They may not be flying off the shelves but some manufacturers still believe in the appeal of gaming smartphones. These niche devices add over-the-top features on top of already high-end specs. Since it seems that everyone this year will be sporting 90Hz or 120Hz screens, nubia's Red Magic 5G will be pulling out all the stops, at least based on a series of teasers from the company's own president.
The folks responsible for making the Nubia Z20 just made clear they'd like to get said phone in as many hands as possible, as soon as possible. To make this a reality, they're cutting the base price of the Nubia Z20 down from its original $550 to a cool $500 (approximate pricing) through their US-based online portal. But why would they do such a thing?
If you're tired of all the talk about foldable displays or even notches, don't worry, there seems to be a new trend on the way. Although not completely new, screens that boast of refresh rates higher than the normal 60 Hz have, until recently, been the arena of gaming smartphones. With OnePlus' announcement of its own, Samsung-made 120 Hz Fluid Display, it seems that its competitors like ZTE's nubia and Xiaomi's Black Shark will be joining the fray soon as well.
Foldable phones are one of the hot topics in mobile tech today but, for a short while, that wasn't the only eccentric new design in the industry. Dual-screen phones also offer more display than their regular single-screen counterparts but for a different purpose, one that wants to banish bezels on the front by relocating everything to the back. Of this rare breed of phones, the Nubia Z20 is perhaps the only one that ever reached US shores officially. You might, however, want to hold off if you're that type that needs to have your phone repaired often.
We've seen all sorts of solutions to the problem of relocating the front camera to make room for more screen. There are popups and flips and even holes in the screen. But while we await that fabled camera-in-display tech, there is one solution that is both the simplest but the oddest one of all: removing the front camera entirely. That is what the nubia Z20 proposes by having screens both front and back. And, fortunately, it's one of the most affordable solutions as well.
Even as "normal" premium phones get more powerful and also more expensive, the niche market of gaming-oriented smartphones continues to push forward with a curious offer. They offer nearly the same performance benefits often at a much lower price point than their regular flagship rivals. The price you pay is that there will no hiding the fact that it's a gaming smartphone. Of course, some mobile gamers might actually want that and for that market, nubia's Red Magic 3S is coming with just one upgrade that thankfully doesn't change that sweet price.
There have been different solutions to the problem of disappearing bezels in smartphones. The easiest to pull off is the notch but a few do employ popup camera like on Vivo's and OPPO's phones. The most eccentric, however, is putting two screens on a phone so that the same, high-quality cameras are available on both sides. That's exactly what the Nubia Z20 brings to the table and will be bringing to global markets next month.
The brand Nubia has a phone that's been rumored for a while but didn't really appear as big hype news until this week. Today the Nubia Z20 was revealed in full by the company, coming with a set of features that I and we did NOT expect. Not because the features weren't leaked or rumored, but because they didn't seem ... sensible? This phone has features that you probably never imagined you'd ever want in a phone.
While many OEMs are scrambling over cutouts and popup cameras, former ZTE subsidiary nubia seems to be singing a different tune. The now-independent manufacturer has just announced a high-end phone that it will be launching next week in China. The nubia Z20 might not be its first dual screen phone but it could be exceptional in that it could be the first of its kind to set foot in the US market.
The Red Magic 3 is a gaming phone made by the company Nubia's gaming arm. This phone is a gaming machine first, and a smartphone second. It has a relatively large display with no notch and no camera hole, powerful "4D" haptic feedback, front-facing stereo speakers, and a sizable battery. With an approximately $479 starting price, the Red Magic 3 could be the most spot-on value in a gaming phone released by any company since the gaming phone trend began.
Gaming smartphones is one of the niche trends in the mobile market these days and, depending on when you ask Razer, it's a profitable one as well. Each one has their own gimmick in trying to convince buyers that they can offer a lot more than equivalent high-end phones that are just as powerful. The nubia Red Magic 3 probably takes the cake with an actual cooling fan inside. Fortunately, the usual durability test shows it isn't its only superpower.
If you've had your fill of the Samsungs and Huaweis and Googles and even the OnePluses of the market and want something different, then you might want to wait a few more weeks before deciding on your next flagship smartphone. Red Magic, a sub-brand of nubia which is, in turn, was formerly a ZTE subsidiary, has just recently announced its latest attempt at cornering the niche gaming smartphone market. And rather than just keeping that phone in China, the Red Magic 3 will be spreading to markets worldwide. And, yes, that includes the US and Canada.