Nubia Z9 Max and Nubia Z9 Mini release date and specs: New Nubia series smartphones come with with Android 5.0 Lollipop
ZTE, a Chinese manufacturer of mobile phones, tablets and other consumer devices, finally unveiled the long-awaited and often-teased Nubia Z9 Max and Nubia Z9 Mini at a dedicated press conference in Beijing.
Rumors about the ZTE Nubia Z9 had been surfacing online for some time now and the handset was expected to be displayed at the recent Mobile World Congress in Spain, though ZTE did not reveal anything about the device.
The company had earlier posted an invitation to a press launch on its official Weibo page, showing a large number "9" along with the date March 26, 2015. The numerical figure in the post clearly indicated that the event would focus on the Nubia Z9, though ZTE had not mentioned anything about the device.
Recently, some photographs of a device purported to be the Nubia Z9 along with specifications had surfaced online. Last week, the Nubia Z9 had been listed along with the Nubia Z9 Max on the popular Chinese e-commerce website, JD.com along with price details.
Similar to its launch last year, when it had unveiled the Nubia Z7 Max and Nubia Z7 Mini, ZTE has now rolled out the two new handsets with varying screen sizes - the high end 5.5-inch phablet Nubia Z9 Max and the more affordable 5-incher Nubia Z9 Mini.
The Nubia Z9 Max is powered by the Snapdragon 810 chipset and comes with 3GB RAM, 16GB internal storage and a 2,900mAh battery. On the other hand, the Nubia Z9 Mini runs on the Snapdragon 615 chipset and comes with 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage (with microSD support) and the same 2,900mAh battery. Both devices feature a 16MP rear camera with support for 4K video recording and an 8MP front-facing camera with Android Lollipop 5.0.2 pre-installed.
The Nubia Z9 Max is priced at CNY2,499 ($400), while the Nubia Z9 Mini costs CNY1,499 ($240). Both the devices will be initially available only in Chinese stores. However, it is now becoming easier to purchase ZTE's products outside of China and the Nubia Z9 Max and Nubia Z9 Mini are likely to become available overseas after a few months of being launched in the Chinese market.