Smart watch ZTE nubia Alpha - advantages and disadvantages

Today, new items in the world of electronics replace each other at a fantastic speed, and most people are no longer even surprised by new developments. If we talk about the leader of cutting-edge ideas, then now it is undoubtedly China - their engineers develop the most incredible things and combine several devices into one. This review will focus on another novelty from China, namely the ZTE Nubia Alpha smart watch (here it is worth noting that the Nubia brand, created in 2012, is today an independent company).

It would seem that nothing unusual - smart watches have been on sale for a long time, however, according to the company's management, this is a completely new type of device, brought to perfection in technical terms. Like it or not, it is still unknown, but this ZTE Nubia Alpha review will try to answer this question, based on the available information about the advantages and disadvantages of these smartwatches.

Appearances can be deceiving

Chinese manufacturers are known for their very bold and extraordinary solutions, which are not always clear to the Russian people, but it is still not worth denying their great merits in the development of device design. As for Nubia α (another spelling of the model name), everything here is very ambiguous. On the one hand, there is a very spectacular and cool appearance with an impressive bending OLED display, on the other, it all looks like a prop for shooting a science fiction movie in the 80-90s (too rough and voluminous). True, it is worth recognizing that the company's specialists managed to cram almost everything into this smartphone watch, from the functions of fitness bracelets to the ability to make voice and video calls.

Conventionally, this device can be divided into two parts: the first is a flexible screen that turns into a strap, the second is a square watch block, which differs from similar ones only in the presence of a camera and large dimensions. As for netizens, it was not easy to form any public opinion about the novelty. The fact is that all the available photos are not able to really characterize the gadget (in close-up pictures, especially in white rather than black version, the model looks quite attractive, but in the pictures at a distance they already resemble cheap Chinese trash, especially with the screen turned off) .

However, do not forget that Nubia was the first company to officially present a really working smartphone watch model at IFA 2018 (competitors have not yet disclosed their achievements and most of them are under development).It is very important to note that this is a working model, not a prototype, and therefore there is not so much time left before the product enters the global market (presumably the fourth quarter of 2019), which means that the Chinese electronics manufacturer still has time to make some changes into design.

Amazing functionality

While the stars of world cinema are filming in fantastic films about the future, the engineers of the Celestial Empire are implementing the most daring projects with might and main, and alpha is a direct confirmation of this. According to the management, this gadget will combine the most necessary functions from several mobile devices and will allow you to forget about ordinary phones, watches and fitness bracelets.

Impact on smartphones

One of the key features of the alpha will be the ability to make voice and video calls. The device will support 4G LTE, which can provide good data exchange speed and the ability to install a SIM card in eSIM format. These statements sound more than attractive, but subconsciously a number of questions arise. For example, about the convenience of communication. Talking by the clock is quite inconvenient and this is a fact, Bluetooth headphones can come to the rescue, but so far there is no information on this matter.

The next question is more exciting and it directly concerns the residents of Russia - how can buyers use this device if eSIM communication is prohibited in the country? This is followed by a number of questions from network users (for example, how convenient it is to play games on it and whether it will pull them, because smartphones cope with this task perfectly) to which there is no answer yet, but the model’s prospects in this regard are clearly so hot.

Screen

It is the screen that plays a key role in this watch - it is able to bend around the hand, which allows you to make it large enough, as well as open up a lot of other possibilities. True, so far almost nothing is known about him (only that he bends and has an OLED matrix). However, according to photos and videos from the network, we can conclude that the detail of the display is good. But even here there were some disputes among users on the network, and the most popular question was the doubt about the durability of the screen, namely, how many flexion-extension it is designed for.

Further, users criticized managers for praising the convenience of the display, because when the watch is on the wrist, playing or performing other more complex tasks (watching movies, photos, reading books) is very problematic and unusual. Separately, it is worth noting that Nubia did not characterize the strength of the gadget in any way, which leads to bad suspicions. Also, fans of modern chips (namely frameless displays) will be disappointed because the frames here are quite thick.

autonomy

Of course, such a watch will consume much more energy than a fitness bracelet (which is worth one screen, not to mention the connection to the network and the "stuffing" of the device), and therefore the question arises - how much can they work on a single charge? And although there is no official answer, the craftsmen from the Internet were able to calculate the approximate battery charge consumption (which amounted to 500 mAh) and their forecast turned out to be disappointing - it will not be enough for a full working day, especially with active use.

But recently there have been rumors, the meaning of which boils down to the fact that active work has already begun on increasing the battery capacity.However, fans of the brand should not rejoice ahead of time, because the weight of the alpha, which does not look easy, will also increase. There is also an assumption that the batteries will be built into the strap, but it is not known whether this is true or not.

Unique Features

The characteristics of the novelty are still kept secret, but they are very willing to talk about it functionally, so below is a tentative list of watch features:

• Contactless payments using NFC technology;
• Functions of fitness bracelets (measurement of heart rate, steps, distances, calories burned and support for various modes for sports);
• Interesting features (sleep monitoring and smartphone search);
• View videos, photos, listen to music through the player and play;
• Phone functions (make and receive calls);
• Maybe take pictures with the camera.

As you can see, the list is quite impressive, despite the fact that only the main features are listed and only those that the developers hinted at.

Positioning

Nubia calls its brainchild a new kind of device that can replace many mobile gadgets in the future. However, today, according to most users, this is not possible due to competition from smartphones and their growing popularity (as well as a lot of technical aspects and ease of use). However, already now a huge number of people are interested in the developments of the Chinese brand and are ready to actively follow their progress, because the idea is really great.

Briefly about everything

Nubia did wisely enough: she caused a stir among the public with loud statements, photos and videos, and even presented a list of some features.And did not open the most important thing - the characteristics of the device. Well, this is logical, because by publishing such data now, they would have deprived themselves of significant trump cards and the “wow effect” immediately before the start of sales, and so the intrigue is preserved. Nevertheless, below are the main data on ZTE Nubia Alpha collected in a table.

Conclusion

• Functionality;
• Ability to make and receive calls;
• Viewing videos and photos;
• Large, bendable screen;
• Good for athletes.

• Weight and dimensions (presumably);
• Durability (presumably);
• Ease of use;
• autonomy;
• Design (for an amateur);
• Communication via eSIM (relevant for Russia).

With the creation of alpha, Nubia was able to surprise many and kill several birds with one stone. Firstly, the development speed is amazing, because there are no similar products on the market, and leading manufacturers are just starting to deal with such projects. Secondly, the resin company arouses serious interest among the public and, with the right advertising campaign and listening to the wishes of potential buyers, has every chance of commercial success (especially in its native China, where people really love such new products) and the ability to subdue the market smart phone watches.As for criticism, yes, the shortcomings of the device were actively discussed on the Internet, but it’s too early to talk about real problems - all answers will be given only after the start of sales, for now these are just speculations.