Improbable cameras and flagship efficiency

The Nubia Z60 Extremely Main Model is the corporate’s newest flagship smartphone, changing the Nubia Z60 Extremely we reviewed initially of 2024. The one important change is the swap to an overclocked model of the Snapdragon chipset, which solves our largest downside with the earlier mannequin.

Nubia tends to take away its telephones from the market shortly after a more moderen mannequin is offered, so that you needn’t fear about which mannequin is greatest for you. Nevertheless, though the Z60 Extremely Main Model is $50 greater than its predecessor, I feel that is one essentially the most worthwhile upgrades we have seen from Nubia in years.

Worth, availability, and connectivity

The Z60 Extremely Main Model is offered in 4 fashions. The most affordable choice prices $650 and has 8GB RAM and 256G storage. The most costly is $880, with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage. Unusually, the most affordable and most costly fashions are solely obtainable in black. If you’d like the trendy silver marbling impact seen in our overview, you may must plump for the 12 + 256GB ($699) or 16 + 512GB mannequin ($779)

I reviewed the telephone in central England, an space not famend for its connectivity. However, I may stream music, make calls, and obtain well timed notifications with out points. US customers ought to notice that the Z60 Extremely Main Model doesn’t help all main US bands, so your expertise could fluctuate.

What I like in regards to the Nubia Z60 Extremely Main Model

The AI upgrades are genuinely helpful

It is onerous to explain what I like in regards to the Nubia Z60 Extremely Main Model design with out lifting phrases straight from my Z60 Extremely overview. The telephone’s design is generally unchanged, which I’ve blended emotions about. Whereas an eye-catcher, the digicam bump remains to be too large, making the telephone a nightmare for snap-in gaming controllers and offering a haven for mud to gather. However, the brand new silver impact seems to be improbable, doing a lot to melt the brutalist impact of the Z60 Extremely. Whereas the silver marble impact on the Z60 Extremely LV got here with its personal caveats (which I am going to contact on later), it seems to be a lot better than its predecessor.

I will not waste time repeating every thing I mentioned in regards to the Z60 Extremely. As an alternative, I need to talk about the one main enchancment: the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Main Model chipset. This chipset comes with varied AI instruments, which Nubia claimed would alleviate the issues I had with the Z60 Extremely’s cameras, specifically that the telephone’s post-processing algorithms resulted in blurry, oversaturated photographs.

Fortunately, the change is noticeable. Under are photos taken with the Z60 Extremely and Z60 Extremely LV at 1x and 30x, respectively. The Z60 Extremely LV, regardless of having the identical cameras, produces higher high quality outcomes because of its post-processing capabilities, which is particularly noticeable if you zoom in to take an image. The final image is at 50x zoom on the Z60 Extremely LV, which seems to be to end in photos roughly the identical high quality because the Z60 Extremely’s 30x zoom.

The enhancements to the post-processing do not cease on the telescopic zoom. Total, the Z60 Extremely LV produced photos that averted the oversharpened and oversaturation issues that plagued its predecessor. In the event you’re in search of a telephone to tackle a images journey, the Z60 Extremely LV is the right alternative. Not solely will it take photographs you may be happy with, however the 6,000mAh battery will final you all day and extra. In my testing, I used to be capable of go two full days utilizing the telephone while not having to high it up, even when importing photographs over my information connection.

What I did not like in regards to the Nubia Z60 Extremely Main Model

MyOS remains to be irritating to make use of

In the event you purchase a Z60 Extremely Main Model, I like to recommend putting in a third-party launcher from the Play Retailer. All of those are higher than the MyOS launcher on the Z60 Extremely LV, which is nice at first impressions however quickly turns into a irritating expertise.

Undoubtedly, MyOS14 has extra customization choices than every other Android software program layer. I have been utilizing MyOS on and off since I reviewed the Z60 Extremely in January 2024, and the extra I exploit it, the much less impressed I’m. UI components really feel inconsistent, customization choices prioritize flashy results over usability, and the default browser is borderline unusable. There are additionally irritating options just like the watermark with Nubia branding utilized by default to all of your photographs and inaccurate English translations. None of those factors are dealbreakers in and of themselves, however the result’s a irritating mess compounded by the bugs and a measly two years of software program help.

Regardless of the AI enhancements, the Z60 LV nonetheless lacks the benefit of use we prefer to see in a smartphone digicam. In the event you’re affected person and spend time adjusting the digicam settings for every shot, you’ll produce improbable photographs. Nevertheless, for fast snaps, I discovered a lot of my photos did not end up the way in which I preferred. Newbie photographers may be overwhelmed by the variety of digicam choices the Z60 Extremely LV throws at you; it is solely pointless for vacation snaps or selfies for Instagram.

On the {hardware} facet, whereas the silver marble impact is eye-catching, its premium look falls aside when touched. It has the identical texture as linoleum; rubbing your fingers in opposition to it produces an identical squeaky sound. That is subtly disagreeable, and whereas I’d suggest a case anyway for a telephone that is this straightforward to drop, it is nonetheless disappointing when the Redmagic telephones, just like the 9S Professional , include a smooth glass again. An identical impact would have gone a good distance right here.

Do you have to purchase it?

Whereas I am completely happy to report that Nubia has ironed out the digicam points that plagued the Z60 Extremely, the telephone’s irritating software program makes it onerous to suggest it over different midrange Android telephones. For instance, the Pixel 8 is simply $50 extra and presents 5 extra years of software program help for an OS that is way more fulfilling to make use of. Plus, Google’s stellar post-processing means you may seize higher photos anyway, even when it does not have a telescopic lens.

In the event you worth processing energy and high-quality photographs over your consumer expertise, the Z60 Extremely is a superb telephone. You get loads in your cash right here, however do not anticipate a clean trip.