Smartphone maker Nubia unveils latest flagship handset

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Nubia Technology unveiled its latest flagship handset Z50 Ultra on Tuesday, in a bid to grab a bigger slice in the mid-range to high-end handset market amid intensified competition from domestic rivals.

The phone is equipped with a 6.8-inch active-matrix organic light-emitting diodes, or AMOLED display, that supports up to a 120Hz refresh rate and 960Hz touch sampling rate.

Priced from 3,999 yuan ($577.5), the device comes with a 64-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 64-megapixel periscope telephoto camera. On the front of the device, there is a 16-megapixel camera that is designed for taking selfies and making video calls.

Shipments of smartphones in China fell 13.2 percent year-on-year to 285.8 million units in 2022, according to market research firm International Data Corporation. This is the first time in a decade that China's phone shipments have fallen below 300 million units.

"The historically low shipments raise an alarm bell for smartphone vendors to rethink how they can build a more sustainable business model and a more targeted marketing strategy," said Will Wong, senior research manager for client devices at IDC Asia Pacific.