NUU is not the most famous phone brand, but it has a history of offering affordable smartphones, particularly on the North American market. Its latest phone, the NUU B40 5G, was recently announced, offering users a compelling device with some interesting quirks at a price tag. The NUU B40 5G costs $299.99, but for a limited time, you can get it for only $199.99. Here is what you get at this price point.
The device comes in a slim box full of everything you need to use the smartphone without extra purchases. You get the device itself, a 33W power adapter, a USB-C cable, a SIM removal tool, and a TPU case. I call it "condom-like" cases, and I am not a big fan of them. Still, I am not going to give the B40 5G a hard time for it. It is free, so you have protection right from the get-go, which is important at any price point. Also, finding a case for niche brands could be a challenge. Speaking of protection, the phone comes with a screen protector pre-applied. Big thumbs up.
And here are the specs:
| Dimensions | 162.4 x 73.9 x 8.4 mm |
| Display | 6.7-inch AMOLED FHD+ 2,400 x 1,080 pixels, 1,100 nits peak brightness, 120Hz refresh 1.6-inch Vista Display, AMOLED, 228 x 460 pixels, 600 nits peak brightness |
| Processsor | MediaTek Dimensity 7025 2.5Ghz Octa-core |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Storage | 256GB + microSD |
| Battery | 5,000 mAh with 33W Fast Charge |
| Rear Camera | 64MP "AI Camera" + 2MP Macro Camera |
| Front Camera | 16MP Punch-hole Camera |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n (2.4GHz / 5GHz) Bluetooth 5.2 GPS with A-GPS Support Type-C with Dual SIM Dual Standby |
| Network support | 5G N 2/5/25/41/48/66/71/77 4G B1/2/3/4/5/7/12/13/17/25/26/28/48/66/71 3G B1/2/4/5/8 2G B2/4/5/8 |
| Sensors | In-display Fingerprint ID Accelerometer Ambient Light Gyroscope Magnetometer Proximity Light |
| In the box | Phone |
| Price | $199 with the introductory discount from NUU ($299 regular price) $199 on Amazon ($299 regular price) |
Design and display
Design-wise, the NUU B40 5G is all-around plastic. I like its satin finish on the back. NUU found the right design balance, making the phone look stylish and without kitch. Given that plastic is the primary material, the B40 5G is very light, even in the case.
Another thing that adds to its design is the curved 6.7-inch AMOLED display. The screen is massive, and its "waterfall" design certainly makes it more expensive and elegant. However, we all know why most manufacturers dropped curved displays. While they look nice, ergonomics suffer, and you get a higher chance of damaging the device. A curved display is handy when you read a book, but that"s all.
The screen has a resolution of 2400x1080 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz, which you can switch to 90Hz or 60Hz. There is also an adaptive mode that adjusts the refresh rate depending on what is happening on the screen. I do not have any complaints about the display quality. It is sharp, very vivid (maybe a bit too much for my liking), and bright enough for outdoor use (it peaks at 1,100 nits). I only noticed that the automatic brightness adjustments are way too aggressive. In dim conditions, the phone drops brightness all the way down, and it makes sudden, jerky adjustments. After a few days of use, I simply turned off automatic brightness altogether, hoping this would be fixed in a software update (more on those later).
What I also like is that the screen has even, symmetrical bezels all around, with no notches or chins. At $199, it is a very rare sight that makes the device feel so much more premium and nice to use. A selfie camera is positioned in the top-middle, right where it is supposed to be.
The NUU B40 5G also deserves praise for always-on-display support. You can customize its looks and behavior in settings. Finally, there is lift-to-wake support, another useful convenience. However, I found it a bit too sensitive.
Under the display, you will find an optical fingerprint sensor. There is not that much I can say about it. It is a regular optical sensor that takes some time to scan your fingerprint. I would gladly trade it for a faster side-mounted scanner, but I assume that was not possible, given the phone"s design and its thin chassis with rounded edges.
Secondary Vista Display
The B40 5G has a second display in the camera module, and I will say it right away that I never understood the point of having a second display on the back, especially when the main display supports AOD.
The rear display lets you check time, battery, and your steps, control music, open the camera, view notifications, accept or deny calls, or find your way out of the woods with a compass. It is an interesting thing to fiddle around with at first, but its novelty quickly fades away. I mean, I get the idea, but why do I need to look at a tiny-weeny display if the front display lights up and shows all my incoming notifications just fine? Small displays like Vista Display make sense when they are... you know, on smart watches or fitness trackers, and when you can glance at notifications or time without actually reaching for your smartphone. The only valid reason for it, in my opinion, is to use the rear camera as a selfie camera.
Also, software for the rear display feels a bit undercooked, with only 10 "watch faces" and very limited customization. All this makes this 1.6-inch AMOLED display (228x460 pixels, 600 nits max brightness) feel like a gimmick. I do not mind gimmicks per se, and not every phone should be as boring as an average iPhone, but if you do them, make them a bit more fun, refined, and well-thought-out.
Cameras
The NUU B40 5G is a budget smartphone, so set your expectations straight right away. The main camera has a 64MP sensor, which allows for some digital zoom. In perfect conditions, the phone can take decent photos, but the quality plummets the moment you lose light.
There is also a second 2MP macro camera, and it is just bad. I know that having only one camera on the back would make selling the device much harder for the marketing department, but I really wish NUU dropped the rear display and that useless macro camera for a slightly better main camera, a better processor, or an extra speaker (a single mono speaker is a big disappointment).
The front camera is just alright, but like the rear, it is very aggressive with post-processing, and it always makes me look like I wear pink lipstick for some reason (beauty mode is a separate option).
While the overall quality is nothing extraordinary, the phone tries to make up for that with a bunch of camera-related features. For example, you can record video from both the rear and front cameras at once. No 4K video recording, though, only 2K even in single-camera mode.
I do not want to go too hard on these cameras because again, price sets expectation, but it is clear that the camera is not the strongest point of the B40 5G, and in this price category, you can find phones with better camera capabilities. Here are a couple of photo samples:
Software, performance, and battery life
The NUU B40 5G comes with a 5,000 mAh battery that supports fast 33W charging. Battery life is great, and it easily gets you through the day despite having the second screen and the main display at 120Hz. During my testing, I never had it run out of juice, and I would always finish the day with about 30% of battery remaining, which is more than enough to eliminate any battery anxiety during a normal day.
It is also nice to see that NUU still bundles the device with a charger (and it is a good one with fast charging support). The B40 5G does not support wireless charging, but it is not surprising in this price category.
As for software, the B40 5G surprised me with a clean, fully bloat-free experience. Android 15 is clean, and the only extra app is NUU Help, which is alright. No TikToks, no Meta bloat, no stupid three-in-a-row games, and no laggy launchers. Just a clean, simple experience. You will only notice some NUU tweaks in the Settings app, where developers placed a few extra sections for customizing Vista Display and the so-called Dura Speed, a feature that promises to increase performance by limiting background activity. NUU deserves praise for shipping the phone with the feature turned off, as it might inhibit notifications and other background features. Also, I like that you can select which apps should not be affected by Dura Speed.
The B40 5G is powered by the octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 7025 operating at 2.5GHz. It is a budget-friendly processor, and it scores 937 points in Geekbench single-core and 2191 points in multi-core tests. The results are modest, but they are on par with similarly priced devices. The chip has enough power to render animations smoothly (occasional stutters still occur here and there) and do some light gaming. However, do not ask much from it. Minecraft, for example, won"t let you turn on the recently launched graphics overhaul. It plays alright on middle and low settings, but that"s pretty much everything that it can do.
NUU is very generous when it comes to storage and RAM. The B40 5G comes with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. You can also insert a microSD card for more space and even expand RAM by allocating a few, albeit slower, gigabytes from storage. In my experience, stuff like this never works as intended, and I honestly do not know what scenario should demand more than 8GB of memory with such a modest chip.
Another important thing worth noting is the software update. My review unit arrived in October with August 2025 security updates. By the end of November 2025, the smartphone had not received a single update. When I asked NUU about their update plan, I was told that the company is still figuring it out. The lack of security updates is a bit concerning, and you should consider this fact before committing to this device.
Conclusion
The NUU B40 5G shows that a budget-friendly phone can be fun and have some good potential. Its display is great, the design is fantastic (objectively speaking), and the battery life is on point. There are some odd choices and quirks, and the lack of stereo speakers or NFC is disappointing, but for $199.99, the B40 5G is a great, fun device that gets most of the basics done without draining your wallet to the last penny.