Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Nubia has announced the Neo 3 series of budget phones at MWC 2025.
- These are the cheapest phones with shoulder triggers, starting at just ~$260.
The best gaming phones often have shoulder buttons, giving you much-needed extra input. Unfortunately, phones with these buttons generally aren’t cheap. But that’s changing this week, thanks to Nubia.
Nubia has announced the Neo 3 5G and Neo 3 GT 5G smartphones in Barcelona. These are the cheapest phones with shoulder triggers, picking up where last year’s Neo 2 range left off. Expect a pair of textured capacitive keys on each model, and I found that these were well-placed on both models during my brief time playing a couple of games (e.g., the Asphalt series).
Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
Otherwise, both phones have budget Unisoc chips, a 6,000mAh battery, bypass charging support, and RGB lights on the back.
How do these gaming phones differ from each other?
The GT model is the more capable variant, and it has a few upgrades compared to the standard model. Expect a Unisoc T9100 chipset, a 6.8-inch 120Hz OLED screen, 80W wired charging, and an in-display fingerprint sensor.
By contrast, the standard Neo 3 5G phone has a Unisoc T8300 chip, a 6.8-inch 120Hz LCD screen, and 33W wired charging. Nubia confirmed that the standard model has a 50MP+2MP camera pairing, but didn’t disclose camera specs for the GT variant.
Neither phone offers a premium look and feel, with cheap-feeling plastic designs here. However, you can expect the typical cybernetic gamer aesthetic on the rear covers. I’m also quite a fan of yellow phones, so I’m glad to see both phones are available in this color scheme.
In any event, the Nubia Neo 3 5G starts at just €249 (~$262), while the GT model will set you back €299 (~$315). That means these are easily the cheapest new phones with shoulder triggers. Sure, you won’t be playing the most demanding titles and bleeding-edge emulators, but I’m still glad to see this option finally coming to much cheaper devices.
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