ZTE nubia Z70 Ultra

The ZTE nubia Z70 Ultra is a flagship that is built around two unusual design choices: a front camera hidden under the display, so that the screen has no hole or notch, and a main camera lens with an adjustable physical aperture. It also carries the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, a 6.85-inch 144Hz AMOLED screen and a 6,150 mAh battery with 80W charging. This page is based on the published specifications and manufacturer information from nubia. It explains where the phone sits in the brand's range, what the unusual features offer, and which compromises they bring.

Place in the nubia range

nubia is the phone brand of ZTE, and the Ultra line is its answer to the big flagship phones from Samsung, Xiaomi and OPPO. The Z70 Ultra is the Ultra model that carries the adjustable-aperture main lens described below. Later models in the same family, the nubia Z70S Ultra and the nubia Z80 Ultra, are the natural comparison for a buyer who finds the Z70 Ultra in an older stock listing. Against a mainstream flagship such as the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, the nubia concentrates on a clean full-screen design and a mechanical aperture, while the Xiaomi relies on a multi-lens array with a larger telephoto reach. The nubia Z70 Ultra vs Xiaomi 15 Ultra page compares the two.

Display and under-display camera

The screen is a 6.85-inch AMOLED panel, which nubia says was co-engineered with BOE. It has a 1.5K resolution of 2688 x 1216 pixels, around 430 pixels per inch, a refresh rate of up to 144Hz, 100 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut and a peak local brightness of 2,000 nits. The bezels are very thin, and because the front camera sits under the panel, the whole front is a single uninterrupted surface. nubia calls this its seventh-generation under-display camera, which indicates that it is a refinement of earlier versions.

The advantage is obvious when you watch video or play games in landscape mode, because nothing interrupts the picture. The trade-off with any under-display camera is image quality. Light has to pass through the pixels of the screen, so selfies and video calls are usually softer and show less contrast than those from a conventional hole-punch camera. The Z70 Ultra uses a 16MP sensor for the front camera, which is enough for video calls and casual selfies, but anyone who takes a lot of high-quality selfies should look at a phone with a visible front camera.

The body measures 164.3 x 77.1 x 8.6 mm and weighs 228 g, which makes it a heavy phone, partly because of the large battery. nubia lists IP68 and IP69 ratings, so it is protected against dust, immersion and hot high-pressure water jets, and describes a Soft Stardust Matte finish on the back. There are three colour options: Black, Yellow and the Starry Night Edition, which carries a design inspired by Van Gogh's painting with a micro-engraved pattern and a nano-textured lens. The official images show red accents on the buttons and around the main lens.

Performance, memory and software

The Snapdragon 8 Elite is a 3nm chip with Qualcomm's Oryon CPU cores and a peak clock speed of up to 4.32GHz, according to nubia. The company states that CPU and GPU performance improved by 45 percent and 40 percent compared with the previous generation, which is a manufacturer claim and not an independent measurement. Memory options are 12GB, 16GB and 24GB of LPDDR5X, with 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage, and the biggest configuration pairs 24GB with 1TB. For most users even the 12GB version is more than enough, and the larger versions are for people who like to keep many heavy apps open, or who store large video files.

The software layer is called Nebula AIOS. nubia highlights several AI functions, including an AI gallery search, an AI translation tool that supports English, German, Italian, French, Spanish and Japanese, an AI portrait highlights feature, bokeh effects for portraits and a Starburst mode for night photography. The "OK Google" voice assistant is also listed. The official product page does not state which Android version the phone runs or how long it will receive updates, and so those details should be checked on nubia's support pages before buying.

Camera system

The camera is where the Z70 Ultra aims to stand out. The main camera is a 50MP sensor from Sony's IMX 9 series with a 35mm focal length, optical stabilisation, phase-detection autofocus and an aperture that can be adjusted physically between f/1.59 and f/4.0. nubia describes it as the world's first smartphone camera with a 35mm lens and an adjustable physical aperture, a claim that comes from the manufacturer. A mechanical aperture changes depth of field and the amount of light in a way that software cannot imitate fully, and it also lets photographers stop the lens down for sharper landscapes or open it wide for portraits with a blurred background.

The ultrawide camera is a 50MP unit with a 122-degree field of view, autofocus, an f/2.0 aperture and a macro mode that can focus as close as 2.5 cm. The telephoto is a 64MP sensor with a 70mm equivalent focal length, optical stabilisation, autofocus and an f/2.48 aperture, which gives a moderate telephoto reach of around 2x relative to the main lens. A flicker sensor and a laser sensor complete the array. Compared with phones that carry a long periscope telephoto, the Z70 Ultra has less reach, so very distant subjects will rely on digital zoom. A dual-stage camera button on the side lets you half-press to focus and press fully to shoot, which suits photographers who like physical controls.

In practice, that means closing the aperture in bright light for sharpness across the frame and opening it at dusk to let in as much light as possible. The manufacturer does not quantify the difference between the steps, so it is best judged with test shots. Note also that the ultrawide and telephoto cameras are listed with a single aperture value each, so the adjustable aperture applies only to the main lens.

Battery and charging

The battery is a 6,150 mAh unit with a silicon-carbon anode, a design that holds more energy in the same volume than a conventional graphite cell. Together with the efficient 3nm chip, it is likely to provide a full day of heavy use and often longer. Charging is 80W over a cable. The product page does not list wireless charging, so people who rely on wireless charging should check the full specification for their region. The phone also supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, dual SIM and dual speakers.

Who the Z70 Ultra suits

This phone suits people who care about a clean, uninterrupted screen for video and games, who enjoy a more hands-on approach to photography, and who want very large memory and storage options with a big battery. It also appeals to buyers who want a distinctive design with red accents and the artistic Starry Night edition rather than a conventional glass slab.

Compromises

The compromises are straightforward. The under-display selfie camera will not match a conventional one. The telephoto is a moderate 70mm unit rather than a long periscope. At 228 g and 8.6 mm the phone is heavy and thick. nubia does not list a US launch price on its product page, so repair and warranty arrangements deserve a look in your region. And the Android version and update policy are not stated on the official page. Readers who want an overview of alternatives can see the rankings.