Unlike most phones that come in plain packaging with just the model name and brand on the box, the nubia Neo 2 5G’s retail box immediately grabs you with its simple yet striking technical line graphics that gives a hint of what’s inside the yellow orange box.
Opening the box reveals the phone and supplied accessories. The device itself looks immediately impressive with its almost borderless 6.72-inch screen that comes with a factory-installed screen protector.
The phone’s Sunfire Yellow color is a standout with graphics at the back that resemble half a mecha’s face with a prominent camera aperture eye. Chamfered edges on the phone’s metallic-colored sides gives it a more premium feel.
Also packed in the box is a quick snap-on translucent case for protecting the back against scratches.
Another pleasant surprise in the box is a USB type C to type C cable for charging and a 33W charger which is much appreciated given that some phones don’t ship with fast chargers anymore.
Another prominent feature are the twin octagonal camera modules which are a departure from the standard round modules. These modules house the phone’s main 50MP lens and 2MP depth lens and LED flash.
Going back the sides again, on the right are the volume controls while the left side is rather unique, starting with the red power button that’s also a fingerprint scanner.
Subtly marked on the left and right slide of the phone by arrows when held horizontally are the dual capacitive shoulder triggers that can be further customized for gaming.
In some racing games for example, they can be configured as the steering controls. As a media device, the dual-stereo sound output is loud without being too overpowering in case you want to listen without using a headset.
Besides the mecha-inspired rear panel, the nubia Neo 2 5G is a very subtle gaming-focused phone with an overall clean design that doesn’t announce that it’s a hardcore gaming device.
The functionality extends beyond the hardware when you boot up the phone. There’s minimal bloatware if any and the phone even asks you what additional apps you want installed as an option. By default there are some games pre-installed such as Asphalt Nitro 2 so you can try the phone right away.
In order to optimize the phone settings for games, the phone’s Game Space app runs by default that automatically configures the phone whenever you run a game.
It briefly runs for a few seconds before a game starts and it kicks in to adjust accidental touch protection, CPU/GPU performance and in-game voice and video recording.
Nubia’s MyOS layer running Android 13 is simple to use without the unnecessary complications you find in other proprietary software layers.
As mentioned before, there’s minimal presence of pre-installed apps so you spend less time configuring the phone to your liking.
Overall, this mid-range gaming-focused phone seems to go over its class into flagship level territory especially when it comes to its snappy graphics performance.
Quick Specs:
- Chipset: Unisoc T820, Octa-core, up to 2.7GHz
- Display: 6.72 FHD+ 2400*1080, 120Hz refresh rate
- Cameras: (Rear) 50MP main camera, F1.8, AF2MP depth lens, (Front) 16MP
- Memory: (8+12)GB RAM + 256GB ROM, UFS 3.1
- Power: 6000mAh, 33W fast charging
- Network: Supports 5G/4G/3G/2G
- Other Features: WiFi 2.4G/5G, Hotspot, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, GPS, BT5.2, Accelerometer Proximity, Ambient Light, Compass/Magnetic, Gyroscope, Side fingerprint, VoLTE, NFC (Optional), Dual stereo speakers, Dual shoulder triggers
SRP: P9,999.00
