conference, another good reason why this could be for the Nubia Z11 is because the company is calling it the “2016 New Nubia Conference”. The event will be held in Beijing and after a few months of silence, this would be a good opportunity for the company to unveil its new products for 2016.

Like tradition, we can expect three models in the Z11 series this year.

Nubia Z11 Mini

The phone has already passed through the Chinese TENAA certification which revealed its specs. The Z11 Mini will reportedly come with a 1.5GHz / 1.2GHz octa-core processor wth 3GB of RAM and 64GB of storage on board. The phone comes with 16MP rear and 8MP front cameras. Other features include fingerprint sensor, Android 5.1.1 Lollipop OS and price tag of around $230.

Nubia Z11

Last year’s Z9 had a bezel-less design. So, we can expect the company to continue the design in the new Nubia Z11. The phone is expected to feature company patented dual camera technology and a 5.2-inch 2K display. Other possible specs include 4GB RAM, 128GB storage, and Android 6.0 version out of the box.

Along with these two, we can also expect a Z11 Max version, but information about the device is limited at the moment.

Anyways, it seems like we will finally see the new Z11 series handsets on April 19. Considering there’s still time for the event, we can expect more details via teasers from the company in the coming weeks.

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Nubia has been quiet for the past few months. The latest we heard about the company was via a TENAA listing of a new ZTE Nubia smartphone, which was most likley the Nubia Z11 Mini. However, the company has released a new teaser earlier today confirming some kind of announcement on March 29.

This could most likely be for the new series of Nubia smartphones, namely the Nubia Z11, Z11 Mini and Z11 Max. Apart from the TENAA listing, another reason we beleive this is for the Z11 series phones is because the GM of Nubia, Ni Fei had confirmed the existence of the Nubia Z11 series and said that the phone would launch in the first quarter of 2016.

Considering that the Nubia Z11 Mini already passsed through TENAA, let’s first take a look at its specs. The phone will feature a 1.5GHz / 1.2GHz octa-core processor with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. At the back, there will be a 16MP camera while up front, you will get an 8MP shooter. The phone will run on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop OS. Pricing is expected to be around the 1499 Yuan figure which comes to $230.

Moving on to the next model, namely the Nubia Z11, we only have information via rumors. The phone is said to come with a 5.2-inch 2K display with Snapdragon 820 chipset under the hood and 4GB of RAM. There will be 128GB of storage and a powerful 20.7MP camera at the back. Up front, you can expect a 13MP shooter ideal for selfies. The phone is said to run on Android 6.0 out of the box.

But if the company decides to skip the Z11 series from March 29 announcement, what we can expect to see is the rumored Nubia X8. We had heard a fair share of rumors about this device, but soon, the phone was forgotten among other news. However, if the Nubia X8 is announced next week, it will most likely come with Snapdragon 820 chip with 4GB RAM, 7.9mm body, a 6-inch screen and a large 5120mAh battery. Of course, these specs come via rumors, so better wait till the official announcement before getting too excited.

So, what do you think will we see on March 29?

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For the past few months, ZTE’s Nubia smartphone division has been quiet. We haven’t heard any new announcements from the company recently. It’s been more than a year since Nubia released a new model in it’s Z series but it looks like the next generation smartphones in the series are on their way.

Recently, a new ZTE model (NX529J) was spotted on the Chinese network certification website, TENAA, revealing its full specs and design. The new phone is said to be the next gen ZTE Nubia Z11 Mini, which, if true, would mean other models in the lineup, namely the Z11 Max and Z11 flagship could all soon be announced.

Design wise, there seems to be very little change in the new Z11 Mini model as compared to the Z9 Mini. So, the phone features 2.5D glass on both, the front as well as the back, along with a metal frame that goes around the body. Up front, you have the trademark red-colored Nubia home button (capacitive), but at the back, there’s an interesting addition, a fingerprint sensor.

Coming to the Nubia Z11 Mini’s specs, the phone features a 1.2GHz / 1.5GHz octa-core processor, which could be the Snapdragon 616 / 617 chip. It sports a 5-inch FHD 1080p display with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. At the back, the Z11 Mini has a 16MP camera while up front, there is an 8MP selfie shooter. Under the hood, there is a 2750mAh battery to power all these specs.

It’s not super thin by today’s standards, but still it’s pretty sleek featuring an 8mm body. The phone is lightweight, weighing about 138 grams. Unfortunately, despite being a 2016 device, the phone will reportedly run on the old Android 5.1.1 Lollipop version. There are two color options available, namely black and white.

In case you remember, we had reported that a ZTE Nubia Z9 Max Elite and Z9 Mini Elite versions with fingerprint sensors were in the works. These specs are quite similar to the leaked info that we got 5 months ago. So, it is possible that the Elite version has been upgraded a bit (larger storage and better processor) and is going to be announced as the Z11 Mini.

Nubia is yet to reveal any official events for any product announcements but stay tuned for more details.

(Source)

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