You never see anything like it, a budget gaming phone with midrange performance and shoulder triggers
Nubia is ZTE’s sub-brand mainly focusing on flagship or gaming phones under the RedMagic branding. Now, it seems like RedMagic has steamrolled into success, so much that they’re bringing their gaming power down to the budget line.
The first Neo was launched just a few months ago, probably as an experimental device to determine whether or not people would like to see a gaming phone under USD 300. That experiment is a success because there is a successor already. The Nubia Neo 2 kept almost everything that was great about the Neo 2 and then improved some.
With many phones are using the MediaTek Helio G99 chipset or a sloppy Dimensity 6000-series chip for budget 5G, the Neo 2 is truly one of the best, if not the best offering at a sub-10K price point right now. It uses a UNISOC T820 chipset but don’t let that fool you. This thing is a beast. It is the UNISOC equivalent to the Dimensity 720 or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G. It is the same chip as the first Neo. Not only that, you also get a futuristic Transformers-like design at the back. We forgot to mention that the shoulder trigger pads are present here too, something you’ll only see at expensive gaming phones or mobile consoles but here we are. The Neo 2 is a gamer’s paradise, especially those who are budget conscious.
Aside from the chipset and gaming aesthetics, what else does the Nubia Neo 2 offer? Well, in a nutshell, the phone is a “RedMagic at Home” deal, so some other aspects might be toned down, right? Thankfully, this is not the case and other important features, such as the battery, were considered. You might have a great gaming phone but that’s worthless if it easily dies and requires charging several times per day. Hence why Nubia is keeping the trend of large batteries in gaming phones. The Nubia Neo 2 features a 6000mAh battery with 33W fast charging. Not the fastest level charging, considering that the Camon 30 has 70W but it will do.
The primary camera is a 50MP lens but its complementary is only 2MP, and it’s a depth sensor. So, you know that cameras are not the main focus here. It runs Android 13 and comes with a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, 5G services, 4G LTE, and dual-band Wi-Fi. It is probably the only phone officially in the Philippines that uses a 5G UNISOC chip instead of a Qualcomm or MediaTek. A third player is always welcome, and more competition means more choices and more room to improve.
There is a 120Hz FullHD+ IPS LCD screen and unlike the previous Neo, the phone actually uses a punch hole now, where the 8MP selfie camera resides. Game Space from RedMagic makes an appearance here and the phone also supports third-party controllers and joysticks… if you find the shoulder trigger pads not convenient enough for your gaming needs.
The phone is already available via ZTE’s official authorized stores and from our good friends at XUNDD, for PHP 9,999. The phone comes with 8GB RAM (+12GB virtual) and 256GB ROM. Colors include Yellow, Silver, and Grey.
SPECS:
- 6.72″ FullHD+ (2400x1080px) IPS LCD, 120Hz refresh rate
- Shoulder Gaming Triggers
- Game Space 2.0
- UNISOC Tiger T820 5G (6nm)
- CAMERAS:
- 50MP (Primary), f/1.8, PDAF
- 2MP (Depth), f/2.4
- FRONT: 8MP
- Android 13
- 6000mAh, 33W fast charging
- USB-C, 3.5mm jack, Virtual RAM, Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
- 5G services, 4G LTE, Dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
- Yellow, Grey, Silver
- PRICE:
- 8/256: PHP 9,999