The editorial team of Meža mainly receives smartphones from the middle and top segments for testing. And we haven't had models from the lower price category in our hands for a long time. We decided to find out what a modern smartphone priced at about 6,000 UAH is capable of. For this, the editorial team received the nubia V70 Design. We won't touch the lowest category of about 3,000 UAH for now.
Design
Of course, you shouldn't expect metal frames and a glass back cover from budget smartphones. These are always plastic smartphones, the only glass part of which is the protective glass of the screen. But in terms of the quality of the plastic itself, there may be options.
The nubia V70 Design has a nice textured back cover that looks a bit like leather. Thanks to the texture, the smartphone doesn't slip out of your hand. The available models are mostly Chinese brands, so the design is often similar to models from more well-known manufacturers. As in this case: the rear camera module resembles an iPhone.
The frame is made of matte plastic in dark gray, it is also difficult to call it slippery. Unlike flagships and mid-range models, budget smartphones do not have protection against dirt and water. Perhaps in a few years, affordable models will also receive some degree of protection.
From the front, almost all smartphones are now practically the same: a screen that covers almost the entire panel and a front camera in a round cutout. The differences are mainly in the thickness of the frames around the perimeter. And especially the "chin".
Overall, the nubia V70 Design looks quite decent, though not too original. But what's interesting is that Chinese manufacturers in this segment often experiment with design, and you can find, for example, something bright for a child.
Screen
The vast majority of smartphones in this price range have IPS screens, AMOLED is a rarity. But there are different options for resolution, as well as for refresh rate. nubia V70 Design received a 6.7-inch HD + screen (1600x720) with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The brightness is enough even for bright sunlight, the viewing angles are maximum. But the picture is not ideal, I would still like FullHD. And in this price category there really are such options.
Unlocking methods
Standard capacitive fingerprint scanners have been working perfectly for many years: very accurately and quickly. They are used in both budget smartphones and top-end ones. First of all, foldable ones, as well as in Sony models. Therefore, everything is in order with this in the nubia V70 Design as well. The speed and accuracy of recognition are at an excellent level. Under-screen scanners in smartphones of this price range should not be expected.
The smartphone also supports face unlocking. However, this method is less secure and requires sufficient light.
Performance, interfaces, smoothness and sound
Affordable smartphones cannot boast of high performance. But it all depends on the usage scenario: for communication, browsing and watching videos, super-high performance is not needed. On the other hand, after using flagships, the difference in speed is still noticeable. nubia V70 Design received a 12-nanometer 8-core Unisoc T606 processor. Despite the unfamiliar name, the configuration of the cores is quite familiar: 4xCortex-A75 and 4xCortex-A55 with a frequency of up to 1.6 GHz, graphics — Mali-G57 MP1.
8 GB of RAM, a completely modern indicator. Expansion up to 20 GB is supported using internal storage. It can be 128 or 256 GB, there is a MicroSD slot. In general, the level of performance is sufficient for the vast majority of tasks, but for games this is, of course, not an option. The smartphone has dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, as well as NFC for contactless payment, so the set of wireless interfaces is quite modern. The installation of two SIM cards is supported. The tray is not hybrid, so you will not have to choose between a memory card and a second SIM.
nubia V70 Design runs on Android 14 with the MyOS 14 shell. It is quite convenient to use and has the usual logic. There is Ukrainian, but there are certain problems with translation. For example, it is unclear where the inscription CDMA without EvDO in the camera application comes from. Of the additional features, there is Live Island 2.0, which resembles Dynamic Island in the iPhone. An area near the front camera where notifications are displayed. The interface works smoothly, but in some places there are barely noticeable stutters. Applications launch quite quickly. There are no problems with stability, even with several applications open at the same time. No crashes, which is already a plus for a model of this level.
Stereo sound is still a rarity for affordable smartphones. The nubia V70 Design also does not play stereo. The main speaker is quite loud, but you should not expect extraordinary sound quality. It is enough not to miss a call or watch a video on YouTube. Unlike more expensive models, the smartphone has a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack. For some, this may be important.
Cameras
The nubia V70 Design has two rear cameras: a 50-megapixel main one and a 2-megapixel secondary one, the purpose of which is not specified. It seems to be something like a depth sensor. But there is a 2x digital zoom. In general, this is a completely standard set in this price segment. Daytime photos have long been made more or less pleasant by even budget smartphones. The main difficulty is night mode. Here it immediately becomes clear that we have an affordable model in front of us: digital noise, low detail, and sometimes blurring.
Smartphones of this level usually shoot video in FullHD resolution, no more. And mostly without stabilization, so the quality is mediocre:
Battery life
But with autonomy in such models, everything is usually very good due to the low performance of the processor, as well as the general scenarios of using such models. Usually users of budget smartphones do not play games, do not use the camera very often and do not spend much time on social networks. Therefore, one and a half to two days is not a problem at all. The nubia V70 Design has a completely standard 5000 mAh battery, although there are many models with larger batteries in the budget segment. 22.5 W charging is supported.
Results
To summarize briefly , for 6000 UAH you can buy a smartphone with basic functionality, which will work stably, although not very fast. The user will receive a full set of basic features that are needed every day: calls, social networks, browser, mail, contactless payment and the ability to take a photo if necessary. And at the same time not to charge the smartphone very often. As for the nubia V70 Design, it is quite a good option in this price range. But the competition is also quite high. After all, there are models with more powerful processors and screens with higher resolution.
The editorial team of Mezha would like to thank the Allo chain of stores for kindly providing the nubia V70 Design smartphone.