Nubia M2 Lite Review: The Prefect Mid-Range Phone... Almost

The Nubia M2 Lite is more than just a selfie phone.

The Nubia M2 Lite comes with a 16-megapixel front camera. (Photo: The Quint) 

If someone buying a phone online comes across a brand like Nubia, they’d instantaneously go into inquisitive mode.

“Nubia!!! yeh kaunsi chidiya ka naam hai bhai? Is it related to Nokia? Is it even trustworthy?”

Just to be clear, Nubia has been in the international market since 2012 and in India it’s had decent amount of success with phones like Z11, N1 and even Z11 mini.
Their latest offering in India, the M2 Lite, is being touted as the next big thing in selfie phones under the 15k bracket. Really? Let’s take a look.

Pros:

• Good selfie camera
• Multi-window feature
• Snappy interface
• Expandable memory

Cons:

• Slippery back
• Average battery life
• Fingerprint-sensor response slow

What’s Good?

The design of the phone is something that catches the eye in a flash. Beautiful golden accents around the edges and a matte black finish at the back really makes the phone a beauty.

But hang on! Just because it looks good doesn’t mean it’s comfortable to hold. The smooth finish at the back makes the phone a bar of soap in the hand.

The 5.5-inch HD display under curved glass at the front also adds to the beauty of the device.

The Nubia M2 Lite comes with 5.5-inch HD display.(Photo: The Quint)

Performance was never a problem for me. The Nubia UI is very clean with minimal bloatware. Apart from the bundle of extra features like edge-gestures and super screenshot, the one that steals the limelight is the multi-window feature.

Multi-window feature always comes in handy.(Photo: The Quint)

The phone runs on an octa-core Mediatek MT6580 processor coupled with 4GB RAM. I loaded the phone with as many apps as a daily user would need and the phone seems to perform well with all background apps running. Apart from the 32GB of storage, there is also an option to expand. Good addition!

The phone sports a non-removable back. (Photo: The Quint)

Camera quality of the phone is good. The 13-megapixel rear camera delivers decent shots. Be it low light or outdoors, it performs well. The 16-megapixel selfie camera is fantastic! It has a lot of filters and additional modes to play with and the picture quality is really good.

The phone comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera. (Photo: The Quint)

A 16-megapixel front camera is the highlight of the Nubia M2 Lite. (Photo: The Quint)

Image in normal mode under artificial light. (Photo: The Quint)

Image captured indoors. (Photo: The Quint)

Image outdoors under direct sunlight. (Photo: The Quint)

Selfie taken indoors against natural light.(Photo: TheQuint)

What’s Bad?

When I started using the Nubia M2 Lite I had a lot of expectations from the phone considering my run with the Nubia Z11 mini, but somehow the M2 Lite was just at par with the previous Nubia phones. Nothing new or mind-blowing.

Still USB 2.0 on the M2 Lite. Time to upgrade Nubia. (Photo: The Quint)

There were times when the phone did heat up and slowed down a little while I was playing HD games. The 3,000 mAh battery back-up is just not enough I feel. The phone which was fully charged in the morning came down to just 10% charge at the end of the day with average use.

That’s a considerable drop. The audio output via the speaker grill below is a tad muffled although via headphones it is okay.

Why Buy It?

The Nubia M2 Lite at Rs 13,999 is something worth considering. It’s got the looks and a great camera unit with a bit extra for the selfie lovers. The selfie camera is really good. The hardware is decent and you are getting some interesting and handy features bundled with the phone.

It does have stiff competition in this price segment from the likes of the Redmi Note 4 and the Lenovo Z2 Plus but the Nubia M2 Lite comes with enough features in its bag to hold its own. I feel it’s perfect for a buyer who is looking for that X-factor in terms of looks and a good camera .