Display: The real strength of the nubia Air
I took the Nubia Air with me to the Azores for two weeks. The islands in the Atlantic are known for their unpredictable weather, making them the perfect environment for putting the smartphone to the test.
Midday, blazing sun, dazzling reflections from the crater lakes. A scenario in which many, especially inexpensive, smartphone displays would give up. But the nubia Air is a different story. The manufacturer advertises a peak brightness of up to 4.500 nits, and this proved surprisingly realistic in everyday sunny conditions.
The display remains clear and high-contrast even in maximum sunlight, although the color scheme of the 6,78" AMOLED display is a bit too saturated, at least for my taste.
Nubia may have overstated the display resolution a bit, though. The website's typical "1.5K" designation suggests 1224p, but the device actually has a 1080p panel. Nevertheless, for this price, the display is exceptionally good in terms of sharpness, brightness, and response time.
Robustness: IP69K in continuous rain
Unpredictable weather also means rain from time to time. Sudden flash rain is not uncommon in the Azores. But the nubia Air handles such weather very well.
The IP69K certification protects not only against water but also against high pressure. This is a rare feature in this price range, and it proved invaluable when hiking in the rain. While you wouldn't want to carry an iPhone Air around in soaked trousers, the nubia Air remains unaffected.
The plastic casing doesn't feel particularly high-quality, but it's durable and, at 172 grams, the smartphone is pleasantly lightweight. The included carbon-look bumper provides a better grip and makes the device more practical for everyday use without adding unnecessary weight.
Camera: Usable during the day, little room for error in other situations
The Azores offer spectacular photo opportunities, but the so-called "AI Triple Camera" quickly proved to be a rip-off. Only the 50 MP main camera is truly usable. The two additional lenses (2 MP + 0,08 MP) are purely cosmetic, meaning no ultra-wide-angle, no zoom, and no additional focal lengths. This is a shame, as a wide-angle lens is often essential for capturing expansive scenes, especially when photographing landscapes.
For the price, the main camera performs reasonably well in daylight, even if it's far from flagship quality. In standard mode, however, the colors are sometimes very washed out. Only with the AI photo mode activated do the images appear more vibrant and closer to what you actually see, although occasionally with an artificial oversaturation. It's perfectly adequate for everyday snapshots, WhatsApp messages, and holiday greetings.
Noise increases in twilight or low-light conditions. Colors then shift towards warm tones, and fine details are increasingly lost. Videos are limited to 1080p/30 fps and, due to the lack of stabilization, are only usable with a very steady hand. Despite its nominal 20 MP, the front camera doesn't produce anything more than soft, low-detail selfies. Anyone buying the Nubia Air should expect basic camera capabilities.
Performance: Unisoc T8300 as brake
The Nubia Air also performs rather poorly in terms of performance. This is less due to the software than to the built-in Unisoc T8300, an entry-level SoC that, at best, performs on par with inexpensive Android devices from 2020.
For basic tasks like messaging, banking or browsing, the performance is sufficient, but even here you notice occasional delays: apps open with a noticeable pause, animations don't run smoothly at all times, and when switching between multiple applications there are small pauses that you notice again and again in everyday use.
Android 15 itself is implemented relatively leanly, but doesn't seem optimally optimized for the Unisoc chip. Loading animations appear in the settings when entering search terms or scrolling through long menus. Widgets and notifications respond reliably, but not particularly quickly.
Multitasking with several resource-intensive apps quickly leads to aggressive RAM clearing and application reloading. Regarding updates, Nubia states that there will be two major Android upgrades and five years of security patches.
When it comes to gaming, the situation is even clearer. Simpler 2D titles work, but as soon as you move towards 3D games like PUBG Mobile or Asphalt 9, the frame rate drops significantly. Even at the lowest detail settings, stuttering occurs, making gameplay barely enjoyable.
In addition, there are minor technical glitches that become noticeable in everyday use. During testing, the Bluetooth connection to the car radio repeatedly dropped out or routed phone calls directly through the smartphone speaker instead of the car speakers.
The in-display fingerprint sensor did respond, but it did so so slowly that it was often faster to enter the PIN directly. While such issues aren't critical in the overall picture, they occur regularly enough to give the impression of an immature system.
Battery life: Despite 5.000 mAh, it's not a long-lasting device.
The 5.000 mAh battery sounds promising on paper, but in reality, it's hampered by the inefficient Unisoc platform. With mixed use including navigation, photography, social apps, and music streaming, the battery was usually empty by early evening.
Light everyday use resulted in exactly one day of battery life in the test, but not much more. The 33-watt charger recharges the battery in just over an hour.
