Hands-on review: IFA 2016: Nubia Z11

This is a flash hands on review to give you the chance to see what the phone is all about as soon as possible. Stay tuned as we'll be expanding and upgrading this review very shortly with more info.

The Nubia Z11 is a flagship smartphone gunning for your DSLR camera, with bold claims about its photography abilities.

Announced at IFA 2016 in Berlin, the Z11 focuses on design and photography, while also managing to offer a hearty spec sheet to ensure it keeps pace with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, LG G5 and HTC 10.

The Nubia Z11 will be available in a number of countries including the UK and US from September, with the standard edition (with 4GB of RAM) costing €499 (around £420, $550, AU$740). There is a special model though - the Black Gold Edition – with an almighty 6GB of RAM and a price tag of €599 (around £510, $660, AU$890).

Why anyone needs 6GB of RAM in their phone in 2016 is unclear, but it's not the only manufacturer to roll out the RAM with the OnePlus 3 also boasting the same amount, but at a lower cost.

Both models feature a 5.5-inch full HD display, Snapdragon 820 processor, 64GB of internal storage, microSD card slot, 16MP rear camera, 8MP front snapper, 3000mAh battery and Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow which has been coated in the firm's own Nubia UI4.0 interface.

The standard model is available in both silver and grey, while the Black Gold Edition is… well… black with gold trim.

We much prefer the Black Gold finish, which oozes premium appeal, while the silver standard model just looks like any other Chinese Android phone. Build quality is excellent throughout, with the full metal body feeling good in the hand.

The Z11 features zero bezels down either side of the display, making this large phone easier to hold one handed while also looking pretty cool.

Round the back, a rear facing fingerprint scanner falls nicely under forefinger for fast unlocking - although we still prefer a front mounted reader as it allows you to unlock when your phone is sitting on a desk. With a rear scanner you have to pick the phone up.

It's a minor compliant, but one which is more annoying here as the Z11 features navigations buttons below the display. A circular home touch key is flanked by two customizable navigation buttons – which stock functions are back and multi-tasking.