Nubia Z5S LTE Preview, full details and description of the latest flagship phone


The latest Nubia Z5S LTE is a true Xiaomi Mi3 killer! This attractive 5-inch phone packs a Snapdragon 800 processor, FHD display, OIS camera and more. Here are full details and first impressions of the latest flagship Nubia.

Nubia

ZTE launched the Nubia brand in China earlier 2013 with the hope that they could create a premium brand Chinese phone fans would flock too. Since the initial launch ZTE’s plans have changed for the brand and the company is now seen as a rival to Xiaomi! Producing phones with the latest hardware at ultra affordable prices! The flagship Z5 range starts at 1999 Yuan ($331) for the base Z5S, rising to 2999 Yuan ($496) for the Z5SN (with OIS) and on to 3495 Yuan ($579) for the flagship Z5S LTE.

Nubia Z5S LTE Specifications

The flagship phone in the Nubia range is the Z5S LTE. The design of the phone remains largely unchanged from the previous generation model with most of the big differences all happening under the hood.

First of all the older quad-core Qualcomm processor has been replaced with a more modern Snapdragon 800 processor, there is 2GB RAM, a 5-inch FHD from Sharp with a pixel density of 443ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass, 13 mega-pixel OIS main camera, and even support for LTE networks.

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Nubia Z5S LTE Preivew

nubia z5s review

If you were to take the original Nubia Z5 and the new Z5S LTE and place them side to side the differences between the two models would be almost impossible to see. The new phone features the same red halo home touch area as the original phone and is available in either white (seen here) or black.

nubia z5s review

The display measure in at 5-inch, exactly the same as the previous version, and is a thin OGS model from Sharp which incorporates both CGS and NM2 technology to boost the user experience. A layer of tough Corning Gorilla Glass has been added to, to help save the phone from accidental drops.

nubia z5s review

The Nubia designers have been careful to keep the flagship Z5S LTE as easy to hold and look at as possible. Creating a narrow phone was key to this and Nubia have accomplished this by having narrow bezels of just 2.67mm on either side of the 5-inch panel.

nubia z5s review

Width is kept to a minimum too and measures in at just 7.6mm, which is more than thin enough for most users.

nubia z5s review

A neat feature on the Nubia Z5S LTE is the fact that the volume rocker can be used as a two-part shutter button for the main camera. Pressing the rocker down to its first stage with have the camera focus, then pressing it all the way down will capture the image.

nubia z5s review

nubia z5s review

Speaking of the camera, the main shooter on the Nubia Z5S LTE is easily one of the highlights of the phone. The sensor is a 13 mega-pixel sensor like it’s rival, the Xiaomi Mi3, however Nubia have also implemented OIS (optical image stabilisation) to reduce blur and create an overall better image. The inclusion of OIS itself has been enough for some owners of the original Nubia to upgrade to this new version.

nubia z5s review

The camera app has also been highly tweaked to add some additional metering features so you can quickly and easily adjust images depending on the light source, white balance and obviously focus. Although the UI is different the features are similar to the CyanogenMod camera app Focal.

nubia z5s review

Although Google is now on Android 4.4 Kitkat, and tweakers are already running CM builds based on 4.4, the Nubia Z5S LTE (like many phones) is still on Android 4.2.2. As the ROM is a heavily modified version of Android, the Nubia team have added plenty of features to the system so you probably won’t miss not having the latest OS.

nubia z5s review

One such feature is a minimised home screen mode to aid one-handed operation. Keep in mind that the Nubia Z5S LTE has just a 5-inch display so operation is quite easy with one hand, but for those who do struggle this minimised option is a fantastic feature. It is really surprising that Nubia have included this considering the size, and we would recommend Oppo take not and add something similar to ColorOS on the Oppo N1.

nubia z5s review

One the phone is turned on and powered up the lock screen is very simple with a single ring which can be slid to the side to unlock.

nubia z5s review

We have seen plenty of companies opt for a flat looking ROM, which in our opinion looks more modern and less fussy. The Nubia has a more traditional looking ROM with more detailed icons. Whether you like the look of the Nubia ROM or a flat ROM like Flyme is personal preference, and it’s simple to change icons if you feel the need.

nubia z5s review

Another killer feature of the Nubia Z5S LTE is it’s support for various cellular networks. Most Chinese phones will ether come with WCDMA/GSM or TD-SCDMA/GSM, the Z5S LTE boasts CDMA, EVDO, GSM, WCDMA, and even 4G LTE.

nubia z5s review

nubia z5s review

As for performance, a quick look over the hardware should keep your mind at ease, but if you were worried that the Snapdragon 800 with 2GB in the Nubia Z5S LTE would under perform just feast your eyes on these Antutu scores. The phone in the pictures is a pre-production model which scored 33, 035 points, production version of the Z5S score a minimum of 35,000 points!

nubia z5s review

The Nubia Z5S LTE is currently only available in China through the official Nubia website, and through a few dedicated Nubia Experience stores dotted around the country. The only issue we can see with the Nubia Z5S, and any of the Nubia range of phones are due to the low pricing, high-demand and limited availability it is extremely difficult to get your hands on one! If you do get the chance though we highly recommend this flagship Chinese smartphone.

  • Official Nubia Website
[ Original Chinese Review ]
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10 Comments

  1. Qomolangma
    January 28, 2014

    Thanks Andi for thorough preview of the rising star, Nubia Z5S LTE.

    I spot on the detailed technical datasheet of ZTE Nubia Z5S LTE 64GB at pdadb.net does mention it has DUAL STANDBY.
    The supported Secondary Cellular Networks: TD-SCDMA2000, TD-SCDMA1900, LTE1800 (B3), TD-LTE2600 (B38), TD-LTE2300 (B40), TD-LTE1900 (B39).’

    Too bad, see no external SD slot support 🙁

  2. Igal
    January 28, 2014

    This is FAIL for my country :(WCDMA2100MGSM900/1800M

  3. dr.igi
    January 28, 2014

    It’s not the Xiaomi Mi3 killer! Just because of LTE and OIS? Mi3 have better performance and get more score on antutu than Z5s. I know this because I am the proud owner of Xiaomi Mi3 Wcdma edition, and it have a lesser price zte is too expensive in compare with the MI3.

    • Jan Horák
      January 28, 2014

      Yea, U got 16 GB version with no option of upgrading by SD in future… I have waited for Mi3 64 GB WCDMA version since September, and now I finally canceled pre-order ordered $70 china phone to have sth while waiting for Snap 805/ nVidia K1 – LTE equipped phone, because Mi3 missed it’s chance. It was bargain to buy half year ago. Not now anymore…

      • dr.igi
        January 29, 2014

        Ok, you have right about that,I’m wanted 64gb version too but I cannot wait anymore and I’m buy this 16gb version but I can tell you the phone is amazing,performance,design,build quality all 5! I have a lot space on dropbox and now I have Mi cloud account too, so I think this would be replacement for sd card.

      • Bojan Radovanović
        February 22, 2014

        sorry i did not get you, what phone are you waiting now??? (the one with nap 805/ nVidia K1 – LTE equipped phone)

        • Jan Horák
          February 23, 2014

          I am not yet sure, but I am sure there will be plenty of them in 3 months and with a way better preformance than Xiaomi 3 has. – Yea it may be Xiaomi Mi3S with lte, snap 805 equipped, it would be nice, but for Mi3 64 GB i took 5 months. So we will see.

  4. Disqusting
    January 29, 2014

    It can’t be Mi3 killer since its battery is much smaller, this phone would die first.

  5. Mrinal
    February 16, 2014

    Hi, good preview. Is there a difference between the Z5S and the Z5S LTE other than the storage size? Does the Z5S also benefit from a corning gorilla glass cover?

  6. bgd
    February 23, 2014

    No Sd Card? Good by, adios, ciao ciao