ZTE are trying their best to win more customers in the western countries. They offer a wide range of smartphones, with budget devices taking most of their attention. We already saw some good devices from them recently, with the Axon M being one of the most innovative ones. It was one of the first smartphones to offer a dual screen, giving you more space to glare at. Today, we’re taking a step back to a standard smartphone, and that smartphone is the ZTE Nubia Z18 Mini. And don’t be fooled by the Mini inside the name – this device is anything but mini. Let’s see why!

Design

With the dimensions of 148 x 70.6 x 7.6mm, this device is definitely not mini. The large body doesn’t mean that this device is big or chunky – instead, it’s pretty sleek. The glass design and curved edges give the device a premium look and feel in the hand. On the front, you will find the 5.7” display with 2160 x 1080 resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio. The larger aspect ratio means that the bezels are pretty small, giving you more screen space. There aren’t any physical buttons on the front, with the fingerprint sensor being on the back. Speaking of the back, you will also find the camera setup in the top corner. The Nubia logo sits proudly in the middle.

Features

Going inside the ZTE Nubia Z18 Mini, we can see again that even with the hardware, this device is not mini. Starting with the chipset, this device features the octa-core Snapdragon 660. This processor is capable to handle almost any task you throw at it. It is accompanied by 6GB of RAM, which should satisfy even the most notorious multitaskers. Speaking of memory, you’re also getting 128GB of internal storage, more than enough to store all of your files. Finishing the internals, the battery on the Nubia Z18 Mini is a 3450mAh one. It should easily last you through a full day of use.

Moving on to the cameras, the ZTE Nubia Z18 Mini is also jumping on the dual camera wagon. On the back, you will find a 24MP + 5MP combo with f/1.7 aperture. We expect for the camera to be great, with good dynamic range and color saturation. The second lens suggest that we might see a Portrait mode, but we don’t have any information about that yet. On the front, you will find a single 8MP shooter with f/2.0, more than enough for all of your selfies.

Finishing with the software, the device will ship with Android Oreo 8.1 out-of-the-box. It is skinned using the company’s own nubia UI, a heavily modified interface that packs some nice features. On another note, this device is also going to feature some AI implementations with the NeoSmart AI. The chipset makes that possible, and ZTE is using that implementation to the top, even with an inclusion of a dedicated hardware button.

Pricing and availability

The ZTE Nubia Z18 Mini is currently available in China only, with more countries possibly coming up in the upcoming months. It is priced at around $334.

So, what are your thoughts on the ZTE Nubia Z18 Mini? Share them in the comments below.