ZTE looks ready to double down on foldables again. After shipping the nubia Flip2 globally earlier this year, the company is now preparing a two-pronged follow-up: a refreshed clamshell called nubia Flip3 and a long-rumoured book-style device that leaks identify as nubia Fold. 
A fresh batch of renders gives us the clearest look yet at how both phones might be positioned in ZTE’s line-up and in the increasingly crowded foldable market.
nubia Flip3: bigger cover screen, cleaner hardware
On the Flip3 side, the most striking change is the outer display. Instead of the smaller cover panel of the Flip2, the new model appears to adopt an almost edge-to-edge screen that wraps across most of the top half of the shell. It should allow richer widgets, full-screen notifications and camera previews without needing to open the phone, which is crucial for users who live on messaging apps and social media.
The camera island shows two lenses with noticeably different ring sizes, accompanied by an extra circular element below them. Some fans initially assumed these dots were pogo pins for accessories, but the placement and finish look closer to an LED flash assembly than to a connector strip. Either way, ZTE is clearly leaning into a bold, symmetrical design. The renders also suggest at least black and white colourways, a side-mounted power key with an integrated fingerprint reader, volume buttons above it and a hinge that looks narrower and cleaner than on the Flip2.
If ZTE follows its usual playbook, the Flip3 should remain a style-driven, relatively accessible entry point into foldables rather than a no-compromise flagship. At the same time, there is already chatter that the hardware under the hood could be more ambitious than its predecessor, potentially pairing a modern mid-range chipset with a refined cooling system and tuned cameras that can compete with other compact clamshells.
nubia Fold: ZTE’s long-awaited book-style debut
The bigger story, though, is nubia Fold. According to the leaked images, this will be ZTE’s first commercially released book-style foldable, with a tall inner display that folds inwards and a prominent rectangular rear camera block. That module appears to house three sensors plus an LED flash, hinting at a main, ultra-wide and possibly a 2x or 3x telephoto lens. Commenters are already hoping ZTE partners that setup with something like MediaTek’s Dimensity 7400 platform to keep performance strong while avoiding ultra-premium pricing.
Veteran fans will remember that this is not ZTE’s first attempt at a large foldable. A device widely referred to as the Z60 Fold was in development a few years ago before quietly being cancelled. This history makes the nubia Fold leaks especially interesting: they suggest ZTE believes the foldable ecosystem and its own software are finally mature enough for a proper debut.
Design drama and what comes next
Not everyone is convinced the designs are entirely original. Some viewers point out that the Flip3 looks uncannily similar to Honor’s Magic V Flip in silhouette and camera layout, fuelling speculation that ZTE may be reusing an existing design language or even repurposing hardware. That kind of cross-pollination is not unusual in the smartphone world, but we will need official confirmation and a proper spec sheet to see how closely the final devices line up.
For now, ZTE remains silent on both nubia Flip3 and nubia Fold, but the polish of these renders suggests that an announcement cannot be too far away. With one clamshell and one book-style device seemingly ready, nubia could be positioning itself as a serious alternative to Samsung, Honor and Motorola in the next wave of foldable launches.