The Nubia N2 is a mid-range smartphone from Chinese manufacturer ZTE which aims to distinguish itself from the sea of mid-range competition on the basis of its mammoth 5,000mAh battery, striking metal unibody design and 16MP selfie camera.
The Nubia N2 retails for Rs 15,999 and finds itself in a segment populated by heavy hitters like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 and Moto G5 Plus - both smartphones which are not only from trusted brands but have also been received warmly by critics and consumers alike. Does the N2 have what it takes to carve its own identity amongst such formidable competition from such reputable brands? Let's find out:
Design: Stunning but fairly weighty
The Nubia N2 is quite the looker. The all metal unibody design looks quite sleek and stunning and helps the smartphone come across as much more expensive than it really is.
The company claims that the smartphone is made from 'aerospace-grade aluminium'. I do not have the tools at my disposal to verify that claim but what I do know is that the build quality is great - the smartphone feels as if it could withstand any drops or falls that might come from day to day use. There are no creaks or rattles to speak of and Nubia must be lauded for constructing the N2 like a brick.
The rounded corners and curved edges enhance the in-hand feel and help mask the sizeable proportions of the N2. The only sore point in the design is the rather peculiar red circle on top of the home button up front which makes it look like the smartphone has a rather bad ulcer.
The Nubia N2 is quite the looker. The all metal unibody design looks quite sleek and stunning
The volume buttons on the left edge and the power button on the right edge are nice and solid and not mushy. The bottom mounted single loudspeaker though is pretty average - it gets very distorted at high volumes and its left hand placement means it gets covered up while playing games or viewing videos in landscape.
The N2 is also pretty heavy. At 180 grams, it really tips the scales and feels very heavy in the hand after even short bursts of use. It is 7.9 mm at its thinnest point - which is decent considering the mammoth 5,000mAh battery on board. While the chunky proportions of the Nubia N2 might be off putting to some, for others who are sick of slim smartphones with puny batteries - they might be reassuring.
Mediocre display with colour shifting issues
The display is one of the, if not the most important attribute of a smartphone as it is the medium through which one accesses every feature of the device. Sadly the display is the most underwhelming point of the Nubia N2.
The N2 comes with a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 720x1280 and a pixel density of 267 ppi. On paper alone, the display is lacking in a few key areas. It has a resolution of 720p when most of the competition in this price range has moved onto 1080p quite some time ago. Secondly, it is lacking any form of scratch protection.
Yes, the screen is AMOLED which should logically be a positive but as I found out during my use, the negative aspects of the panel wash away any gains the AMOLED technology imparts.
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