The nubia V80 Design is an AI-powered budget smartphone priced at PHP 5,799 to PHP 6,499 that combines smart features with a 6.75-inch 120Hz display. nubia continues to prove that budget smartphones don’t have to be boring. After making waves with their music-centric devices, they’re now offering the V80 Design, a smartphone that packs AI features and a surprisingly premium look at under PHP 7,000. The best part? It comes with enough specs to handle your daily tasks without breaking the bank.
Design and Build Quality
The nubia V80 Design features a 6.75-inch display in a lightweight plastic build. The design is pretty straightforward from the front with its flat sides and curved corners, but flip it over and you’ll notice the camera module borrowing some serious inspiration from the iPhone 17 Pro Max. It’s not the most original look, but it works well enough for the price point. If you have smaller hands, you might find it a bit challenging to use one-handed.
Display: 120Hz FHD+ Screen with Live Island
On top of the screen, we have the 16MP punch-hole camera with a Live Island implementation like Apple’s Dynamic Island. It’s a neat software trick that adds some visual flair to an otherwise standard display design.
The screen quality is genuinely nice for the price. The FHD+ resolution delivers decent clarity, colors look natural rather than oversaturated, and viewing angles are solid. The 120Hz refresh rate is a real treat at this price point, making scrolling through social media and navigating the interface feel smooth and responsive. Up to 800 nits of brightness means outdoor visibility shouldn’t be a problem.
Performance: UNISOC T7280 Chipset
Powering the nubia V80 Design is a UNISOC T7280 chipset with a 2.2GHz octa-core CPU. This is a budget chipset manufactured using the 12nm process, featuring two Cortex A75 cores and six Cortex A55 cores paired with a Mali G57 MP1 GPU. Keep in mind, this isn’t built for graphics-heavy games—it’s best suited for ordinary tasks like social media, messaging, and streaming content.
You can still play games, but you might want to lower the graphics settings to achieve smoother performance. Given the large screen and FHD resolution, I enjoy using this to watch my favorite TV series or stream videos on YouTube. And you don’t have to worry about battery life given the 5,000mAh capacity paired with 22.5W fast charging.
The RAM configuration is interesting here. You get either 4GB or 8GB of physical RAM, plus up to 12GB of dynamic RAM, bringing the total to 20GB. This virtual RAM expansion helps with multitasking, though don’t expect miracles—it’s still a budget chipset underneath. The 256GB storage across both variants is generous and should be plenty for apps, photos, and media.
Camera: 50MP Main + 16MP Selfie
For cameras, the nubia V80 Design has a 50MP main sensor and a 2MP depth sensor with AI imaging features. The 16MP selfie camera also gets AI enhancement. Quality is fine in bright light, but details suffer in low light and appear soft. If you’re not into night photography and mainly upload to social media, it should be good enough.
AI Features: Dedicated AI Memory Button and More
On the software side, the nubia V80 Design runs MyOS based on Android 15. But the real story here is the AI features. There’s a dedicated physical button on the left side that triggers AI Memory when pressed. What it does is take a screenshot of your screen then saves it with an AI-generated description. This is genuinely useful for storing ideas or inspirations you encounter online—no more forgotten links or lost content.
Other exclusive AI features include AI-generated wallpapers, Live Translator, AI Transcript, AI Scam Alert, AI Filter, AI Notepad, and AI Input to name a few. These features set the V80 Design apart from typical budget devices and add practical functionality beyond just marketing buzzwords.
Connectivity is solid with dual Nano SIM slots plus a microSD card slot, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, GPS, and USB Type-C. There’s also a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Dual microphones round out the feature set.
Price and Availability: PHP 5,799 for the 4GB+256GB model and PHP 6,499 for the 8GB+256GB variant.
If you’re in the market for an entry-level smartphone that offers more than just the basics, the nubia V80 Design is worth considering. The AI features add genuine value, the display is excellent for the price, and the battery life should easily get you through a full day. Just keep your expectations realistic about gaming performance, and you’ll find this to be a solid budget option with some surprisingly modern features.
Buy the nubia V80 Design here: https://s.shopee.ph/4fp0C2Zgkm
