nubia Z11 Mini announced with high-end 16MP camera

ZTE sub-brand Nubia has announced a new no so small mini smartphone today known as the nubia Z11 Mini. The smartphone is the successor to last year’s Z9 Mini, even though we’re still waiting for the company to announce its main Z11 handset, which is expected to appear sometime next month.

Despite being called a mini, the smartphone features a 5.0-inch 1080p display with 2.5D glass. The handset’s specifications reveal a very capable mid-ranger, boasting an octa-core Snapdragon 617 processor, 3GB of RAM, and a healthy 64GB of internal storage that can be expanded. There’s an acceptable 2,800mAh battery inside, which nubia boldly claims can offer up to two days of normal use between charges.

nubia has thrown in a decent selection of extras with the Z11 Mini too. There’s a fingerprint scanner on the back of the handset, room for two SIM cards, DTS sound, VoLTE support, and a USB Type-C port. Unfortunately, the Z11 Mini is running on Android 5.1 Lollipop, rather than Marshmallow, which is skinned with the company’s own the company’s nubia UI 3.9.

The nubia Z11 Mini’s main selling focus is on its camera technology, which is aiming to rival the capabilities of more expensive flagship smartphones. The handset features a 16 megapixel Sony IMX298 rear image sensor, which is the same technology found inside the new Xiaomi Mi 5, the HUAWEI Mate 8, and the OPPO R9 Plus. The camera offers phase detection autofocus capabilities, 3D noise reduction technology, and an F/2.0 aperture lens. There’s also a selection of camera specific software features and RAW output format support. On the front of the phone there is an 8 megapixel sensor with larger 1.4um pixels for better light capture.

The smartphone is already available to pre-order in China and is stated to go on sale on April 25th. The Z11 Mini will likely hit other Asian markets in the not too distant future too. The phone is available in Black, White and Gold color variants, and there are a selection of wooden back covers to. The price tag is set at a very reasonable 1,499 Yuan ($232).