At this year's MWC 2026, ZTE and its subsidiary brand nubia, which focuses on a youthful and customized style, presented a highly talked-about product lineup. In addition to showcasing products developed in collaboration with ByteDance's "Doubao" (a mobile payment platform), they also showcased a range of products.nubia M153, the first AI-native smartphone, is now available in a technical preview version.Nubia also surprised everyone by unveiling "iMoochi," a physical AI pet focused on emotional companionship. At the same time, nubia officially revealed the Neo 5 series, targeting the affordable gaming market. The Neo 5 GT, in particular, is the only gaming machine in its class to feature a built-in physical active cooling fan and a completely flat back cover design.
nubia M153: An AI-native phone powered by "Doubao"
The nubia M153 technical preview version, which made its overseas debut this time, is the product of in-depth cooperation between ZTE and "Doubao", an AI assistant under ByteDance.
The biggest highlight of this phone lies in its breakthrough of traditional "App-level" AI applications, deeply integrating "Doubao Phone Assistant" at the system level. ZTE emphasizes that this represents a paradigm shift from "humans operating the phone" to "AI helping you operate the phone."
Users can simply issue complex cross-app commands via voice (e.g., "Find me the highest-rated Italian restaurant nearby, compare prices on several booking platforms, make a reservation, and plan the route there"), and the phone can automatically invoke multiple apps to complete the task, much like having "autopilot" capabilities. In terms of hardware, the nubia M153 is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and 16GB of memory, providing a solid foundation for massive AI computing.
iMoochi: A physical AI-powered emotional companion pet
In addition to the cold, hard 3C products, ZTE also presented a "new AI species" called iMoochi.
This is a fluffy, physical AI pet focused on emotional companionship. It abandons stiff, mechanical voice dialogue and instead interacts with users using its own cute voice and unique "iMoochi language." Through its built-in touch sensor, iMoochi will respond with head shaking, tail wagging, and vocalizations when users pet or pat it.
Even more interestingly, through AI algorithms, iMoochi also possesses the characteristics of a "life form." As time goes on, it develops a unique personality and emotions, and may even yawn, feel hungry, or want to play. ZTE states that this product is designed for urban young people living alone or those who cannot keep real pets. Currently, there are five different personalities to choose from, and a companionship diary can be kept through a dedicated app.
nubia Neo 5 GT: The only affordable gaming PC in its class with a built-in physical fan.
In the e-sports field, nubia officially launched the nubia Neo 5 series to the global market, including the nubia Neo 5, nubia Neo 5 GT, and the nubia Neo 5 Max with a 7.5-inch large screen.
Among them, the most talked-about is the nubia Neo 5 GT. To completely solve the overheating and throttling problem that gamers hate the most, the nubia Neo 5 GT directly packs a "real active cooling fan" into its price range of less than 400 euros. With a heat dissipation area of up to 29508mm² and a dedicated through-flow airflow design, it can guide cool air directly to the CPU and battery.
Besides the powerful heat dissipation of nubia, the Neo 5 GT's design is also completely geared towards gamers, adopting a rare "fully flat back cover" design in its class, completely eliminating the obtrusive camera module and providing an excellent feel when holding it horizontally. In terms of hardware, it features a MediaTek Dimensity 7400 processor, a 1.5K AMOLED screen supporting a 144Hz refresh rate, physical gaming shoulder buttons (Neo Triggers 5.0), and a massive 6210mAh battery (supporting bypass charging). On the software side, it includes "AI Copilot Demi 2.0," which provides real-time battle analysis and automatic message replies during gameplay.
Listing Information
The nubia Neo 5 series is expected to launch first in Southeast Asia in March, followed by a global rollout. The nubia Neo 5 has a suggested retail price starting at €299 (approximately NT$10200), while the nubia Neo 5 GT has a suggested retail price starting at €399 (approximately NT$13700).
