Introduction – nubia Neo 3 5G
The Neo 3 family from Nubia made its way onto the PH market earlier last quarter, and among the lineup, the nubia Neo 3 5G sits right in the middle, priced a hair below PHP 10,000 but marketed heavily as a gaming-first device. Sporting a Unisoc T8300 SoC, 8GB of RAM, and a hefty 6,000mAh battery, this supports the phone’s focus on long hours of mobile gaming for a decent price of entry, alongside some gamer-centric touches like dual shoulder triggers and a glowing rear light module. In this review I share with you my personal experience and review of the nubia Neo 3 5G, focusing on gaming and usability. Read on!
Design – A Loud, Acquired Taste
nubia leans heavily on gamer aesthetics, and the Neo 3 5G is no exception. The model we had came in a bright yellow finish with busy, mecha-inspired lines across the glossy glass back. It’s the kind of design that either grows on you—or doesn’t. Personally, I found it too loud at first, but I can see its appeal to those who want their phone to stand out, especially in the budget segment.
The glossy finish is a fingerprint magnet, though nubia does include a rear protector with corner bumpers in the box, along with a screen protector. These freebies are worth using not only for grip but also to preserve the back glass, which can feel slick.
Adding to the personality is a light-up rear module—something rarely seen at this price point. It isn’t just cosmetic: the light glows red in gaming performance mode, green when fully charged, and can even sync with music or notifications. Thankfully, you can toggle these effects individually in Settings.
Display and Multimedia – 120Hz in Name, 60Hz in Practice
The Neo 3 5G boasts a 6.8-inch FHD LCD with a 120Hz refresh rate. On paper, that should be great for smooth scrolling and gaming, but in practice, the poor pixel response hampers the experience. Instead of fluid motion, swiping around feels like the screen is dragging behind your finger. For everyday use, I highly recommend locking it to 60Hz—this solves the choppiness and makes daily navigation less frustrating.
That said, for video consumption the panel does redeem itself. Colors are crisp, brightness is sufficient for outdoor use, and paired with the phone’s speaker, it’s good enough for casual binge-watching. Just note that it only has a single bottom-firing speaker and no 3.5mm headphone jack, so wireless audio is the way to go here.
Gaming – Optimized for the Right Titles
Gaming is nubia’s bread and butter, and the Neo 3 5G is clearly tuned for titles like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Honor of Kings, and Roblox. These run flawlessly regardless of graphics settings, making the phone a reliable option for the mobile esports crowd or younger players who gravitate to Roblox.
More demanding games expose its limits. Genshin Impact runs only at the lowest settings, and even then, expect frame drops in busier scenes. Still, compared to other budget phones, it manages to stay playable without overheating.
The inclusion of shoulder triggers is a nice touch, giving you extra input options for shooters or MOBAs. nubia’s GameSpace software, while clunky in naming (“Rise” mode for performance boost), provides useful toggles like disabling notifications during play, customizing trigger functions, and controlling the rear lighting.
Camera – Serviceable for Social Media
The Neo 3 5G has a 50MP + 2MP rear setup and a 16MP selfie camera. Photos are decent for daytime and indoor shots, with colors that are good enough for posting to Instagram or Facebook. Night shots lean heavily on processing, so expect oversaturation and some softness when cropping.
Portrait mode is hit-or-miss, with background separation not on par with pricier phones. Selfies are fine for casual use, though the built-in AI beautification tends to overdo smoothing. In short: this isn’t a photographer’s phone, but if your priority is social media-ready snaps, it will suffice.
Software and Daily Use
The Neo 3 5G runs Android 15 with MyOS 15. Bloatware is present but less aggressive than some competitors—annoying notifications are kept to a minimum. Performance in general apps is reliable: social media, messaging, and light productivity are handled smoothly, though heavy multitasking does push the Unisoc chip.
Battery life is excellent thanks to the 6,000mAh pack. Light users can stretch it to a day and a half, while heavy gamers will still get a full day. The 33W fast charger tops it up in about an hour. The Bypass Charging feature is particularly noteworthy—it allows the phone to draw power directly from the charger during long gaming sessions, keeping thermals in check and prolonging battery health.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion – A Phone for Gamers First, Everything Else Later
The nubia Neo 3 5G is unapologetically a budget gaming phone. It doesn’t try to be the best all-rounder in its price bracket, but it nails the basics where its target audience matters:
- Excellent performance in MLBB, Honor of Kings, and Roblox
- Shoulder triggers and GameSpace features for a competitive edge
- A big battery with bypass charging for extended play sessions
Daily use is compromised by the underwhelming 120Hz panel, and the cameras, while serviceable, won’t satisfy pixel peepers. But at PHP 9,999 MSRP, it’s hard to complain. This is a phone that sells itself as price first, gaming second, personality third—and everything else comes after. Its an easy recommendation if you just need a gaming phone for some of the popular non-PC port games on Android right now and the 5G connectivity gives your some advantage in terms of actual phone usage.
The nubia Neo 3 5G as well as the Neo family of phones, are available now from your favorite online platforms:
