As I tilted the phone back and forth, admiring the iridescent artwork — a vivid electric blue with a billow of gold inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night — I was thrilled by the audacity of the design. I wasn’t looking at the screen but at the phone’s rear panel. And no, it wasn’t a case.
You’ve probably never heard of the Nubia Z80 Ultra. This high-spec Android phone is among several devices from the Chinese company ZTE sporting a unique look, unlike anything else on the market.
I got my hands on it this month at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. It was just one of many phones that made me, for the first time in a long time, feel excited about this new wave of design.
To find these phones, you have to look beyond Apple and Samsung, the two brands that dominate…