We’ve been hearing about stuff like an Apple Car or a Tesla Phone every now and then. Similarly, there were rumours that the Chinese automobile manufacturer, NIO, was working on a phone as well. And now, it’s here! So we will discuss the all-new NIO phone in detail, including its features, specifications, expected price in Nepal, and more in this article.
NIO Phone Overview:
Design and Display
The NIO Phone is a very premium-looking device with “the same colour inspiration as NIO models”. It has a dual-texture finish at the back, with its camera island that extends the entire width of the phone having a smooth finish. Whereas the rest of the phone has a leather finish. There is also a special “EXPedition” of the NIO Phone available in classic texture design.
Meanwhile, the device boasts an IP68 rating and proudly places the company logo right at the centre of the back. It is available in numerous colours like Edelweiss White, Yuan Shandai (Black), Star Green, Mirror Empty Powder (Pink), Stratospheric Blue, and Star Grey. The EXPedition is also available in Gold colour.
On the front, it houses a massive 6.81-inch curved OLED screen with a centre-aligned hole-punch camera cutout. Additionally, it is an HDR10+ display with a 2K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate with LTPO technology. Similarly, this screen is also capable of hitting up to 1,800 nits of peak brightness, while housing a large area ultrasonic fingerprint sensor under it.
Performance
The NIO phone is “premium-looking” in terms of performance as well. It comes with the Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. The base version of the phone, named the “Performance Edition”, houses 12GB RAM and 512GB storage — with the “Signature Edition” taking it up a notch to 1TB storage. Whereas, the EXPedition gets even wilder with a 16GB + 1TB combo.
On the software side, the NIO Phone runs on a custom “SkyUI” skin on top of Android (most likely Android 13). The phone also offers a seamless integration with NIO cars, as expected. It’s got UWB technology, with which certain models of NIO cars automatically unlock whenever you approach it. Without the need for the car key.
You can also unlock your car with the phone’s NFC sensor even when it’s turned off. Furthermore, the NIO Phone can also function as a secondary screen and control for the car. Meanwhile, it also allows the car to function as a gaming station, calling device, and so on.
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Camera
As for the cameras, there are three of them at the back alongside an equally big flashlight in a square alignment. The flashlight is ring-shaped, whereas, all three cameras are 50MP Sony sensors.
The primary camera uses a Sony IMX707 sensor with OIS, while the NIO Phone’s got an IMX766 sensor for ultrawide shots. Similarly, the periscope telephone camera gets an IMX890 sensor, also with OIS capabilities. The front camera sits behind a hole-punch cutout in the centre, details of which have not been specified by the company.
Battery and the rest
Powering this phone is a massive 5,200mAh battery. It supports 66W wired and 50W wireless charging. Which is what NIO’s wireless car charger manages as well. The phone also has reverse charging capabilities.
NIO Phone Specifications:
- Design and Build: Smooth textured camera island, leather finish on the rest of the back
- Display: 6.81-inch 2K curved OLED Panel, LTPO, 120 Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, 1800 nits peak brightness
- Chipset: Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 5G (4nm)
- Memory: 12/16GB RAM, Up to 1TB storage
- OS & UI: SkyUI on to of Android
- Rear Camera: Triple (with LED flash)
– Primary: 50MP IMX707 sensor, OIS
– Ultrawide: 50MP IMX766 sensor, 110° field of view
– Periscope Telephoto: 50MP IMX890 sensor, 2.8x optical zoom, OIS - Front Camera: Centre-aligned hole-punch cutout
- Security: Ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor
- Battery: 5,200mAh with 66W wired and 50W wireless charging
- Connectivity: Dual SIM dual standby, 5G, WiFi, Bluetooth, USB Type-C
- Colour Options: Edelweiss White, Yuan Shandai (Black), Star Green, Mirror Empty Powder (Pink), Stratospheric Blue, Star Grey, Gold (EXPedition)
NIO Phone Price in Nepal and Availability
As for now, the NIO Phone is exclusive to China, with prices starting at CNY 6,499 for the Performance Edition with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage. While it’s incredibly unlikely that this phone officially arrive in Nepal, we expect the NIO Phone price in Nepal to start at NPR 148,600 if and when it does.
| NIO Phone | Price in China (Official) | Price in Nepal (Expected) |
| Performance Edition (12/512GB) | CNY 6,499 | NPR 148,600 |
| Signature Edition (12/1TB) | CNY 6,899 | NPR 157,800 |
| EXPedition (16GB/ 1TB) | CNY 7,499 | NPR 171,500 |
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