Zhang Lei of Nubia Praises Apple’s Steadfast Industry Leadership

On September 10, Apple officially launched its latest lineup — the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the ultra-light iPhone Air — starting at ¥5,999 in China.

Zhang Lei, Vice President of ZTE and General Manager of Nubia Flagship Products, shared his thoughts on Weibo shortly after watching the event live.

Zhang also highlighted the Nubia Z80 Ultra’s relentless pursuit of seventh-generation under-display camera technology, emphasizing that true innovation should tackle the core issue of ‘holes or no holes’ in displays, rather than simply refining existing imperfections.

While he praised Apple’s design refinement — especially the Pro model’s switch from titanium to aluminum, which allows for smoother frame-to-back panel transitions, better integration, improved cooling, and enhanced grip — Zhang noted one disappointment: the absence of a true full-screen iPhone.

Upcoming Nubia Flagship
In parallel, a new Nubia device with the model number “NX741J” has appeared in China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology database. The listing confirms support for NR SA / NR NSA / TD-LTE / LTE FDD / WCDMA / GSM, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and 5G cross-network roaming.

Industry insiders believe this is the Nubia Z80 Ultra, expected to feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor and enhanced 35mm imaging capabilities. For reference, its predecessor — the Nubia Z70 Ultra — offered a true full-screen design with an under-display front camera, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, LPDDR5X + UFS 4.0 storage, a 6,150mAh “South China Sea” second-generation battery, and 80W fast charging, starting at ¥4,599.