The reasons for the slow adoption of foldable phones are numerous, with price being the foremost concern. The higher cost compared to traditional flagship phones has deterred users, despite the gradual decrease in foldable phone prices over the past few years, they still remain more expensive than regular ones.
However, breakthroughs have been made in terms of fold lines, thickness, weight, and durability. The vivo X Fold3, for instance, has a thickness of only 10.2mm and weighs just 219g, making it even slimmer and lighter than traditional flagship phones. With a starting price of 6999 yuan, it has reached a more accessible price point.
On April 9th, Nubia released three new phones, including the Nubia Flip, a foldable phone.
Foldable phones commonly come in two forms: left-right and top-bottom folding. Left-right folding belongs to the high-end flagship category, such as the vivo X Fold3 series.
Top-bottom folding phones are more compact, making them more suitable for female users. Huawei, OPPO, and vivo’s top-bottom folding phones are also targeted towards female users. The Nubia Flip, the first foldable phone from Nubia, also follows this design aimed at female users.
The price of the Nubia Flip is unbelievably low at 2999 yuan, setting a new record for foldable phone prices.
It’s not that Nubia is going crazy with this price; it’s more a reflection of the smartphone industry’s competitiveness. The Nubia Flip is the new king of cost-effectiveness.
For 2999 yuan, you can only buy a traditional smartphone with a Snapdragon 8 Gen2 chipset. Phones with Snapdragon 8 Gen3 chipsets generally cost over 3000 yuan. The Nubia Flip, being a foldable phone, is priced so low, indicating it does not feature flagship-grade chips.
Indeed, the Nubia Flip is equipped with a Snapdragon 7 Gen1 processor.
The Snapdragon 7 Gen1 was first used in the OPPO Reno8 Pro. It utilizes a 4nm manufacturing process, with a CPU comprising one 2.4GHz large core, three 2.36GHz large cores (A710), and four 1.8GHz small cores (A510). It features an Adreno 662 GPU, offering a 20% performance improvement over the Snapdragon 6 Gen1. With an Antutu benchmark score of over 630,000, it falls short compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen3 and even the Snapdragon 7+ Gen3. However, considering the Nubia Flip’s target audience of female users, it doesn’t require extremely high performance. Smooth gameplay for popular titles like “King of Glory” and “PUBG” is sufficient.
In terms of design, the Nubia Flip features an aerospace aluminum frame and glass casing. When unfolded, it has a thickness of only 7.0mm, providing a comfortable grip and easy portability. The dual-track floating design of the hinge, along with the sturdy and durable aerospace-grade steel, ensures a tight fit when folded and stability when unfolded, resulting in minimal fold lines.
The circular external screen can display functions such as photography, music playback, weather, and step counting. It also features a vinyl record-inspired design tailored for music enthusiasts. With X Ultra 3D stereo speakers, the external screen delivers high-quality audio for an immersive music experience.
The main screen is a 6.9-inch AMOLED flexible display with a resolution of 2790×1180 pixels, boasting a 21:9 aspect ratio. It supports a 120Hz refresh rate and a 2160Hz high-frequency PWM dimming, minimizing eye strain.
In terms of imaging, the Nubia Flip is equipped with the Tai Shan AI imaging algorithm, a 16-megapixel front beauty camera, a 50-megapixel high-definition main camera, and a 2-megapixel independent depth camera. Due to its foldable design, the Nubia Flip can provide more shooting angles, catering to users’ diverse photography needs.
Despite its small size, the Nubia Flip boasts a large 4310mAh battery, ensuring all-day usage. However, it only supports 33W wired fast charging, which takes a relatively long time to fully charge.
In conclusion, while the price of the Nubia Flip is unbelievably low, it’s important to note that certain features have been sacrificed to achieve this price point. For instance, only the main camera is usable among the dual rear cameras, it lacks wireless charging and screen fingerprint recognition, featuring only side-mounted fingerprint recognition. Additionally, the 2999 yuan model offers 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, raising suspicions of deliberate price reduction.
Nevertheless, it’s undeniable that the Nubia Flip is a highly commendable foldable phone worth considering.