Building on one of last year’s budget phone standouts, the Nubia Focus 2 5G is out now in Australia, sporting a big camera and changes across the board.
Sporting internal and external changes, the most obvious change is a slightly larger screen. It now has a 6.7-inch display, up from the 6.6-inch display used by the first Nubia Focus 5G. While it keeps the same 120Hz refresh rate, Nubia’s new budget phone still retains a 720p resolution.
On the inside, the $249 Nubia Focus 2 5G runs on a slightly more powerful Unisoc T8300 chipset, while increasing the physical RAM to 6GB, up from 4GB. It’s complemented by 256GB of storage and a 5,000mAh battery.
Nubia has a habit of bundling additional accessories with its mobile gear, despite the low price. Its Nubia Pad 5G tablet included both a charger and keyboard attachment in the box, while the Focus 2 5G bundles a 22.5W wired charger. Although most folks probably have more chargers than they know what to do with, its inclusion is more than what most phone brands currently offer.
One of my gripes with the original Nubia Focus was its slippery finish. Combined with a chunky build, it was noticeably trickier to hold than other budget phones. Addressing this directly, the new phone is slimmer, down to 8.35mm from 8.9mm, and it also looks to have a more matte finish, which should help add more grip.
Budget phones typically don’t have much to write home about in the camera department. I was surprised by the original Focus’ 108-megapixel camera last year, which returns as a main feature. This time around, Nubia has added a third “assistive” rear camera, although it’s not exactly clear how it works. A slight upgrade also comes to the selfie camera: it’s now 8MP (up from 5MP), and Nubia claims that software processing boosts it to 16MP.
Available exclusively through Optus, the Nubia Focus 2 5G also comes with a pair of BlueAnt Pump Air Lite 2 wireless earbuds at no extra cost.
