Just recently, we released an article sharing our initial thoughts on the budget-friendly nubia Music smartphone. We’ve been using it for two weeks, and now it’s time to share my experience.
Display and Multimedia Experience
Recalling the screen specifications, the nubia Music is equipped with a large 6.6-inch HD+ display and a 90Hz refresh rate. Considering its affordability, the display quality and colors are quite decent.
Browsing social media and watching YouTube here is pleasant, but you might find it less satisfying if you’re used to higher display quality.
Aside from its 90Hz refresh rate, it’s also good that it has a 180Hz touch sampling rate because it’s useful for playing games as well as for the overall responsiveness of the device.
Another important feature of the display is the Live Island, as it improves your experience when you’re listening to music, utilizing a countdown timer, recording voice messages, and more.
Speaking of listening to music, I was impressed with the ultra speaker—its audio quality actually stands out compared to other phones in this price range, thanks to its DTS:X Ultra support. Besides, the dreamy breathing and screen light effects also give additional musical vibes.
I tested the claimed maximum volume of 600% or 95dB, and it indeed produces a very loud sound. However, I advise against using the highest volume settings as it may harm the speakers. At maximum volume, crackling noises are noticeable, so I suggest keeping the volume between 100%-200%.
Additionally, this is the first time I’ve seen a phone with dual 3.5mm headphone jacks, and I must say the sound quality is impressive even with two earphones connected. It’s an ideal feature for sharing music or movies, and it could also work well with two wired speakers.
Discover an unparalleled audio experience with nubia Music, a smartphone designed to enhance audio details. Perfect for audiophiles and music lovers, making every note crystal clear and every beat more vibrant.
Camera
As for the camera, it features a 50MP main sensor paired with a depth sensor, while the front houses a 5MP selfie camera.
Looking at the photos I took, the image quality is acceptable, especially given that very high-quality images aren’t expected at this price.
As you can see in our sample photos, the processing is decent, but the subject lacks some sharpness and detail, with the focus being on the background instead of the person.
The colors of most of the photos are vibrant, and the saturation is well-tuned. However, it had difficulty processing shadows and highlights, resulting in blown-out highlights in some of our other photos.
If you’ve noticed, the image quality is quite good in well-lit conditions but less so in low light. To maximize the camera’s capabilities, I recommend taking pictures and videos in clear, well-lit scenarios.
I gave the video recording a try, and the quality is fair, capable of shooting up to 1080p@30fps. However, it doesn’t feature stabilization, which is common for a budget device.
Here are our nubia Music sample photos:
Performance
One drawback of this phone is its performance, as it relies on a 28nm Unisoc SC9863A octa-core chipset that struggles to meet today’s app demands. I would only recommend it for basic tasks like listening to music, browsing social media, communication, and more.
It would be ideal if Nubia opted for a more capable chipset, such as the 12nm Unisoc T612 or 12nm MediaTek Helio G85 since these are standard in devices below P5,000 and are commonly used by other brands.
For day-to-day tasks, expect lags and frame drops in this device especially when you use power-hungry apps for social media and gaming. It also has 4GB RAM and supports up to 4GB Virtual RAM so the multitasking performance you get is just right.
The phone supports Ultra graphics and high frame rates for playing Mobile Legends. However, I encountered some frame drops, so for a more fluid gaming experience, I suggest adjusting the graphics settings to Medium.
In terms of software support, I received two updates over the past two weeks of using the nubia Music. The MyOS 13, built on Android 13, performs reasonably well, but considering the hardware’s limitations, an Android Go edition would have been a better fit.
Battery
Next, we have the battery, which offers a robust 5,000mAh capacity, a standard in today’s phones. However, the battery life is somewhat lacking. With a PCMark Work 3.0 benchmark result of just 10 hours and 6 minutes, this is relatively short.
While the cause of the fast battery drain isn’t entirely clear, possible explanations include software optimization issues or the chipset’s high power consumption, as it’s built on a 28nm process which is less energy-efficient.
The device supports charging up to 10W, which is somewhat slow. Given the phone’s affordability, this is not surprising. It took more than 2 hours to charge from 20% to 100% during my testing.
Conclusion
While the Nubia Music may not be the best choice within its price bracket, it stands out with unique features such as high-quality, very loud speakers and dual 3.5mm headphone jacks. The overall feature set is acceptable for its cost, so keeping expectations realistic is advisable. It’s recommended for those on a tight budget students, music enthusiasts, or as a secondary phone.
nubia Music Specifications
- Display: 6.6-inch IPS LCD, HD+ resolution, 90Hz refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling rate
- CPU: 1.6GHz 28nm Unisoc SC9863A octa-core processor
- GPU: IMG8322
- RAM: 4GB + 4GB Extended RAM
- ROM: 128GB
- Rear Camera: 50MP + Unspecified lens + LED flash
- Front Camera: 5MP
- Battery: 5,000mAh, 10W charging
- OS: MyOS 13, Android 13
- Connectivity: 2.4GHz, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, Dual SIM (nano), Dual 3.5mm headphone jack
- Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope
- Colors: Pop Art, Zeal Orange
- Dimensions: 163.6mm (H) × 74.9mm (W) x 8.6mm (D)
- Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, AI face unlock, USB-C, FM antenna, NFC, DTS:X Ultra
Price and availability
nubia Music – PHP 3,999 | Shopee link
You can now buy the nubia Music in all stores of Nubia Philippines nationwide and online via their official store on Shopee. For more updates, you can also follow their social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
