Apple iPhone XS vs ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone XS Manufactured in September, 2018, with display 5.8 with chipsetApple A12 Bionic, vs ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra, Manufactured in October, 2025 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone XS
  • Higher pixel density: 458ppi
  • Lighter design: 177g vs 227g
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.85in
  • Higher refresh rate: 144Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 7200mAh vs 2658mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger
  • Fingerprint scanner

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 4/64 GB
- 4/256 GB
- 4/512 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/512 GB
- 16/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone XS and ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
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Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED AMOLED
Size 5.8 in 6.85 in
Resolution 1125x2436 pixels 1216x2688 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
Pixel density 458 ppi 431 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 144 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (60-120 Hz)
Max brightness 625 nits 2000 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes, HDR10
Touch Sampling Rate 120 Hz 960 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 81.1 % 89.2 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone XS
635 nits
ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra
n/a
sRGB gamut98.8 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time4.4 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 143.6 mm (5.65 in) 164.5 mm (6.48 in)
Width 70.9 mm (2.79 in) 77.2 mm (3.04 in)
Thickness 7.7 mm (0.3 in) 8.6 mm (0.34 in)
Weight 177 g (6.24 oz) 227 g (8.01 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP69
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Silver
- Gold
- Gray
- Black
- Silver
- Blue
- Red
- Yellow
Fingerprint sensor No Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone XS
81.1 %
ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra
89.2 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone XS and ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A12 Bionic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Max Frequency 2490 MHz 4600 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 4/1.6 (Tempest)
- 2/2.49 (Vortex)
6/3.63 ()
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 7 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Neural Engine Hexagon
Graphics Apple A12 GPU Adreno 840
GPU Cores 256 1536
GPU Frequency 1100 MHz 1200 MHz
FLOPS 576 GFLOPS 3686.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone XS
1307
ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra
3745
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone XS
3447
ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra
11971
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)13073745
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)344711971
Geekbench Compute (GPU)n/a25473
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone XS
733639
ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra
4085211
CPU2025761193912
GPU2175481467832
Memory146853510664
UX166662912803
NanoReview Score7336394085211
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone XS
5698
ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra
n/a
Max Surface Temp.44.8 °Cn/a
Stability63 %n/a
Graphics Test34 fpsn/a
Graphics Score5698n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 4 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 5300 MHz
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 64 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
512 GB
Storage TypeNVMeUFS 4.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 12 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2) Android 16
OS Size 11.8 GB n/a
UI Skin n/a NebulaAI OS 2

Battery

Volume 2658 mAh 7200 mAh
Max Charging Power 15 W 90 W
Battery Type Li-ion Silicon Carbon (Si/C)
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes Qi (10 W) Yes (80 W)
Reverse Charging No n/a
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 60 min) Yes (84% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 2:40 h 0:42 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone XS
16:06
ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra
n/a
Web Browsing05:44 hn/a
Video Playback09:44 hn/a
Games03:54 hn/a
Standby Mode84 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 8192x6144 pixels
Zoom Optical, 2x Optical, 2.7x
Flash Quad LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Yes (Up to 30 fps)
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens n/a 122 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix12 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.7
Focal length26 mm35 mm
SensorApple iSight XOmnivision OV990 Light and Shadow Master
Sensor size1/2.551/1.3
Pixel size1.4 μm1.2 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MP64 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.4
Focal length52 mm70 mm
Sensor size1/3.41/2.0
Pixel size1 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrixn/a50 MP
Aperturen/af/1.8
Focal lengthn/a18 mm
Sensor sizen/a1/1.55
Stabilizationn/aDigital

Front camera

Matrix 7 MP 16 MP
Photo resolution 3088x2316 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
Focal length 32 mm 24 mm
Sensor CMOS CMOS
Sensor size n/a 1/2.8
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5.4
Bluetooth features SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP LE
USB type No USB Type-C
USB version 2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No Yes
Connectivity
SIM Count*12
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900n/a
3G BandsHSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100n/a
LTE Bands*LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2600)n/a
LTE category16n/a
5G SupportNoYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes No
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPhone XS
87.3 dB
ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2018 yr October, 2025 yr
Release Date September, 2018 yr October, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 1000 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 840
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included n/a Yes, 90 W
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider ZTE Nubia Z80 Ultra the clear winner in this comparison.

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