ZTE Nubia Neo 3 5G

The ZTE Nubia Neo 3 5G has a width of 76.3 mm and weighs 208 g, giving it a notably wide and substantial feel in hand. It is a standard candybar-style handset — it neither folds nor carries any rugged certification.

The display is a 6.8″ OLED/AMOLED touchscreen with a resolution of 1080 x 2392 px and a pixel density of 386 ppi, delivering a sharp and vibrant visual experience. It runs at a 120Hz refresh rate paired with an exceptionally high 1200Hz touch sampling rate, ensuring fluid scrolling and highly responsive input. Always-On Display is supported, keeping glanceable information visible without fully waking the screen. The panel does not include branded damage-resistant glass and lacks support for HDR10, HDR10+, or Dolby Vision. There is no secondary screen on this device.

The device is powered by the Unisoc T8300, a 6 nm octa-core chipset configured as 2 x 2.2 GHz and 6 x 2 GHz cores using big.LITTLE technology, with 8 threads and integrated LTE. It is paired with 8GB of RAM running at 2133 MHz and 256GB of internal storage, with a maximum memory bandwidth of 17.07 GB/s. Graphics are handled by the integrated Mali-G57 MP2 GPU clocked at 950 MHz, supporting a single display. In benchmarks, the chipset scores 479,500 on AnTuTu and achieves Geekbench 6 results of 908 (single-core) and 2,221 (multi-core). The SoC supports 64-bit processing, ARM TrustZone for hardware-level security, and includes integrated graphics.

The main camera system is a dual-lens setup combining a 50 MP sensor (f/2.4) and a 2 MP sensor (f/1.8), both using a CMOS sensor without back-side illumination. Autofocus options include phase-detection and touch autofocus as well as continuous autofocus during video recording, though laser autofocus is absent. The camera supports a broad range of manual controls — exposure, ISO, focus, and white balance — along with HDR mode, burst shooting, panoramas, slow-motion video, and timelapse, while RAW capture and manual shutter speed are not available. Video recording tops out at 1080p at 30 fps, with no support for HDR10 or Dolby Vision recording. A single LED flash is present at the rear, with no dual-tone or RGB flash, and there is no optical image stabilization or optical zoom. The front camera offers a 16 MP single-lens sensor at f/2.0, without a front flash or an under-display placement.

The device runs Android 15 and comes with a solid set of privacy tools, including clipboard warnings, location privacy options, camera and microphone access controls, and the ability to block app tracking, though cross-site tracking blocking and Mail Privacy Protection are not included. On the customization side, it supports dark mode, dynamic theming, theme customization, widgets, and customizable notifications, while focus modes and Wi-Fi password sharing are absent. Productivity features include split-screen multitasking, picture-in-picture, full-page screenshots, a media picker, sharing intents, Live Text, app offloading, and the ability to play games while they download. The OS also supports on-device machine learning, offline voice recognition, voice commands, phone tracking, a child lock, multi-user accounts, and a battery health check. OS updates are not delivered directly from the vendor, and Quick Start is not available.

The device is equipped with a 6000 mAh rechargeable battery that supports 33W fast charging, allowing for quicker top-ups compared to standard charging speeds. A battery level indicator is present to keep tabs on remaining charge. Wireless charging is not supported, and the battery is not removable.

The audio setup includes stereo speakers, but there is no 3.5 mm headphone jack and no built-in radio. On the wireless audio side, the device does not support aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless, or LDAC, meaning high-resolution and enhanced Bluetooth audio codecs are not available.

The device supports 5G connectivity and comes with a dual SIM slot, USB Type-C, NFC, and Wi-Fi compatibility across Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), and Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax). For navigation, it includes GPS with Galileo support, alongside a gyroscope, accelerometer, and compass for motion and orientation sensing. A fingerprint scanner handles biometric authentication, while 3D facial recognition and an iris scanner are not present. There is no external memory slot, HDMI output, infrared sensor, barometer, heart rate monitor, ANT+ support, or built-in projector, and the device does not include crash detection, satellite SOS, DLNA certification, a stylus, or any form of motion or optical tracking.

The device includes a video light for illumination during video recording. The display is flat rather than curved, and neither sapphire glass nor an e-paper display are part of the build.