ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra (512GB / 12GB RAM)

The ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra has a non-folding, non-rugged design measuring 164.5 x 77.2 x 8.6 mm with a volume of 109.21 cm³ and a weight of 227 g. It carries an IP68 ingress protection rating, confirming full waterproofing at depths of up to 1.5 metres, making it suitable for use in wet conditions without additional protection.

The ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra features a 6.85″ OLED/AMOLED touchscreen with a resolution of 1216 x 2688 px and a pixel density of 431 ppi, delivering a sharp and detailed image across its large panel. The display runs at a 144Hz refresh rate and supports both HDR10 and HDR10+, while an Always-On Display mode keeps glanceable information visible at all times. Dolby Vision is not supported, and there is no secondary screen on the device.

The ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, a 64-bit octa-core SoC built on a 3 nm process with a configuration of 2 x 4.6 GHz and 6 x 3.62 GHz cores, 8 threads, big.LITTLE architecture, HMP support, and a TDP of 8.2W. It is paired with 12 GB of DDR5 RAM running at 5300 MHz across 2 memory channels, delivering a maximum memory bandwidth of 85.1 GB/s, ECC memory support, and a maximum supported memory capacity of 24 GB, alongside 512 GB of internal storage. The Adreno 830 GPU clocks at 1200 MHz with 1536 shading units, integrated graphics, support for up to 2 displays, DirectX 12, OpenGL 3.2, OpenGL ES 3.2, and OpenCL 3. The CPU also includes TrustZone security and multithreading, while the cache hierarchy consists of 192 KB L1, 12 MB L2, and 8 MB L3. Geekbench 6 scores stand at 3234 single-core and 10059 multi-core, and the chipset features integrated LTE.

The ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra features a triple rear camera system with sensors at 64, 50, and 50 MP and apertures of f/2.4, f/1.7, and f/1.8 respectively, covering a focal range of 18 mm to 70 mm and offering 2.7x optical zoom. The main camera uses a CMOS sensor without back-illumination and is backed by optical image stabilisation, laser autofocus, phase-detection autofocus, and touch autofocus, along with continuous autofocus during video recording. It supports a wide manual control set including manual exposure, ISO, focus, and white balance, though manual shutter speed is not available, and shoots in RAW format with burst mode, HDR, panorama, slow-motion, and timelapse all on board. Video recording reaches up to 4320 x 30 fps with HDR10 recording supported, while Dolby Vision recording and 3D video capture are not available. The dual-tone LED flash uses 2 LEDs, but there is no RGB flash. The 16 MP single-lens front camera has an aperture of f/2 and sits in a standard position without an under-display placement, and it lacks both a front-facing flash and 360-degree panorama capability.

The ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra runs Android 16, a free and open-source platform that supports multi-user operation, split-screen multitasking, Picture-in-Picture, widgets, sharing intents, and the ability to play games while they are still downloading. Privacy features include clipboard warnings, location privacy options, camera and microphone access controls, and app tracking blocking, though Mail Privacy Protection, cross-site tracking blocking, and Wi-Fi password sharing are not available. The OS also includes on-device machine learning, offline voice recognition, voice commands, Live Text, full-page screenshots, dynamic and manual theme customisation, dark mode, extra dim mode, customisable notifications, notification permission controls, a media picker, a child lock, battery health check, app offloading, and device position tracking. Direct OS updates from the vendor are not supported, and Quick Start and focus modes are absent, nor can the device be used as a PC.

The ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra houses a non-removable rechargeable battery with a capacity of 7200 mAh, paired with fast wired charging at 90W and wireless charging at 80W. A battery level indicator is included, while reverse wireless charging is not supported.

The ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra includes stereo speakers and supports aptX, aptX HD, and aptX Adaptive for Bluetooth audio, though aptX Lossless is not available. There is no 3.5 mm headphone jack and no built-in radio.

The ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra supports 5G and accommodates two SIM cards, with wireless connectivity spanning Wi-Fi 4, 5, 6, 6E, and 7 alongside Bluetooth 5.4 and NFC. Wired connectivity is handled by a USB Type-C port at USB 3.2, capable of download speeds up to 10,000 Mbit/s and upload speeds up to 3,500 Mbit/s, though there is no HDMI output and no external memory slot. Sensors on board include a fingerprint scanner, gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, GPS with Galileo support, and an infrared sensor, while a barometer, heart rate monitor, iris scanner, and 3D facial recognition are all absent. Motion tracking, optical tracking, ANT+, DLNA certification, satellite emergency SOS, crash detection, and a built-in projector are likewise not featured, and no stylus is included.

The ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra includes a video light for recording in low-light conditions. The display is flat rather than curved, uses no e-paper technology, and is not protected by sapphire glass.