Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra alternative for 679 euros: Smartphone insider tip Nubia Z60 Ultra in a short test

If you want to buy a current top smartphone, you have to dig deep into your pockets. Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra and Xiaomi 14 Ultra, for example, cost well over 1,000 euros. You can get the more compact variants Xiaomi 14 and Galaxy S24 for under 1,000 euros, but you have to make compromises in terms of equipment. But there is an alternative: the Nubia Z60 Ultra.

The smartphone has been available in the ZTE subsidiary’s online shop since the end of December 2023. The price seems ridiculously low compared to competing models. For 679 euros you get the version with 256 gigabytes (GB) of memory and 8 GB of working memory (RAM). You can also buy the device with 256 GB of storage and 12 GB of RAM as well as 512 GB of storage and 16 GB of RAM, then you pay 749 euros and 899 euros respectively.

At Nubia Buy Z60 Ultra*

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That sounds too good to be true. That’s why we tried out the Nubia Z60 Ultra at the MWC in Barcelona and were surprised! Because the affordable top smartphone leaves a good first impression – but it’s certainly not for everyone. Because with dimensions of 163.9 8 x 76.35 x 8.78 millimeters and a weight of 246 grams, it is a real chunk, and even the iPhone 15 Pro Max looks compact next to it.

Even the iPhone 15 Pro Max is compact compared to the Z60 Ultra

If the dimensions and weight are not a deterrent, you will receive a cleanly manufactured cell phone that is even protected against the ingress of dust and water according to IP68. The frame of the Nubia Z60 Ultra is made of metal. The back is made of glass, but is textured to match the frame. The Nubia Z60 Ultra looks like it is made from a single piece.

In Germany, the cell phone can currently only be ordered in silver and black. The phone can also be seen at MWC in a third color variant called “Starry Night”. We like her best. The housing here is colored blue and has patterns. However, this is probably just a limited special edition that will not be available for purchase in Germany. A pity.

XXL display with hidden front camera

When you turn on the Nubia Z60 Ultra, you see the next highlight of the phone: the screen. This seems almost huge. Although the screen diagonal of 6.8 inches is not much larger than that of the competition, ZTE does not hide the front camera in a punchhole within the screen, but hides it below the display. This means there are no interruptions in the display.

Samsung fans may know this technology from the Galaxy Z Fold 5. Here Samsung uses it on the internal display. But it’s not really that convincing in the Samsung cell phone. When you look closely, the camera shines through under the screen and the quality of the selfies is poor. Completely different with the Nubia Z60 Ultra. Even if we keep our nose glued to the screen, we can’t see the front camera. She is practically invisible. The image quality doesn’t yet reach the level of conventional selfie cameras, but it’s not a total failure either.

The screen is also pleasing in other ways. The AMOLED panel shines with crisp colors, the resolution is sufficiently sharp at Full HD+ and thanks to a refresh rate of up to 120 Hertz, the display also responds quickly. It could just be a little brighter. The maximum brightness is 1,500 nits, which is only half as high as the Xiaomi 14 Ultra.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and XXL battery

The other features are convincing. Like the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 works under the hood. It has up to 16 gigabytes of RAM available. In the short test there were no stutters or anything similar. Android 14 ran very smoothly on the phone.

The battery is significantly larger than the competition. This offers the Nubia cell phone a capacity of 6,000 milliamperes hours (mAh). The S24 Ultra only has 5,000 mAh. Of course, we weren’t able to test the battery life at the trade fair. According to the PC Mark database, which we also use for cell phone testing, the Z60 Ultra achieves a runtime of 11 hours and 54 minutes. That’s okay, but considering the capacity, it’s rather disappointing. The S24 Ultra, for example, lasts 18 hours and 55 minutes.

But you can still get through the day with the Nubia cell phone. In addition, the cell phone charges from the socket with a maximum of 80 watts, which is significantly faster than the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Unfortunately, the Z60 Ultra’s battery cannot be charged wirelessly. A power supply unit is included in the scope of delivery, as is a transparent protective cover. With Samsung you have to pay extra for both.

No 200 megapixel camera, no S-Pen

Where the Nubia Z60 Ultra also falls short in comparison, at least on paper, is the rear camera. The back of the Nubia Z60 Ultra has a total of three cameras. These are an ultra wide angle, a wide angle and a telephoto lens with 3x magnification. All three cameras are optically stabilized. The resolution is 50 (ultra and wide angle) or 60 megapixels (telephoto).

Samsung already offers nominally more megapixels in the S24 Ultra with its 200-megapixel main camera and, thanks to a second telephoto camera, also one with a significantly larger zoom range (5x). However, this information does not automatically result in better images. The camera couldn’t really be tested at the trade fair and compared with that of the S24 Ultra. We’ll do that in the detailed test.

Netzwelt means

If the monstrous dimensions of the Nubia Z60 Ultra don’t put you off, you’ll get a solid, top-of-the-range smartphone that doesn’t have to go without anything despite the low price. We were particularly impressed by the huge display without a visible notch for the front camera. At least many smartphone fans in China see it that way. When the model was launched on the market, copies worth 127 million euros were sold within one second.

We liked that

• Price-performance
• XXL display without visible front camera

We didn’t like that

• Cell phone is big and heavy
• no wireless charging

The company is causing a stir at MWC not only with the Nubia Z60 Ultra, but also with the Nubia Music, which outperforms other cell phones by a factor of 600.