ZTE's New Flagship With An Under-Display Camera Is Headed To The US

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Best camera phones in 2025

Summary

Nubia Z70S Ultra features under-screen cameras and minimal bezels for a futuristic look.
The phone boasts a 6.85-inch AMOLED screen, triple-camera system, and Snapdragon 8 Elite chip.
Priced at $780 for base model, the Nubia Z70S Ultra also offers IP68/IP69 rating, 80W fast charging, and WiFi 7.

We’ve been hearing about smartphones ditching notches and punch-holes for selfie cameras for a while now, but there hasn’t really been much progress to report — especially here in the West. If you had been holding your breath for more such options here in North America, the new ZTE Nubia Z70S Ultra is what you were waiting for.

Unveiled today in Shenzhen, China, the new Nubia Z70S Ultra is the brand’s new top-of-the-line flagship smartphone. It continues the series’ trend of offering under-screen cameras instead of hole-punch selfie cameras, creating an unobstructed viewing experience. Now in its 7th generation, the brand claims this implementation is significantly better than the previous one in terms of the camera preview and images.

A Nubia Z70 Ultra leaning against a black lampost surrounded by fall leaves.

Source: Nubia

The result is a 6.85-inch screen with no holes and very slim bezels, giving it a rather futuristic look. The AMOLED panel has a resolution of 2688 x 1216, with a 144Hz refresh rate and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage. With a 2,500Hz polling rate and some AI features, the Nubia Z70S Ultra is said to offer a smooth gaming experience.

The other highlight of the Nubia Z70S Ultra is its photography chops. It has a triple-camera system with a custom 35mm 50MP Omnivision sensor as the primary camera, a 50MP ultra-wide lens that doubles as a macro shooter, and a 64MP 2x telephoto lens. Along with a bunch of AI features to assist in photography, the phone also has a dual-stage physical shutter button that can instantly launch the camera and click a picture.

Source: Nubia

For users who want even more, ZTE will also sell a “professional Retro kit” that adds more physical buttons and dials, filter adapter rings, and presumably a larger battery.

As with most high-end phones this season, the Nubia Z70S Ultra is also powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, along with 12 or 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage. While being only 8.6mm thick, it houses a 6,600mAh battery, made possible by a silicon-carbon anode. Other features include 80W fast charging, IP68 and IP69 dust and water resistance, WiFi 7, etc.

Source: Nubia

The ZTE Z70S Ultra starts at $780 (£660/€770) for the base 12GB + 256GB configuration and goes up to $870 (£770/€870) for the 16GB + 512GB variant. Color options are Antique Brown and Classic Black. If you pre-order the device by May 28, you’ll get a free charger and phone case, along with a $40 discount.