We met her at the last Mobile World Congress 2023 but we have finally been able to spend a few weeks with her ZTE Nubia Pad 3Da new concept of Tablet that is committed to 3D technology on its screen, but without the need for glasses and, furthermore, universally, since it can transform any video into a three-dimensional multimedia experience.
With the collaboration of Leia Labs, the Asian brand has launched a product that, at least, is special because it is true that monotony has established itself in the world of tablets that repeat the same standards over and over again.
How do you get 3D on a screen without glasses?
In the case of ZTE, an additional layer has been added to the screen – it is as if, in reality, there were two panels for the same screen – which allows create a 3D effect in any video, both locally and online. Yes, anyone, and all thanks to the Leia applications that allow us to launch a YouTube video and see how it magically acquires depth. If you’ve had a Nintendo 3DS at some point, the feeling is the same, like suddenly creating a space behind the screen that you can almost touch.
The technology has been dubbed DLB or Dynamic Lightfield Backlight. As ZTE itself explains, for the most technically curious. On a “normal” LCD screen there is a backlight system that emits light perpendicular to where pixels and sub-pixels light up to create colors and images. What the DLB does is that it can project this light in different directions, which means that depending on where we look on the screen, the image is different. Basically, without us noticing, creates the effect of depth displaying a different image for each eye without us noticing.
In addition, ZTE has provided this Nubia Pad 3D with a user’s face tracking system to adjust this effect when we are in the correct position and we can say that it does its job very well because as soon as we tilt the screen or move our head , we quickly return to a 2D image. On the other hand, whenever you want you can disable the effect 3D if, for whatever reason, at that moment we don’t want to enjoy it.
To achieve this effect, it has also had to provide the Tablet with a wide 12.4-inch screen and exceptional resolution, 2500×1600 px and 120 HZ refresh rate. Why? Well, because the resulting 3D image will be exactly half of each of these factors, it already has to keep two equal on the screen at 60Hz. It’s not an OLED screen, but it hits 450 nits in 2D mode and 300 nits in 3D.
What does it feel like to use such a special Tablet?
The truth is that the first thing you feel is the weight. It is not a light tablet at all since it reaches 780 grams of weight and it shows. A cover is needed, and a lot, that could also make support to leave it on a table, but, the problem with that is that our face would be too far away since the 3D effect will not work if we have the Tablet further than our arms can reach. On the other hand, we have a space to move 40 degrees in front of the screen, outside of that arc the effect is also lost and the Tablet automatically goes into 2D mode.
Having made this comment, the truth is that the power go to 3d any video on the internet. And when we say that anyone is anyone, since there is the possibility of launching a url from any service to the Leia Player app. In this case, as we have already mentioned, the sensation is of a “frame with depth”. It is not that the elements leave the screen but rather the contrary.
But if we have a native 3D movie or the images that we have been able to see with the LEIA Pix app, things change because it is the opposite. There it is noticeable as if the volume of the figures came out of the screen.
What can be highlighted is that in the transition from 2D to 3D The drop in resolution and brightness is noticeable, on the other hand, logical since we are talking about two very different things to process.
Case apart are the games, perhaps the most interesting element among what we have tried. It is clear that a film or a video it is something more passivebut we are not in a world as “3D” as that of games.
It is true that the offer for the Nubia Pad 3D is somewhat limited, but those of us who have had the chance to play Yes, the effect seemed great to us because, on some occasions, by moving your head you can look behind a corner, something that is impossible with another type of product. It is an experience that we found very stimulating.
A 3D ecosystem
Actually, the ZTE Nubia Pad is a new name given to Leia’s Lume Pad 2, which is responsible for all this technology. And it is also the one that offers the entire software pack that allows us to take advantage of a Tablet that, on the other hand, It has a price of 1,299 euros – so it better be so -.
We have a Leia AppStore as a store for applications and games that, for the moment, is somewhat limited in content, Leia Cam for taking 3D photos and videos – since the Tablet comes equipped with a double 3D 16 MP f/1.85 camera for this purpose on the back and -, Leia Player, Leia Dream that allows the generation of 3D images by AILeia Frame that turns it into a digital frame for 3D photos, Leia Tube, a player that collects 3D content from different online services, or Leia Viewer that allows you to view 3D objects.
Obviously, we cannot show the result of the Tablet’s camera since its greatest virtue is that of c3D imaging because in 2D it behaves somewhat less efficiently.
Final considerations and conclusion
It is a Tablet that needs a large battery, and it has it, more than 9,000 mAh and with the possibility of accepting fast charging at 33W. But at least in the test unit that we have received, the charger did not come. It was also a practically final version model before production, we assume that the one that will hit the stores will not lack that detail that, on the other hand, costs 19.99 euros separately, like the 49.90 euro cover that it is more than recommended.
By way of conclusion we can say that the experience with the ZTE Nubia Pad 3D has been, to say the least, original. Having a 3D screen and, in addition, being compatible with any content to enjoy this “depth” we have been surprised and pleased in equal parts. In addition, for any professional who is dedicated to design, it is a powerful tool, perhaps not for work since it is not designed for that, but to show and leave the audience speechless in any meeting in which a project is shown in a way so original.
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