ZTE Nubia X8 promo images show up, spec sheet gives us a glimpse at smartphones' future

Nubia phones are fine-looking and well spec'd up premium-tier devices developed under the umbrella of Chinese communications giant ZTE. The brand is about to introduce no less than four new models this year – that is, three versions of the Nubia X8 and at least one variant of the Nubia Z11. Nubia phones usually aren't sold in the West, but ZTE did tell Chinese media it will be bringing the Z11 – a Snapdragon 820-powered device with a similar look to the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge – to the U.S. market.

As for the Nubia X8, this one just showed up in a bunch of promotional photos, giving us an authentic look at the upcoming device. With its 6.44-inch display, the X8 will be among the largest-screen smartphones on the market. While its design is conservative compared to the X11's, it's nevertheless alluring, with a metal body and slimmed down top and bottom bezels that indicate a good screen-to-body ratio and make the device easier to handle than its big screen diagonal suggests.

ZTE is bringing out the heavy artillery in the never-ending Android arms race.

The X8 will be sold in three configurations. The base model has a 1080p screen resolution and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The upgraded model has a Quad-HD screen resolution and is powered by the same chipset with the addition of 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Finally, the priciest model will get a 4K-resolution display, the yet unreleased Snapdragon 823 SoC, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB or 256GB of storage. This version makes it seem like the future of smartphones is already here.

Truthfully, we expected this kind of hardware from flagship devices in late 2016/early 2017, possibly debuting in the Samsung Galaxy Note 6. But it looks like ZTE wants to move ahead of the pack. For what we know, the Snapdragon 823 is made on a more recent 10nm process than the SD 820, which is fabricated on a 14nm process. This should result in increased energy efficiency. The CPU should also run at a higher clock frequency, contributing to an alleged 18% speed increase. Also, all models have 16MP rear cameras and 8MP front cameras.

We assume the maxed-out Nubia X8 model will be released later and produced in a significantly limited quantity compared to the other two. The specs listed here aren't official, so we suggest you don't take them at face value until they are matter of fact. ZTE is already spreading promo images, which means the announcement is around the corner and it won't be long before we get to see the actual spec sheets.


source: MyDrivers (Translated)