The Nubia Flip 5G is the latest foldable smartphone from Nubia that offers a compelling blend of affordability and functionality. Priced aggressively against mid-range smartphones, it boasts a unique design with a circular cut-out display and a matte finish. Upon first inspection, the Nubia Flip 5G feels just as premium as any other foldable despite its much lower price. The matte textures of the glass back panels and aluminum frame help the phone stay smear-free and make it more pleasing to hold.
However, the illusion of luxury starts to crumble when you open the Flip 5G’s hinge, which has a less-refined action and feels almost crunchy to operate unlike the wonderfully smooth articulation of the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s display. The crease in the display is also more noticeable than on competing foldables, though it doesn’t significantly interfere with usage.
The Nubia Flip 5G features a 6.9-inch FHD OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, offering a vibrant and responsive viewing experience. The cover display, on the other hand, is rather small compared to rivals, measuring only 1.43 inches in diameter. It’s still versatile, allowing for quick access to notifications and basic controls, but its limited size can be a hindrance for certain tasks.
In terms of cameras, the Nubia Flip 5G falls short of its competitors. It packs a 50MP main camera, a 2MP depth sensor, and a 16MP selfie camera, providing decent image quality but lacking the versatility of an ultrawide lens. The main camera produces somewhat flat and lifeless images compared to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, especially in challenging lighting conditions.
Under the hood, the Nubia Flip 5G is powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip, which offers solid performance for everyday tasks but trails behind the more powerful processors found in competing foldables. It comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage as standard, with an option for 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage at an additional cost.
Battery life is a strong point of the Nubia Flip 5G, thanks to its large 4,310 mAh battery. It outlasts the Galaxy Z Flip 5 in our video playback test, though the difference isn’t as significant as expected. The phone also supports 33W fast charging, which is faster than the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s 25W charging but slower than the Razr Plus’s 30W system.
On the software side, the Nubia Flip 5G runs Android 13 with ZTE’s MyOS 13 skin. It’s a fairly clean and user-friendly interface but lacks certain foldable-specific optimizations and may not receive major Android updates in the future.
While the Nubia Flip 5G offers some innovative features, such as the ability to use the cover display facing up or down, it doesn’t go all-in on foldable-specific functionality. The cover screen can’t run third-party apps, and there’s no quick access to settings or a keyboard for replying to messages.
In conclusion, the Nubia Flip 5G is a budget-friendly foldable phone that offers a unique blend of affordability and functionality. While it makes certain compromises in terms of hardware, camera capabilities, and software support, it’s still a solid choice for users seeking a foldable phone at a fraction of the cost of premium models. However, if you’re willing to spend a bit more, you can get a more polished and feature-rich foldable experience with the likes of the Motorola Razr 2023 or the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5.
