ZTE launched its premium Nubia lines of smartphones in India today, starting with the ZTE Nubia Z9 Mini. According to the company, the Nubia Z9 and Z9 Max will follow, based on the performance of this first device. It is a camera centric smartphone, which is priced at Rs. 16,999 and is selling on Amazon.in.
The ZTE Nubia Z9 Mini has a metal band around the side, but is made of plastic otherwise.
The main feature of this smartphone is the 16MP camera on the back. ZTE has added a number of software features in order to make full use of the camera.
It has a 5 inch 1080p IPS display, which looks quite premium.
The phone runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC along with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, expandable to 128GB.
The ZTE Nubia Z9 Mini also runs on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop, layered with ZTE's own Nubia UI.
The rear panel has a shiny glass-like feel, but it is very prone to fingerprints.
Even though the panel looks like glass, it is made of plastic. Still looks quite nice though.
The Nubia Z9 Mini looks a lot like the Honor 6 Plus by Huawei.
While the phone looks good, the USB port at the bottom betrays the non-premium build. The finishing doesn't seem at par with the likes of the Xiaomi Mi4i, Honor 6 Plus etc.
At 8.2 mm, the Nubia Z9 Mini isn't the thinnest smartphone available, but the bar design suits it and it doesn't feel very thick.
The Nubia Z9 Mini is a dual-SIM and 4G capable smartphone.
ZTE wants to position the Nubia Z9 Mini in the premium segment, so expect prices similar to Samsung or perhaps, even Apple.
Co-founder Felix Fu has said that ZTE wants to build a community of users around its cameras in India.