ZTE has several sub-brands under which it produces smartphones. And while Redmagic is clearly positioned as a gaming smartphone, under the nubia brand, you can find both flagship camera phones and budget models. Today we are going to talk about the nubia Focus Pro 5G smartphone, which is positioned as an affordable model with a high-quality camera and original design.
nubia Focus Pro 5G specifications
| Dimensions and weight | 166 x 76,1 x 8,5 mm206 grams |
| RAM and storage | 8GB RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage |
| Processor | Unisoc Tiger T760 |
| Graphics processor | Mali-G57 MP4 |
| Wireless modules | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz), Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, FM |
| Display | 6.72-inch IPSResolution: 1080×2400 dots, 392 ppiFrequency: 120 Hz |
| Main cameras | 108 MP wide-angle, 1/1.67", ƒ/1.7, phase detection autofocus, optical stabilization;5 MP ultra-wide-angle 18 mm ECF2 MP depth sensor |
| Front camera | 32 MP |
| Audio | One speaker |
| Battery | 5000 mAh |
| Charging | Drotova 33 W |
| Connectors | USB Type-C |
| Operating system | Android 13, MyOS 13 |
| Recommended price | 7 999 UAH |
Package contents
Looking at the packaging of the nubia Focus Pro 5G, you might think that we are looking at some kind of flagship smartphone. A fairly large box with a bright white and red cover with an image of a smartphone and a nice black and silver box with a schematic image.
The package was very good. In addition to the smartphone, the box contains a 33W power supply, a USB Type-C cable, a screen protector, documentation, a tray eject tool, and a simple protective bumper. It is made of transparent plastic and protects the back cover and corners of the smartphone.
Design and ergonomics
The nubia Focus Pro 5G looks quite original and interesting. Especially considering that this is an affordable model. Of course, this applies to the rear view. In general, the design is reminiscent of retro-styled cameras. The lid is made of plastic, but has a texture that imitates leather. It's not eco-leather, like Motorola's, but just textured plastic, but it looks good. The cover consists of two colors: white and beige. There is a silver nubia logo and a small round logo with the inscription Neo Vision.
The camera is made in the form of a large round "puck" with a golden frame. It protrudes quite a bit above the body. The main camera in the middle sticks out even more. There are two more cameras on the sides of it, as well as a flash in the form of a ring on top.
From the front, it's a pretty standard modern inexpensive smartphone: a large flat screen with rather wide bezels, especially the chin. The front camera is in a round notch, and the earpiece speaker is above it. Nothing original.
The frame of the nubia Focus Pro 5G is flat. It is plastic with a matte finish. The controls are located rather unusually. Volume buttons are located on the left side. On the same side, a little higher, there is a tray.
Surprisingly enough, the tray is not hybrid and does not allow for the installation of a memory card. Only two SIMs. Usually, manufacturers still offer MicroSD support in affordable models.
There is a red power button on the right side. It also serves as a fingerprint scanner. And there are two more interesting elements. There is a two-position switch at the top. By default, it starts the camera, although you can choose another action in the settings. At the bottom is the camera icon. This is a touch-sensitive shooting button. And it becomes active only when the camera is in a horizontal position.
The standard power and volume buttons, although spaced on different sides, are at a convenient height and are easy to use. Additional controls are an interesting feature, but it's hard to say how often a potential owner will use them. It's hard to reach the two-position switch with a smartphone in vertical mode with one hand. But it is quite convenient to quickly turn on the camera while holding the smartphone horizontally.
The top edge has only an additional microphone. The bottom is a pretty standard set: Type-C, main speaker and earpiece microphone. There is no 3.5 mm headphone jack.
nubia Focus Pro 5G looks original and has interesting additional controls. But the size and weight are quite large. There is no protection against dust and water.
Display
nubia Focus Pro 5G is equipped with a 6.72-inch IPS display with a resolution of 2400x1080, with a pixel density of about 392 ppi. It has a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The company does not make any promises about the brightness of the display. There is no HDR support. In fact, there are many OLED models in this price range, but there are also IPS fans.
The settings include a choice between a dark and light interface theme, a choice of refresh rate (there is also an adaptive mode), font size and type, reading mode, and color temperature adjustment.
Considering the class of the smartphone, the screen is quite decent. With fairly natural colors and maximum viewing angles. Although at angles the contrast level decreases quite noticeably. The brightness level is not impressive, but it is sufficient to read information in bright ambient light.
Hardware measurements showed that the maximum brightness is 363,235 cd/m², the black field brightness is 0.382 cd/m², and the static contrast is 951:1. The color gamut is almost identical to the sRGB color space. The color temperature is significantly overestimated, about 8500K. Therefore, the screen leans slightly towards cold shades.
Security
nubia Focus Pro 5G is equipped with a classic fingerprint scanner in the power button. Despite the fact that the button is not very large, it works perfectly. Fingerprints are recognized very quickly and accurately, without errors.
Additionally, the front camera supports face recognition. Of course, this is a much less secure method of locking. But in certain situations, it is more convenient. It works well when there is sufficient ambient light. There is a function to increase the brightness of the display in low light, as well as to prevent face recognition with eyes closed.
Performance and software
The Unisoc Tiger T760 processor is responsible for the performance of the nubia Focus Pro 5G. Given the unfamiliar manufacturer, one might have expected something quite budgetary. But everything turned out to be not so bad. The company used to be called Spreadtrum, and some of our readers probably remember this brand of budget processors.
The Unisoc Tiger T760 is a 6-nanometer octa-core processor that includes four ARM Cortex-A76 cores with a frequency of up to 2.2 GHz and four more Cortex-A55 cores with a frequency of 2 GHz. The Mali-G57 MP4 accelerator is responsible for graphics. There is 8 GB of RAM, its type is not specified. It can be expanded up to 20 GB using the built-in storage. The storage capacity is 256 GB. And, interestingly, it uses a fairly fast UFS 3.1, which is mostly found in more expensive models.
The performance of the nubia Focus Pro 5G is quite enough for fast and stable operation of the interface, as well as relatively fast operation of most applications. In benchmarks, the smartphone shows quite good results. Of course, it depends on the category:
Under prolonged maximum loads, the smartphone body becomes slightly warm near the rear camera. In the CPU Throttling Test, the processor can drop up to 87% of its power under prolonged maximum load.
The nubia Focus Pro 5G is quite capable of playing not the latest and most demanding games. Call of Duty Mobile on medium settings is quite stable at 60 FPS. The situation is similar in Asphalt Unity.
nubia Focus Pro 5G is equipped with dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and an FM radio that works even without headphones connected. Although it is quite difficult to imagine a person listening to the radio while having access to online music services. The manufacturer does not provide information on support for global positioning systems. But we can assume that this is a standard set: GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, and BDS.
nubia Focus Pro 5G still runs on Android 13 with the proprietary MyOS 13 shell. There is no information whether there will be an update to at least Android 14. In general, there are no major differences from stock Android in the logic of the shell. Mostly cosmetic differences. There are a lot of different themes and opportunities to customize the appearance.
The shell has three display modes: with a separate application menu, without it, and a simplified mode. There are two standard types of navigation: gestures and buttons. The Launcher has a standard view of a horizontal carousel of cards.
One of the more unusual features is the ability to select an action on a two-position switch. In addition to the camera, this can be switching to silent mode, turning on a flashlight, or a voice recorder:
And the so-called Live Island. This has already been seen in the Apple iPhone: a black area appears in the front camera area, which displays some notifications (charging, calling, connecting a headset, timer, voice recorder, etc.):
There are a minimum of pre-installed apps and junk. A few standard applications like a voice recorder and a memory cleaner, a few games (which can be uninstalled), and two advertising icons that lead to downloading "popular" games and applications:
Sound
The nubia Focus Pro 5G is an affordable smartphone, so it's not surprising that it doesn't play stereo sound. The smartphone has a single speaker and it has a good volume margin, but the quality is mediocre. So it will be difficult to miss a call or alarm. But don't expect much pleasure from watching videos or listening to music. Formally, the company mentions DTS support, but in this case, it's not much use.
Cameras
nubia Focus Pro 5G has a configuration of three rear cameras. But even the official website has information about only one main camera. It has a resolution of 108 megapixels, physical dimensions of 1/1.67 inches, f/1.7 aperture optics, phase detection autofocus and optical stabilization.
There are two more cameras - an ultra-wide-angle camera and a depth sensor. And this is where the data on the network differs. There is minimal information about the ultra-wide-angle camera. But judging by the size of the images, it has a resolution of 5 megapixels. The third camera is a 2 or 0.3 megapixel depth sensor. Again, depending on the different versions on the network. Although this is not very important, given the minimal benefit from it.
The camera app is easy to use and understand, with a familiar logic. All the main modes are arranged in a carousel, and the main settings are on the viewfinder screen. The rest of the settings are in the drop-down menu.
The main camera really takes high-quality photos. And this applies not only to conditions with good lighting. During the day, the photos are very clear, detailed, with fairly natural color reproduction and good shadow detail. Night photos are also clear, with good detail. Although there are some unnatural orange tints.
The camera supports digital zoom. This is a crop from the main camera, because there is no telephoto module. In general, the photos are good, but sometimes the detail suffers a bit:
The ultra-wide-angle camera is capable of taking relatively good pictures during the day. But in low light, the photos are blurry. Low detail and "soap" not only around the perimeter, but throughout the frame:
The maximum video recording resolution on the nubia Focus Pro 5G is 4K, 30 frames per second. Video is not a strong point of the smartphone: the detail is low and the videos are quite jerky. Like in 4K:
And so it is in FullHD:
Battery life
nubia Focus Pro 5G is equipped with a 5000 mAh battery. This is quite standard for modern smartphones in the mid-range and budget segments. It is unlikely that the potential owner will play a lot of mobile games. Without them, the charge lasts for about a day with a small number of calls, a browser, social networks, mail, a little camera and music via Bluetooth. Quite a standard figure, no surprises.
In the PCMark battery test, the smartphone showed a rather modest result and did not reach 10 hours at 50% brightness:
The nubia Focus Pro 5G supports 33W fast charging and comes with a corresponding power supply. It takes approximately 1.20 hours to fully charge.