ZTE's new U.S.-bound phone is a teaser for the iPhone 18

China's ZTE's got a new flagship phone, the ZTE Nubia Z70S Ultra, and it's coming to the U.S. So what does that have to do with the iPhone 18? Hear me out.

ZTE's phones don't always reach U.S. shores, which is a pity as the company has been producing excellent smartphones for more than a decade. The new ZTE Nubia Z70S Ultra is a good example of that: It's an absolute powerhouse of a phone, with a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip inside, 12 or 16GB of memory, a triple, 50/64/50-megapixel camera sensor on the back, and a monster, 6,600mAh battery.

The phone has a 50-megapixel wide camera, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera that doubles as a macro camera, and a 64-megapixel telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom. Credit: ZTE

And, according to Android Police, the Nubia Z70S Ultra will be available in the U.S., as well as Europe and other global markets.

From the back, the phone looks like a compact camera, and ZTE sells a Retro kit that actually makes it look just like a camera, with additional physical controls for photographers.

Less is more. Credit: ZTE

But the Nubia Z70S Ultra's biggest highlight is its display. It's a 6.85-inch AMOLED display with a 2,688 x 1,216 pixel resolution, a 144Hz refresh rate, and no camera cutout of any kind. That's right, the display is just an uninterrupted rectangle, with no notches, islands, punch-holes, or anything else that gets in the way of viewing. Add to that the super-slim bezels surrounding the display, and you get a phone that finally offers a zero-distraction display.

The optional retro kit really turns the phone into a compact camera. Credit: ZTE

The 16-megapixel selfie camera is there, of course, but it's hidden beneath the display — a technology that's been around for a while but somehow never reached the mainstream. Now, we've heard word that Apple is working on an under-display Face ID system for its iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max phones, paving the way for an iPhone with a fully uninterrupted display. So, if you want to see what that's like, checking out ZTE's new Nubia phone is probably your best bet.

The ZTE Nubia Z70S Ultra is actually cheaper than the iPhone, too: It starts at $780 (€770 in Europe), and there's a $40/€40 discount if you pre-order it by May 28, which you can do here.