If you’re looking for a sleek smartphone that does the job and doesn’t hurt your wallet, the nubia V80 Design may be the one for you. Incorporating AI features, this affordable everyday carry doesn’t leave you behind with the latest features.
Design and build
The streamlined design of the V80 Design shows that being budget-friendly doesn’t mean that it has to sacrifice its looks. It is very thin, coming in at less than half an inch (7.7 mm) in thickness and weighing 191 g (6.74 oz), making the phone easy to hold even with an added phone case. It is built with a glass front and a plastic frame, which contributes to its lightness. Despite the plastic frame, the back of the phone still looks very refined. However, it does feel a bit slippery without a case, so it can be something to take note of.
The nubia V80 Design comes in four different colors: Midnight Black, Pale Amber, Celadon Cyan, and Peach Fuzz. The colored versions are more of a light pastel, which is very pleasing to the eye, while the Midnight Black (the version being reviewed) may fit those who prefer a more neutral and sophisticated look.
The nubia V80 Design’s body is rated IP64, which means it is dust-tight and resistant to water splashes. Three built-in cameras are found at the back of the phone, and a smaller selfie camera on the front. The phone is also built with two nano SIM card slots for added flexibility. The SIM card slot is found on the upper left side of the phone, alongside a dedicated AI button. The power button, which doubles as a fingerprint sensor, as well as the volume buttons, are found on the right side. At the bottom of the phone, you will see a dedicated 3.5mm headphone jack on the left, a USB-C charging port in the middle, and a speaker on the right.
In terms of sound quality, it is quite noticeable that the sound is only coming from the bottom right side of the phone, so you won’t be getting a surround sound experience, especially when holding the phone in landscape mode. The sound strength and quality may be acceptable, but it can sometimes sound flat and tinny when at max volume. The volume also doesn’t reach extremely loud levels, although this isn’t fully necessary, as the sound is loud enough for the user to hear well.
Display
The nubia V80 Design uses an IPS LCD with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 1000 nits. Having an IPS LCD may not make it the sharpest and well-contrasted screen, as well as the possibility of a bit more motion blur, but it makes up for it in terms of brightness and viewing angles. The amount of nits makes the phone bright enough to use even under direct sunlight, and leaves the screen pretty responsive to control.
The screen size comes in at 6.75 inches, with thin bezels surrounding the phone, and a thicker, slightly more noticeable bezel at the bottom. The resolution is at 900 x 1940 pixels (19.5:9 ratio) with around 317 ppi in density, allowing for a decent viewing experience and a sharp enough display where pixels are difficult to distinguish. These features are all relatively good for a phone at this low price range.
Camera
The nubia V80 has three rear cameras (50 MP (main), 2 MP (depth), 0.08 (auxiliary)) and one selfie camera at the front (16 MP). Videos are recorded at 1080p at 30fps on both rear and selfie cameras. It also has an LED flash and HDR features available.
The camera quality is decent. It does what is needed when capturing photos, and is capable enough for everyday use. The camera’s processing also does really well; the final result in the gallery sometimes looks even better than the preview you have when taking a picture, which I was impressed to see. However, note that the image tends to look grainy in certain scenarios. An example is when you fully zoom in and when there isn’t good lighting. The camera application also contains different modes, options, and features that allow you to take various types of photos with the nubia V80. However, it is also important to note that certain features require Location to be enabled, so just keep that in mind.
When opening the camera application, you are met with the “AI CAM”, which is the main camera of the phone. This mode allows you to increase or decrease the brightness/exposure of the photo after choosing which area to focus on, which gives you more flexibility and control. This mode also suggests different filter options you could use. I have also found that AI CAM processes blown-out highlights well. This means that, even if I don’t fix the exposure and lower it to show more details in the highlights, the processing still manages to bring those details back a second after the photo is taken. This could give you peace of mind, especially when you are unable to correctly expose a picture that you took.
Camera family is another feature within the camera application, which broadens your photo and video options within the nubia V80. This tab includes features, namely Time-lapse, Pro, Panorama, Dual Capture, and Monocolor. All of the features allow you more flexibility, and they work well. The Monocolor feature is interesting, as it allows you to keep only one main color within the photo, while the rest is in black and white. Sometimes, it isn’t perfect, especially when the image is very busy or isn’t well-lit, which results in the colors looking patchy. Despite that, in some moments, it does really well, especially in photos with subjects that have really specific pops of color. You can see this in the photo with the swimming pool. Regardless, this is a feature that isn’t fit for all types of photos, so it is understandable that only certain types of scenarios or looks could go well with it. All in all, it’s still a nice bonus to see features where you could explore your creativity within the phone’s native camera application.
Continuing on the features, the nubia V80 also has the 50MP mode, which allows you to take better quality photos, especially with well-lit environments, Video mode for capturing videos (although this could result in shaky and unstable footage if you are moving), Night mode, which helps brighten up nighttime photography, and Portrait mode.
The camera does struggle a bit when it comes to nighttime photography, however, it can still create decent images on well-lit scenes. This is the case even when using Night mode, especially with the 81mm focal length, as the images look grainy and pixelated. Because of that, it may be better for you to use the 27mm option as I had better results with that. Adding a flash, if suitable for the scene, could also make the photo turn out better. There are also noticeable lens flares with certain light sources like street lights, but it works if that is the look you are going for.
When comparing Night mode to AI CAM, what I found was that AI CAM is good because you can control the exposure, but this also depends on whether there are well-lit subjects. I sometimes see myself preferring how the AI CAM’s processing turns out versus the one in the night mode, since the contrast was greater in well-lit subjects. However, if you’d like to lighten dark areas of the image, that’s where Night mode shines. You could see this in the example with the Christmas installation, as the grass looks lighter. Although this mode sometimes results in the image looking a bit flat or washed out.
Regardless, the processing after the image is taken still does well. It is just important to take note that you couldn’t adjust the exposure if you are in Night mode, and are limited to just choosing what you want the camera to focus on. Again, this is all down to personal preference, and results would also vary depending on the lighting and the current scene. Results also vary depending on whether there is a bright light source. It is also important to keep in mind that you need to try to hold your phone steady when taking a shot at night, especially when using Night mode.
All in all, the nubia V80’s camera processing does well. In the same way that the AI CAM can give a good result for night photography, the phone processes the images well in terms of bringing back the details of the highlights during the daytime. In the camera preview, it may look grainy and overexposed, but after taking the photo, the final image looks more impressive than the preview. So, give it a bit of time after taking the photo to see how the technology processes the image you took.
When it comes to post-processing and editing, the phone also offers a lot of features that you could work with, including the help of AI. One of the AI features is editing the Blur and Depth of the photo. Upon testing, this is workable up to a certain amount. Adding too much Blur and an even smaller depth of field sometimes makes your images look unnatural and start to look more computerized.
When wanting to remove unwanted subjects, you could use the Magic Eraser, where you choose between Erase and Camouflage. This feature also already pre-selects subjects that you could choose to include. You select what you’d like to remove through encircling or brushing over the subject. This feature also does pretty well. In the example of trying to remove the figure of a person walking, it worked well, but it initially kept the shadow in the picture. With this, just keep in mind that you have to include those things in the selection, as it leaves those details behind.
Color Focus when editing is the same as the Monocolor feature under the Camera-family feature, where you can choose which colors would show up in your photo. It is also good to know that, when looking at each photo’s respective metadata, you will also be able to see if the image was edited with or without AI.
Performance
The Unisoc T7280 (12 nm) chip powers the nubia V80 Design, with an Octa-core (2×2.2 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) CPU and a Mali-G57 MP1 GPU. This phone also has 256GB of storage and 8GB worth of RAM capacity, which can be expanded up to an extra 12GB based on your customization, allowing the system to run more smoothly.
The phone handles everyday tasks well, thanks to its Unisoc chip, so you are able to browse the internet, use social media, and stream videos comfortably. When dealing with heavier tasks and multiple applications running in the background, it could lead to a few stutters. I only experienced this happening when I was trying to upload a huge bulk of photos and videos onto a cloud storage on the internet. But after a few seconds of the screen lagging, the phone went back to working normally.
The nubia V80 Design can handle casual gaming quite well. Games like Subway Surf can be played without difficulty, and the screen’s refresh rate makes it responsive enough to play normally. In my testing, it was also able to handle Call of Duty: Mobile quite well, but I did experience some stutters when playing Racing Master. The phone did heat up a little after a few minutes of playing it, and switching from different cut scenes and loading screens was where I found the minimal lagging to happen, but the game still ran smoothly once a race loaded, which is what matters more, anyway.
This phone is better suited for multi-tasking and using its AI features, but you are still able to play games on it a decent amount. Just keep in mind that it may struggle a bit with other heavier games, especially when you have multiple applications running in the background.
OS and UI
This device runs MyOS through Android 16 and sports a clean and simple interface. There is also a decent amount of customization on this nubia phone. You are able to switch between three different themes found in the setting: Starry Future, Android, and Classic. You are also able to further customize your app icons to your preferred look, having a few shape options like circle and square.
One of the AI features that is integrated into this phone is the AI Wallpaper, where one could use the Text to Picture feature and create a wallpaper based on a prompt. Lock screen settings are also customizable, even allowing a pedometer to show on your screen. Although I wasn’t able to fully test its accuracy, it is still an interesting and helpful feature, as it can allow you to be mindful of your step count.
This could help remind you of your health and fitness goals as the data is readily accessible on your lock screen. Although it may not be the most accurate, it can be a motivational addition for your health and fitness goals within your everyday carry, without needing a separate tracking device. Another simple addition you could add is a lock screen signature, whether just by adding your name or even adding a motivational text to be seen whenever you open your phone.
Further customization can be done with the color and shape of your buttons and widget icons, even allowing more flexibility by choosing a color from the color wheel for added customizability. Animation speed for on-screen transitions, as well as the font size and weight, are also changeable.
The display can also be turned into Dark mode and adjusted to Read mode, and Eye comfort (filters out blue light and reduces the white point in which you could adjust its intensity), both of which make the phone appear to have a warmer color temperature.
Within the phone itself, you could swipe inwards at the side of the screen to go back, and swipe up at the very edge of the bottom corners to open Gemini (Google’s AI assistant). I accidentally found the latter when swiping up from the bottom of the phone to exit an application I was using, so keep that in mind when using the device. Additionally, if you’d like to access it, you’d have to make sure you’re swiping right at the edge, as it can be a bit finicky, and you won’t be able to open Gemini otherwise. Regardless, you may also simply use the phone’s dedicated AI button.
The security feature for unlocking the phone uses the side-mounted fingerprint sensor, so it doesn’t have any sensor integrated on the display itself.
AI
As mentioned at the start of this article, the nubia V80 Design has a lot of AI features integrated into it, with a dedicated widget and dedicated apps to use them. Aside from the AI wallpaper already mentioned above, there is also a Live Translator for your multi-language meetings that can not only be translated, but also be transcribed into text in real-time, and even have speaker recognition enabled if you only want a specific language to be transcribed. Here are the other productivity features that the integrated AI assistance can do for you:
AI Transcript: boosts your speed and productivity by giving you a summary from recordings if needed.
AI Notepad: a summarizer and a place where you can keep AI notes.
AI Writing: a writing assistant (accessible within AI Notepad) where you can enter your topic and get help with writing an article, brainstorming, writing an outline, and writing an advertising text. Upon testing, this feature worked as intended. However, the first line always misses a few words or letters at the beginning of the sentence, and it loses the formatting that it creates (ex. bold subject titles and bullet points) the moment you make it stop generating for your prompt.
AI Scam Alert: a smart reminder for scam calls and text messages, so you can be more vigilant when it comes to these types of communication
AI Memory: keeps your memories in a smart collection. I found this feature by accident. I clicked the dedicated AI button accidentally, and it immediately analyzed the video I was watching that I took that day and kept it in a dedicated smart collection.
Circle to Search: directly circle something on screen to immediately initiate a search about what you encircled without having to switch to a different application or searching for it yourself. Google Lens is also already integrated in the Photos app for quick and easy access, allowing smart image content recognition.
Continuing on the topic of photos, there are also a lot of AI features that you could use for your camera and your snapshots. When editing your photos, you could use Magic Eraser to remove elements in a photo that you do not want to be there. It worked pretty well in my testing of removing a passerby. However, as an example in the specific photo I chose, you’d have to consider also highlighting the shadow for it to be a more seamless and realistic removal, as it only covers specifically what is inside your highlighted area.
The Portrait Light feature allows portrait photos to be lighted from different areas to help generate your preferred light and shadow effect. AI Filter also gives you different filter recommendations for your camera. Pressing the Smart AI button at the top of the camera app gives you a lot of filters to choose from.
You are also able to use the Blur feature to add more depth to the look of your photos. It does look a bit artificial while editing, but it looks decent once it is finished. Just take note that a more subtle approach is better with this feature, as a stronger one may look a little too processed and unrealistic. Additionally, it’s good that you are able to adjust not only the blur intensity, but also the depth of the blur as well.
While on the topic of blurring, Privacy Sticker is another feature that you could use. It allows you to easily mask a subject with one tap. You could choose from different fun stickers or a simple circular blur. Additionally, Photo Unblur enhances blurry photos to make them look sharper.
For photo organization, Smart Search is a feature which could be helpful when you’re trying to look for a specific photo or moment in your whole photo album. Smart organization also automatically groups similar photos into one album for a more organized photo collection. Similarly, Smart Story Generation automatically organizes and groups photos of the same subject to create a memory about that subject.
All of these AI features can help boost your productivity and feed your creativity. It is just important to note that some of these features may require you to use the internet for them to be accessible.
Battery and charging
The nubia V80 Design houses a 5,000mAh battery, which lets your phone last you throughout your day. It is also capable of 22.5W charging and 10W reverse charging for added convenience. Upon testing with the included charger, the phone gets half of its battery charged in less than an hour, so you won’t have to wait too long, thanks to good charging speeds and lasting battery life.
Verdict
The nubia V80 Design shows that being budget-friendly doesn’t mean that you have to compromise on useful everyday features. Multi-tasking and productivity are still being delivered. It remains a good daily device that could handle what you need from a smartphone, and a bit more. For a phone and its variants costing you less than PHP 7,000 that includes this range of customization, specs, and features like AI integration, the nubia V80 Design could be a great choice for those looking for a practical and convenient budget smartphone.
