ZTE nubia A57 and A77 Launched in Nepal: Budget Phones With Not-So-Budget Prices

Last year’s nubia A36 and the nubia A56 were not the best budget smartphones out there, but they were definitely some of the cheaper ones. For 2026, ZTE’s entry-level offerings are the new nubia A57 and the nubia A77.

The nubia A57 comes in as a successor to the nubia A56, while the A77 is a successor to the A76, which sadly did not enter Nepal last year. And it looks like we are not getting the nubia A37 as of yet, which is a bummer, cause last year, with the A36’s EMI, you could basically have had the phone in your hand for less than Rs. 5,000.

So what about the A57 and A77? Well, let’s see.

The nubia A57 and A77 are pretty rare phones. Even GSMArena does not have any mention of these phones as of yet. It turns out that before launching in Nepal, they were only available in select African countries. So Nepal is one of the first countries to debut the nubia A57 and A77.

Which makes me wonder why the nubia A57 and A77 have had so little presence globally before landing here. It’s unusual for ZTE to skip its bigger markets and bring a phone to Nepal first, and it makes me a bit cautious about how well-tested these devices actually are before hitting local shelves.

That said, ZTE has been consistent in Nepal over the past year, and the brand does have a decent enough after-sales presence here. So even if the global rollout looks a bit unusual, local buyers shouldn’t have too much trouble with support or servicing. With that context out of the way, let’s get into what these phones actually offer.

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ZTE nubia A57 and A77 Overview

As with most entry-level smartphones, the nubia A57 and the nubia A77 look largely identical to this year’s flagship devices from Apple and Samsung. The A57 has that iconic iPhone 17 Pro series design, with a triangular camera cutout on a rectangular plateau, while the A77 features a pill-shaped camera module housing three camera cutouts.

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While the design may feel like a copy, it does make the phones look a bit cleaner and premium, which is always a plus, considering that both phones run a plastic back on a flat plastic frame. And what I also liked is that both phones have IP64 water and dust protection. Now, it’s not the best, but considering that any IP rating was missing on their predecessors, this is another plus point.

Flipping the phones over, you’ll see something pretty common on entry-level devices, and that’s HD+ resolution paired with a big screen, 6.75 inches to be exact. As for brightness, the screen reaches up to 740 nits in HBM mode, which, according to ZTE, is sunlight readable. While this may be enough outdoors, viewing the screen under direct sunlight could still be a bit of a struggle.

ZTE claims that it is an Ultrasmooth Display measuring 120Hz. However, it will likely stick at 60Hz on most apps and reach 120Hz only on built-in programs like Settings and the home screen.

That’s because both phones boot using the UNISOC T7250 chipset. While it is a capable chipset for your average day-to-day use, and popular phones like the Redmi A7 also use the same chip, 120Hz is a bit out of reach for this processor. So better keep your expectations in check when it comes to smoothness.

Paired with the UNISOC SoC, both phones get 4GB of RAM. For storage, the A57 comes in two variants, 64GB or 128GB, while the A77 only ships with 128GB storage.

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The camera is where the two phones feel different. The nubia A57, the cheaper of the two, comes with just a 13MP main camera and an 8MP selfie shooter. The nubia A77, on the other hand, features a 50MP main sensor on the rear, along with the same 8MP shooter for selfies.

In the promotional pictures, ZTE has listed that both the nubia A57 and A77 can take Super Night Shots. But given that they haven’t mentioned any specific camera specs apart from the megapixel count, I wouldn’t count on it taking good night shots.

Both phones also share the same battery size of 5,000mAh. For a phone costing north of Rs. 20,000, I could live with an entry-level chip, and even the display, but more than anything, endurance matters the most in an entry-level smartphone. So a 5,000mAh battery here really feels lacking, especially when you consider rivals like the Motorola Moto G06 Power and the Redmi A7 Pro, both of which offer 6,000mAh or more.

But I guess there’s some good news, as the charging is at least decent, supporting 22.5W, and there’s even bypass charging.

Both phones also boot on Android 16 out of the box. And being an entry-level smartphone, it also means the phones will likely be just as bloatware-prone as every other ZTE phone we’ve recently reviewed.

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At this price, the nubia A57 and A77 just don’t make a strong enough case for themselves. Other UNISOC T7250 phones like the Redmi A7 Pro and Moto G06 Power already offer bigger batteries at a lower cost, so the endurance gap here is hard to ignore.

And the Samsung Galaxy A07 also sits in a similar price range while offering noticeably better performance and overall value.

So unless you’re specifically drawn to the design, there isn’t much reason to pick the A57 or A77 over the competition right now.

What are your thoughts on the ZTE nubia A57 and A77? Let us know in the comments below!