Review of the Nubia Flip 5G

I wouldn't have believed you ten years ago if you had told me that flip phones will see a comeback in the early 2020s. Nevertheless, that's the situation we find ourselves in, with companies like Samsung, Motorola, and Oppo each releasing clamshell phones with extended screens and external displays. However, there is a little issue. They're all rather pricey. The Nubia Flip 5G fills that need.

The Nubia Flip 5G's main selling point is that it costs less than $500 for a flip phone. That is squarely in the centre of the mid-range pricing bracket, however naturally Nubia had to forgo certain things in order to reduce the price. Here, we're discussing the performance and quality of the camera. So, how does it compare overall to the best flip phones available, such as the Motorola Razr+ and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5? Let's investigate, shall we?

Cost and accessibility

The Nubia Flip 5G is available for $499 on the company's official website. Remember that the Motorola Razr+ and Samsung Z Flip 5 sell for just less than $1000, so that's over half the price. Sunshine Gold, Cosmic Black, and Flowing Lilac are the three hues of the Flip 5G. It comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage by default, or with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for an additional $200. Sunshine Gold 8GB+256GB was the version we tested.

Specs

Software and features

Given that other companies have been selling Android 14 for a few months, it is a bit disheartening that the Nubia Flip 5G is still using ZTE's MyOS Android 13 overlay. Even so, you won't be able to take use of some of the fascinating AI capabilities that will be available in 2024. It's still quite useful.

The Flip 5G, like the majority of modern smartphones, has fingerprint and face recognition capabilities, so you can stop entering a password each time you want to use your phone. I must say that compared to much more costly phones, the fingerprint sensor and face recognition software perform considerably better. I never had to reposition my face or thumb to unlock the gadget. Even if it saves me a tiny bit of time, I still value it.

Although bloatware has been mentioned in other evaluations of this phone, I don't believe it's much of an offender in that sense. Bloatware applications, for those who are unaware, are those that are pre-installed on phones and often consist of all Google Workspace functions along with a few sporadic games and apps like Booking.com and Facebook. You wouldn't believe how often I've had to remove Booking.com. This phone comes with that app, but not many others, and it doesn't take long to remove the useless applications to create room for the ones you use often.

Design

To start, let's be clear: the Nubia Flip 5G is a really gorgeous clamshell smartphone. With its matte surface and stylish outside display, it feels very expensive to handle while costing less than $500. Even with the claim of more than 200,000 folds, the folding hinge seems a little fragile, but it still doesn't seem cheap.

This hinge may also be a little annoying at times since, while it works well at 90 and 180 degrees, finding a middle ground is a skill because anything above around 120 degrees will cause the top half of the item to snap down and rest flat. It wasn't ideal when I wanted to watch some YouTube material while having my lunch since I like a viewing angle of around 150 degrees, but it's not the end of the world.

When it comes to flip phones, let's address the biggest concern. The crease. The Nubia Flip 5G has a crease that is rather noticeable to the touch and quite evident to the eye. You may feel the dip if you swipe your finger over the whole screen. This isn't a special problem with the Flip 5G; in fact, the crease is about the same as it was with the Z Flip 5, so it's worth noting.

Finally, while we're talking about design, we should mention that the Nubia Flip 5G has no official IP rating, so you should use it with extra caution near water. Even while it's normal for flippable and foldable phones to have a low IP rating or none at all, this is still cause for worry, especially if, like me, you reside in a nation where rainfall is a frequent occurrence. Another concern is the absence of dustproofing, but thankfully, the product comes with a clear plastic cover that keeps dust at bay.

Display

One of the best features of the Nubia Flip 5G is its 6.9-inch OLED display, which runs at 120Hz. It's bright, vibrant, and has depth to the blacks and colours on screen. However, since it's made of plastic, it seems a bit less expensive and responsive than a typical mid-range smartphone. Nevertheless, it is still less expensive—much less expensive, in fact—and its usage of plastic may contribute to its low cost.Although it is far smaller than the screen of a wristwatch like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 or Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro, the cover display is still OLED. However, it has several functions, like accessing your calendar and camera. For good measure, it also has a pedometer, timer, recording feature, and weather app. Although it doesn't match the overall design as well as some of the bigger flip phone exterior screens, it's still extremely dynamic.Cameras

Let's get one thing plain right away: the cameras on the Nubia Flip 5G are not the finest. Something has to give with a smartphone this inexpensive. Here, the issue is with the camera's quality.The Flip 5G has a 50MP wide primary, a 2MP depth sensor, and a 16MP selfie camera—quite a small selection of cameras. That's hardly the most impressive list, not even for a mid-range phone. The 50MP primary is the star of the show; it provides decent enough photos in the right circumstances, like the one below of my cuddly baby. While they're not as detailed and deep as photos produced with a Z Flip 5, they're still rather good, and photos you shoot with this phone will appear great on your social network accounts.Furthermore mediocre is the 16MP selfie camera. Although the beauty filter is automatically set to two and makes me appear a little bit more like one of the Kens from Barbie than I'd want, it's still better than several we've tested out at this price range. Remove the AI beauty filter, and you'll appear more like yourself; but, even for a mid-ranger, the quality is extremely mediocre.

Achievement

I didn't go into this review expecting top-notch performance based only on the fact that the Nubia Flip 5G has a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 CPU. For those who are unaware, the Z Flip 5 from last year used the more recent Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, making this a somewhat antiquated SoC in 2024. Other than flip phones, we've seen a lot of mid-rangers in 2024 choose between the 8 Gen 2, which is similar to the OnePlus 12R, or a more contemporary Mediatek option. For this reason, it's not surprising that we weren't anticipating extraordinary performance.To be clear, daily performance is rather smooth, which makes sense given that the relatively antiquated Android operating system is powered by an antiquated processor. But when you launch a game, the difference in performance between this phone and its rivals becomes much more noticeable.Let's now discuss game performance. Capable is the ideal term to characterise the Nubia Flip 5G in this context. It has the same level of capability as me when it comes to packing a truck with washing machines. I'm capable, however there are undoubtedly more qualified candidates for that position. Playing more demanding games like Honkai Star Rail or Diablo Immortal causes some issues, however it works flawlessly in simpler games like Candy Crush and Monopoly Go.I played a fair bit of Honkai Star Rail during our testing and discovered that the Nubia wasn't quite up to the task. It's playable, as I've said, but with merely medium settings, it's taxing the system's resources to the breaking point, resulting in sluggish animations and more frequent drops in frame rate. If you're considering getting this phone, it may be better to stick to the casual games unless you're willing to put in a lot of hours playing on low settings.It's also important to note that while playing games, the Flip 5G might become a bit hot. After playing PUBG Mobile for about an hour, I noticed that the device's back was becoming hotter. Though it didn't become so hot that I couldn't hold it in my hands, it did make me reconsider playing the game for a further hour.

Battery

The 4,310 mAh battery is a major selling factor for the Nubia Flip 5G, even if it may lag significantly behind other well-known flip phones in terms of gaming performance and picture quality. This device may function without a charger for up to two days when used seldom. Even if gaming and streaming use up the battery more quickly—roughly 10% per hour—that's still fairly impressive for a phone under $500 and can last you through a day of gaming with a few short breaks.Although the Flip 5G's battery life is remarkable, its 33W charging rates truly shine. This device charges quickly, taking little more than 20 minutes to reach 50% or less than 45 minutes to reach 100%. That's a lot faster than the alternatives, which take at least half an hour to recharge, such as the Motorola Razr or Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. While wireless charging isn't an option, we'll always choose the blazingly quick cable speeds over wireless capabilities.

Is it wise to get the Nubia Flip 5G?

Although it looks good and has all the performance power you need for everyday work, the Nubia Flip 5G falls short of other flip phones on the market in terms of flagship capabilities. This serves as a reminder that, even in the smartphone market of 2024, you still get what you pay for. While it's good to see a mid-range flip phone available for those who cannot afford one of the more expensive models, we must stress that, if you're an avid smartphone gamer or photographer, the experience will be very different.In the end, everything boils down to what you're prepared to give up in exchange for a flip phone. Although there are many other mid-range smartphones available, none of them can be folded in half and have superior cameras and gaming capabilities. The Flip 5G should satisfy all of your needs if you prioritise having a small form factor above all else or if you don't mind reading Honkai Star Rail while riding the train.

Substitutes

Check out some more possibilities below if our evaluation of the Nubia Flip 5G doesn't persuade you.

Galaxy Z Flip 5 from Samsung

As of this writing, the most apparent replacement for the Nubia Flip 5G is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, which is a high-end clamshell flip phone. Whether you're willing to pay more for greater performance and higher-quality cameras will determine the trade-off. The Z Flip 5 offers a flagship experience that the Nubia does not, and although the Nubia charges a touch faster, the Samsung OS is somewhat more AI-friendly and cleaner than ZTE's Android 13 shell. Please refer to our Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 review for further insights into our opinions.

OnePlus 12R

Though this isn't a flip phone, please bear with us. One of the greatest mid-rangers available is the OnePlus 12R, which has some amazing AI capabilities along with superior performance and cameras compared to the Nubia Flip 5G. All of it is available at the same $499 price as the Nubia. Whether you value the hardware or the clamshell design more is what matters in the end, but if you're on a strict budget, this is a good choice. Check out ourOnePlus 12R review for additional information.