Not too long ago, each mobile company had a distinct look to their lineup of handsets. In today's iOS and Android age, though, the sophisticated rectangular slab touchscreen design reigns supreme. Aside from their sizes, colors and logos, most smartphones nowadays are built almost the same.  

To counteract the monotony, developers instead focus on a handset's internal features and capabilities to make it stand out from the highly competitive and overpopulated mobile market. ZTE, for instance, is unfazed by its plethora of competitors. The Chinese OEM is on the verge of launching a large screen phablet with touch-sensitive buttons known as the ZTE Nubia X8.

Just recently, a teaser bearing the Nubia logo has been posted on the official Nubia Weibo page. The image indicated that ZTE will stage a press event this Thursday, Oct. 15. It is expected that the hotly rumored Nubia X8 will be showcased during the event.

Tech pundits were then quick to notice the number three all over the promotional ad's background, causing some to doubt if the Nubia X8 will even be a part of the event. Of course, the "3" featured on the teaser could simply be a stylized version of the number 8. But as of the moment, no one really knows for sure.

At any rate, Giz China managed to grab hold of leaked images of the handset and was kind enough to share it online. Click here and here to view the live stills of the Nubia X8.

By the looks of things, the handset has three grooves carved into its right edge, two of which are touch-sensitive volume toggles. It can't be conclusively stated if the handset's power switch will be resistive as well. It does have a noticeable crease around it, which implies that it's a standard physical button, albeit a very shallow one.

Besides being a breath of fresh air, the concept doesn't necessarily improve the Nubia X8. There are clear-cut reasons why other mobile companies have stayed true to physical volume and power buttons for so long. It's simply the more responsive and convenient fixture. Still, no one can fault ZTE for trying and the company's take on the technology might ultimately yield positive reviews.

As for the rest of the Nubia X8's rumored specs, Tech Gadgets has the scoop.

The handset sports a 5.5-inch or six-inch bezel-free QHD display and comes in two color variants: black and gold. It is offered in both 32GB and 64GB storage options while having 4GB of RAM. It runs on the Android 5.0 Lollipop straight out the box and has support for usual smartphone features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPRS and EDGE networks.