We see a shift of the general smartphone market shifting to simplicity in the sub 10k category, new PH entry brand Nubia which is the smartphone brand of the telecoms giant provider ZTE is taking on a different approach by focusing on a passion point. With their aggressive expansion in the country with more stores and concept stores, its clear that they need a different strategy to make a dent for market share.
Introducing the Nubia Neo 2 5G, a smartphone for Php9,999 that has already a swagger of a gaming smartphone / concept, and add features such as air-triggers to complement gaming experience, dedicated gaming software to optimize, a big 6,000mAh battery, and even dual-stereo speakers to top it all off.
| Chipset | Unisoc T820 |
| Screen | 6.72-inch IPS, 2400 x 1080, 120Hz |
| RAM | 8GB |
| OS | Android 13 |
| Rear Camera | 50MP f/1.8 Main, 2MP f/2.4 Depth |
| Front Camera | 16MP |
| Storage | 256GB UFS 3.1 |
| Network | Dual-SIM, 5G |
| Connectivity | WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.2, USB-C |
| Battery | 6,000mAh, 33W Fast Charging |
| Others | Side-Mounted Fingerprint Scanner, Dual Stereo Speakers, Dual Shoulder Triggers |
| Dimensions | 166 x 76.1 x 8.5mm |
| Weight | 208g |
| Colors | Sunfire Yellow, Frost Silver, Storm Gray |
So is this approach worth the effort for Nubia especially for the entry level market? Here’s our full review for this smartphone.
Design and Visual
Holding the Nubia Neo 2 is a solid built smartphone with generous amount of attention to details. Right out of the box is the back panel with a glossy finish and futuristic gamer design that is inspired from mecha.
Matte plastic side frame is surrounding the frame that is fingerprint resistant, overall the smartphone is built solid with just a minimal trace of flexing indicating its still an affordable smartphone.
Screen wise the FHD+ LCD display with 120Hz high refresh rate gets the job done even at direct sunlight outdoors, you can see minimal refractions and good visibility is still achievable in full brightness. Just make sure to crank the vividness of the display saturation in the options to get a more favorable color tone / preference.
Point and Shoot Camera
The 50MP camera assisted with a 2MP portrait camera on the Nubia Neo 2 5G is a standard camera with nothing particular strength, just a note that this smartphone’s shutter speed processing is expected to be average. Colors are vibrant given the bright conditions with a slight over exposure but still overall acceptable.
Moving objects such as cats will deliver a soft image in details such, just make sure overall you have ample lighting to compensate with the camera performance.
Tight shots are the best strengths of this camera while its weakness is moving objects and dull lighting scenarios.
Video can be FHD 30fps with decent capture results, with basic software stabilization just expect noise to increase once you enter dimmer conditions. For Tiktok / Reel videos its decent but horizontal can just simply be for capturing without intent of exporting for video quality in mind.
Performance & Gaming Experience
The included Game Space software dashboard and capabilities is quite broad, ranging from do not disturb mode, floating messages and thermal management for performance ranging from eco, balance and rise. Plug-ins are also available for stopwatch, key remapping, crosshair overlay, macro, sound equalizer and accessory control.
Forced at 120Hz refresh rate the display is quite immersive, the lacking of graphic details will be the only concern on my part but again for a Php10,000 smartphone having a Genshin Impact play smooth at light settings and 60fps is already great. Asking to have medium settings will be a far stretch and a capability within 15k+ smartphones.
The RAM extended for a total of 20GB is a bit of far stretch in my opinion with the extension being bigger than the actual ram. Just extend it to 20GB total to make the best of the software.
While charging the device can detect overheating which is embedded both in the Game Space or the actual game as indicator of the temperature. One way to avoid this is by using the bypass charging which you can set a percentage to maintain once you are playing games with game space activated.
Battery and Heads Up
Get ready to get annoyed to deplete the 6,000mAh battery of this smartphone, complaint all you want with the T820 Unisoc processor but its darn battery optimized that even 4 ranked games in Mobile Legends only cost 11% in battery life over WiFi. While charging the device using the 33W charger no concern with just the right speed of just over an hour and shouldn’t be old age versus 18W chargers in the same price range.
While the Nubia Neo 2 5G is a smartphone that truly stands out and provides that edge for the gamer in priority, most everyday tasks are just average including photography especially if you have shaky hands.
Conclusion
The Nubia Neo 2 5G is indeed a gaming smartphone for its price point, completing the experience not only just what you initially thought of having a strong processor to make it “Gaming” but providing the right tools to set your senses such as hearing with dual stereo speakers, touch with air triggers, high refresh rate for visuals and long battery life.
For the asking price of Php9,999 the Unisoc T820 will the deal breaker among enthusiasts, but we think its already a strong processor enough for activities such as Mobile Legends, PUBG Mobile and light Genshin Impact. For everyday activities its also enough to keep up with juggling through social, work and even the heavy tiktoker scrolling to infinity while switching in between rank games.
Overall if it weren’t for the very average performing camera for this smartphone, this can be a strong contender for us for being a smartphone to pick to be different. But if photography isn’t your forte and you’re more of an introvert and needs a smartphone that can boost your confidence and experience then the Nubia Neo 2 5G is your choice for Php9,999.
