Music, entertainment, and electronics may have been viewed as separate components of one’s lifestyle mere decades ago. Today, however, they have never been more connected. With the advent of AI and social media, it seems like many of the world’s top tech companies offer more of the same features when it comes to tech. For example, most brands these days like to showcase their brand ambassadors who help you slay it and show off your fashion style on TikTok.
What’s become more of a niche category, though, are music enthusiasts, instrumentalists, and audiophiles who are deeply passionate about their various musical tastes or genres, and in particular, how this translates to one’s self-expression and connection with others.
Now, nubia has seemingly heeded the call with their latest offering, the nubia Music Pro, so you don’t have to feel left out if you’re that guy when music is life.
So does the all-new nubia Music Pro pass the test? Let’s find out.
Design and build
The nubia Music Pro comes in a retro-styled, vinyl record-themed design. It lists its two distinct color options, namely Pop Art and Melody Wave, as being “classic geometric shapes with vibrant pop-art colors” that fit in with the overall aesthetic of the design. The color that came in for testing is the Melody Wave color, and I have come around to liking the retro-themed, groovy look that it gives over the Pop Art one, which looks more like it came straight from comic art.
Its dimensions and weight are typical of modern smartphones, being very slim and ergonomic to the touch and sleek to look at. It comes equipped with volume rockers, as well as the main power button in the middle. At the bottom, it has a Type-C and a 3.5mm headphone jack. To me, this is kind of a godsend, as it seems like Apple, among others, has made old-school headphone jacks and wired earphones nearly obsolete.
At the back is where the nubia Music Pro stands out amongst the rest, featuring its large circular DTS:X Ultra sound system, as well as two cameras beside it. The first is a 50MP camera with an f/1.8 large aperture, and the second is an auxiliary camera. And lastly, it comes with a silicone case, which makes holding and handling a breeze.
Display
When it comes to the display, the Nubia Music Pro features a large 6.7-inch HD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate. As I put it through its paces, I could definitely feel the immersion in high definition while bingeing my favorite Netflix horror flicks, as well as getting caught up in the adrenaline of racing games like Asphalt Nitro 2. It also has a set of custom retro-styled wallpapers to choose from, as the whole display package just came through in a good way.
Camera
While the main focus of the nubia Music Pro may have been on the audio features, I found that the camera and photography features themselves are no slouch either. As mentioned, you have a dual-camera layout, while the front has a more standard 5MP selfie camera.
The AI photography features of the nubia Music Pro are something that I’ve come to expect, this now being my second model of testing, but this time, there’s so much more. There’s the AI lightning-fast shot to capture photos quickly on the fly. AI Image Dehaze to make photos clearer. AI Magic Eraser to remove unwanted objects. AI Blur, which turns a photo into a portrait by blurring the background. And lastly, AI Sky, which adjusts the background of the sky to make the photo more vibrant.
AI camera features
These are just a minutia of the background effects, filters, templates, apertures, lighting, and day and night settings that are made available to you, so I wasn’t able to test out all since I’m not really into hardcore photography. But this definitely makes the nubia Music Pro a jack-of-all-trades smartphone and one with tremendous bang-for-your-buck.
Performance
Now we have finally come to the section of the review where the nubia Music Pro shines, the performance, and specifically, the audio features. First, it has the aforementioned DTS:X Ultra sound system. Its 2.1 channel features three full-range speakers supported by two main channels plus a subwoofer for a richer audio experience. It has three SmartPAs with a high output power, “with exciting party scenes, great volume, no distortion”. This means that it can support audio that can be up to 600% higher volume than a standard smartphone.
Its DTS system has four modes for your various activities, the first being the Smart Selection, which automatically changes music mode according to music content and environment, as well as modes for music, movies, and games. It can even function as a Bluetooth speaker if you’re listening on a different device. It also comes with an AI melody breathing lights, which help set the mood and adapt to the rhythm of your current jam to create the perfect party atmosphere. These breathing lights can also function to support various notification light effects like battery, phone calls, messages, and countdown timers.
Well, now that I’ve covered the nitty-gritty as far as audio features go, let me get on my soapbox and tell you how truly amazing the whole experience was. When I first got the phone in, the Bluetooth speaker function of the nubia Music Pro was good enough for my habit of listening to my music while taking a shower, so it can serve as a makeshift speaker for parties and get-togethers. One night, I was vibing to my 90’s hip-hop classics, ala 2pac and Biggie, after I had a good game of playing ball. And the next I was jamming, singing, and screaming along to my favorite rock and heavy-metal bangers as I played it through my LG sound-bar, which made the combination a perfect and surreal surround sound experience, like I was the one headlining at a festival.
Furthermore, I also tried two different methods when it comes to in-ear earbuds. First, I tested the 3.5mm audio jack with my Audio-Technica old-school earbuds, and second, I tested it via Bluetooth with my Monster wireless earbuds. I would say that the immersion is the same either way. I could hear every lead and rhythm guitar. The bass is good enough thanks to the spatial audio from the DTS system. And the instrument I like to jam to the most, which would be the drums, every cymbal, snare, and drum-fill could be heard in all its glory. The difference being that the volume limit was slightly greater via Bluetooth, believe it or not, as one would believe the opposite to be the case, since that’s what I’ve experienced from other smartphones.
The NFC touch-to-share music sharing feature is also there, so you can share your music with just a tap. There’s also this Melody Lights effect, which can sync ambient lights to the rhythm of your music on your display to further enhance the experience. And last but not least, I like to go to sleep while listening to peaceful/ambient noise. The nubia Music Pro didn’t let me down in that aspect either. Just the quality and the high definition of the music output for whatever mood and occasion speak volumes.
When it comes to the OS, the nubia Music Pro features an Android Versatile Live Island for your everyday multi-functional needs. Powerful performance and smoother running Octa-core processor for up to 8GB dynamic RAM, as well as 128GB large storage ROM.
As far as security features go, not only is there the standard fingerprint and facial scanning screen lock, but they’ve gone out of their way to make you feel safe should anything happen through an automatic Theft Detection Lock as well as Remote Lock, where you can lock the screen if it’s lost or stolen. Lastly, you can use Find Hub to locate and/or erase your device.
Battery and charging
For battery specs and charging, the nubia Music Pro features a 5000mAh large battery, and a 10W charger. I found the battery to be moderate at best, since I’ve been spoiled by other higher-end smartphones, but it’s still good nonetheless for everyday use. I guess all the bells and whistles make the battery work harder, that’s all.
Final verdict
So as far as pricing, the nubia Music Pro retails for ₱4299. Well, as I’ve just laid out, the nubia Music Pro is worth it, especially at that price point. It’s a price that can’t be beat, and this is the first time I’d go about buying myself one. If you’re a student or just balling on a budget, the nubia Music Pro might be the one. And if you’re into music as a passion, then you definitely shouldn’t pass this up, as it introduces so many features that other similarly priced or higher-end models don’t offer.
