This phone has two fingerprint scanners, and you can (or can't) guess why

Most Android phones have a fingerprint scanner for easy and secure biometric authentication. However, Nubia is stepping things up with its newly launched NaviX Ultra, which packs two fingerprint scanners.

The NaviX Ultra is billed as the world’s first AI-powered phone, which is an interesting claim when companies like Samsung have made similar claims before. Nevertheless, the Nubia phone also stands out because it has two fingerprint scanners.

The first scanner is a conventional Goodix ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor. This is used for everyday apps, wireless payments, and unlocking the device in general. However, the phone also has a fingerprint scanner embedded in its side AI button. Goodix and Nubia say this allows users to be verified as soon as an AI chat is started. It also means you don’t have to tap the in-display fingerprint scanner first and then press the AI button. So it does theoretically make for a more seamless experience.

This wouldn’t be the first phone with two fingerprint scanners, though. I remember using the Porsche Design HUAWEI Mate RS back in 2018, which featured a rear scanner and an in-display fingerprint sensor. However, I’m guessing that this was simply because in-display scanners were pretty crappy back in 2018.

Nubia’s phone also brings a slew of AI features to justify the “AI phone” marketing. This includes ByteDance’s Seed AI model, multimodal AI smarts, voice wakeup, support for continuous dialog without repeatedly invoking the wake word, support for writing code, and third-party app integration.

The NaviX Ultra isn’t a one-trick pony, though, as it brings flagship core specs. There’s a 6.78-inch 144Hz OLED screen (2,800 x 1,260), a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, a 7,100mAh battery, 90W wired charging, and 50W wireless charging. Nubia’s phone also has a 200MP main camera (1/1.4-inch), a 64MP 3x periscope shooter, and a 50MP ultrawide camera.

The Nubia NaviX Ultra is available in China at a recommended starting price of 5,999 yuan (~$894) for the 12GB/512GB model. There’s no word on a global release, but I’d expect a very different set of AI features if the phone ever leaves China.