Nubia's Bold Foldable Ambitions: First Images of Unique Fold and Flip 3 Designs Emerge

Nubia's Bold Leap into Foldables: First Glimpses of Fold and Flip 3 Unveiled

Nubia is setting its sights on a more significant slice of the burgeoning foldable smartphone market. Renowned insider Evan Blass has given us our first tantalizing look at two upcoming devices: the company's inaugural book-style foldable and the next iteration of its compact clamshell. Until now, Nubia's foldable journey has been limited to flip-style devices, with two generations already released. However, it appears the brand is now ready to tackle both key market niches, directly challenging established players like Samsung's Galaxy Fold series.

The Futuristic Nubia Fold: A New Chapter in Design

The upcoming Nubia Fold marks a significant debut, showcasing a full-fledged book-like foldable form factor. Internally, a generously sized display is promised, complemented by sleek, uniform bezels. The rear of the device is dominated by a striking and notably large camera module, occupying nearly a third of the back panel. Within this prominent housing, we can discern three circular cutouts for the lenses, an encircling ring light, an elongated LED flash, and the brand's distinctive lettering positioned to the right. This camera array protrudes substantially, positioning it as one of the most pronounced on any foldable to date. A curious detail hints at a potential marketing flourish: one of the circular cutouts might be purely decorative, a design choice Nubia has employed previously, for instance, in the RedMagic 11 Pro+. Blass also shared schematics, revealing a selfie camera discreetly placed in a central cutout on the external screen, while the internal display features its selfie camera in the upper right corner. These diagrams further illuminate the placement of speakers, microphones, the SIM card tray, and the essential USB-C port.

Nubia Flip 3: Reinventing the Clamshell Experience

The second device teased is the Nubia Flip 3, a testament to the company's commitment to radically evolving its clamshell design with each generation. While the first Flip model sported a circular external screen and its successor featured a tall, rectangular display, the latest renders reveal an external screen that spans the entire width of the device, artfully wrapping around a dual-camera module. This aesthetic bears a visual resemblance to the Xiaomi Mix Flip 2, though Nubia's implementation features one camera cutout noticeably smaller than the other. Intriguingly, the dual LED flash has been repositioned to the lower section of the rear panel, separate from the cameras. This design choice, reminiscent of Honor's Magic V Flip 2, might appear unconventional and perhaps slightly less practical to some, but it ingeniously liberates more real estate for the expansive external display.

Looking Ahead: Specs, Pricing, and Release Window

Specific details regarding the technical specifications and pricing for both the Nubia Fold and Flip 3 remain under wraps. The release timeline is also somewhat ambiguous, with Nubia potentially unveiling these new foldable contenders in late 2025 or possibly deferring the premiere to early 2026. Considering that previous Flip models launched in February 2024 and January 2025, the company is clearly adhering to a dynamic release cadence. Regardless of the exact timing, this leak strongly signals Nubia's intent to make a substantial impact across both the book-style and flip foldable segments.