Whenever someone says something about a gaming phone, many would think it would be expensive and high-end, something that only select gamers can own. But nowadays, new brands are offering entry-level to mid-level gaming phones as a good intro for those who want to have a dedicated gaming phone without hurting their wallets.
Enter nubia with their new nubia Neo 3 GT gaming phone. But can this new player be the new choice for gaming phones, or perhaps a new alternative to expensive high-performance smartphones on the market? Let’s find out.
Here are the specs for the nubia Neo 3 GT
- OS: Android 15
- Chipset: Unisoc T9100
- CPU: Octa-core
- GPU: Mali-G57
- Memory: 12 GB RAM
- Storage: 256 GB
- Dimensions:
- Display: 6.8-inch AMOLED 120 HZ, 1080 x 2392 pixels
- Main Camera: 50 MP
- Selfie Camera 16 MP
- Battery: 6000 mAh
The nubia Neo 3 GT 5G Limited Edition features a distinct color variant compared to other versions of the Neo 3 and Neo 3 GT. Sporting an off-white back body with silver on the sides, toning a bit down being a gaming phone and adding a bit of a stylish look. The cybernetic-looking eye at the back was still retained but less visible with the off-white color, but it still luminates when running a game or any app that shows off the design, and this can be customized on how it will light up in other functions, such as taking photos, charging the phone and more. Unfortunately, it only lights up with a white color and has no other color options. Considering its price tag, at least having 3 colors would be nice for its feature. Physical buttons include the power and volume controls; the nice touch they added to the power button gives it a textured surface that makes it easy to reach when turning your phone on.
The phone has the right thickness (measuring at almost a centimeter thick) that makes it comfortable to hold, either scrolling through video reel contents or playing gacha games one-handed. Now speaking of scrolling and playing, the OLED screen provides some vibrant colors for videos and games. It also sports a high refresh rate of 120 Hz, which makes any high frame rate games look silky smooth. My major complaint with the phone is how the tempered glass was installed, as it doesn’t completely cover the screen, with the edges exposed, where every time you glide your fingers on the edge of the screen, it feels like it could cut your fingers, which can be uncomfortable to some.
The nubia Neo 3 GT 5G LE comes equipped with dual speakers that can produce decent audio when playing games or watching a video. The speakers are also loud even on mid-level, so you might want to stick the volume level to a low setting whenever you play, but even though the audio is loud, it doesn’t sound blown out, so that’s a plus.
And now for the performance, the nubia Neo 3 GT 5G LE can run like other low to mid-range phones in the market. Everything runs smoothly, from browsing social media feeds to watching video shorts and streaming movies; it can even handle a couple of apps running simultaneously with little to no signs of slowdown. Its battery life is also good, as it has a 6000 mAh capacity, it can last several days on idle, and can last a day when used for gaming and other stuff continuously. The phone was left on standby for a week and it only lost 5% of its battery charge, which is an impressive feat.
In terms of games, some of them can run perfectly on the gaming phone. We tested several games from different genres and so far, most MOBA games run smoothly with no issues at default settings. The same applies to some gacha games that are auto-battlers, which can run at default or lower settings. However, some, such as Goddess of Victory: NIKKE, can struggle when there are a lot of things happening on screen. Some multiplayer shooter games can handle at low settings that can go from 50 to 60 fps, but can handle on medium settings at an average of 30 fps if aiming for better visuals. Â For some open-world games, it struggles hard, such as Wuthering Waves, which, in the lowest settings, can run at below 30 fps, and the visuals can be unpleasant. There are also cases where the phone would restart when trying to load certain games. One example is from Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat, where it happened several times when the game loaded, and it took several attempts before it could run without any interruptions.
If you’re planning to use the phone as a retro gaming machine, the nubia Neo 3 GT can handle most of the 3D-capable consoles, with a few exceptions of PlayStation 2 games that eat up a ton of resources that cause slowdowns. You can install RetroArch and play it on default settings, but with enough tinkering with the settings, you could optimize some of the resource-demanding emulations to make it run at full speed. A couple of PlayStation Portable games were tested on the phone with the PPSPP emulator, and it handled the games quite well at high framerate. Some examples include Gundam vs Gundam Next, which ran really well on the phone with no hiccups.
As for the apps, the included Gamespace provided some nifty modifications that can improve performance in some games, as well as providing some enhancements in the play experience. Some examples include the keymapping for gamepad inputs. Aside from the performance boosting options, the shoulder triggers provide a good addition for input commands or, in some cases, an alternative input, especially for shooter games where using the shoulder buttons feels intuitive. They also have an AI enhancement apps that aid your gaming, such as onscreen translation, though it’s still miles away from having perfect translation, but it can be improved.
The Limited Edition package has more included accessories than the standard releases of the nubia Neo 3 GT. It includes the phone case with a frosted style plastic with a magnetic ring that mimics the ones from the new iPhone models, a limited edition button pin featuring the mascot of the phone model, and the USB Type-C gamepad.
The included gamepad from the Limited Edition set was a great addition; it connects to the phone through the Type-C port, which is quickly recognized by the phone and doesn’t need to connect via Bluetooth. It’s lightweight and the buttons and analog sticks don’t feel cheap; it even works with the Gamespace app that lets you customize the input buttons for some mobile games that do not have a native controller layout. At a glance, it appears very similar to the GameSir X5 Lite controller, from design to build quality, which is not a bad idea considering the GameSir brand has a good reputation for quality controllers.
But how about heating issues? There were cases where it heats up above 55 degrees Celsius during stress test benchmarks that halt the test after 10 minutes. But when it comes to practical use, such as playing games, it doesn’t heat up fast, which makes it uncomfortable to hold in prolonged use.
When going outside of gaming, the nubia Neo 3 GT 5G LE has a capable camera for everyday use. When shot in a well-lit area, it can produce clear and detailed shots and can be enhanced with the auto AI setting in your camera. Though in some cases it looked overexposed even if the light source wasn’t that extremely bright, when using the AI camera during nighttime, it was able to make the shots bright with fewer artifacts while retaining some details. But the camera has some limitations; zooming has a significant impact on the photo quality, even if you just push for a 2x zoom, added with lighting conditions, you will see the loss of details. Using the camera at its initial view range will give you some good shots, such as for close-up product shots, portraits, or all-around shots.
When you look at the nubia Neo 3 GT 5G gaming phone, its performance wouldn’t be able to compete with other high-end gaming phones in the market. But rather than pushing itself to compete with them, it aims to provide an affordable option for gamers who want to enjoy their favorite games without breaking their bank accounts. And outside of gaming, it handles well on everyday stuff, from taking photos to browsing on social media. It still has some caveats, such as having some bloatware and shortcuts to install unnecessary apps.
But if you want a good gaming phone that can play some of the popular MOBA and gacha games, or perhaps a retro gaming machine without the need for another dedicated device, then the nuba NEO 3 GT could be your best pick. If you’re still lucky, you could get the Limited Edition version that includes a gamepad for the best gaming bundle. You can order your own by heading to their official Shopee and Lazada store page