Nubia's First Phone With Large 1-Inch 35mm Camera Module Leaked; Tipped to Feature Sony IMX989 Sensor: All Details

Nubia is working on a new smartphone with a vastly improved camera, according to details shared by a tipster. An image of a prototype that has leaked online alongside the company's existing Nubia Z50S Pro smartphone. Compared to the Nubia Z50S Pro, the unreleased smartphone is shown to have a much larger rear camera module that will house a 35mm camera with a 1-inch type sensor, according to the tipster. The company is yet to announce any details regarding its plans to launch a new smartphone.

Tipster Digital Chat Station (translated from Chinese) leaked an image of the purported Nubia flagship smartphone via Weibo. The prototype is seen next to the Nubia Z50S Pro, which was launched in China last month. Aside from the larger rear camera module on the unreleased handset, both phones appear nearly identical, which suggests that the company could launch it as the top-of-the-line model in the Z50S series.

The upcoming smartphone from Nubia will be equipped with a 35mm camera with a 1-inch type sensor, according to Digital Chat Station. The handset's primary camera will use a Sony IMX989 sensor, the tipster says, adding that the company will have to "optimise volume" before it launches the smartphone and that it could arrive at a later date. 

By simply comparing the size of the two smartphones, it is evident that the 1-inch type sensor on the Nubia prototype requires much more space compared to the 1/1.49-inch camera sensor that is found on the Nubia Z50S Pro.

While the rear camera module on the latter also protrudes outside the rear panel to a certain extent, it seems like users will have to use the upcoming Nubia smartphone with a rear cover to protect the protruding module, like Google's Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 series of smartphones.

Given the close resemblance to the Nubia Z50S Pro — aside from the camera — it appears that the upcoming smartphone could be equipped with the similar specifications. The handset that was launched in China in July is powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, features a 50-megapixel triple rear camera setup, and sports a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1,200 nits of peak brightness.