Huawei Pura 70 Ultra hands-on review

Introduction

Huawei Pura 70 Ultra is the headliner of the reimagined (P)hotography series by Huawei. It packs the best camera the Chinese maker could conjure up, coupled with the best design, screen, Kirin chipset, and battery technology, of course.

Despite the name change, the Huawei P series is alive and kicking, promising as ever, even without Leica or other trendy partnership being present for marketing hype. And, yes, the US sanctions are still at play, but Huawei seems to be on the verge of making those irrelevant.

Back to what we do best - smartphone inspection - we are nothing short of thrilled by our time spent with the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra. And while we are in the process of reviewing it, we decided to give you a glimpse of what's coming your way.

The Pura 70 Ultra is one of the few phones on the market you can immediately pick among a hundred phones in a second. The triangular camera design and unique back panel are quite nice, even if the housing is, well, huge.

Then we have a large 6.8-inch LTPO OLED screen of 1260p resolution, 1B colors and 120Hz refresh rate. The Kirin 9010 chipset with 5G connectivity will probably initiate a new portion of investigations, but it does look promising with improved capabilities.

The camera is the real showstopper here and rightfully, so. The retractable main camera is thoroughly interesting with its unique mechanical design, sure, but we cannot wait to test its 1" sensor, one that makes use of sensor-shift stabilization, variable aperture lens and laser-assisted AF. Next is a 50MP telephoto camera for 3.5x optical zoom and up to 10x hybrid zoom, one that can do macro photos from as close as 5cm away! The 40MP ultrawide camera promises really wide field of view with its 13mm aperture lens, and it is AF-capable.

The 13MP selfie camera also has wide-angle lens supports autofocus, too.

Finally, the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra packs a 5,200mAh battery capable of 100W wired and 80W wireless charging, plus 20W reverse wireless charging!

Huawei Pura 70 Ultra specs at a glance:

• Body: 162.6x75.1x8.4mm, 226g; Glass front, aluminum frame, silicone polymer back (eco leather); IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 2m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.80" LTPO OLED, 1B colors, HDR, 120Hz, 2500 nits (peak), 1260x2844px resolution, 20.31:9 aspect ratio, 460ppi.
• Chipset: Kirin 9010 (7 nm): Octa-core (1x2.3 GHz Taishan Big & 3x2.18 GHz Taishan Mid & 4x1.55 GHz Cortex-A510); Maleoon 910.
• Memory: 256GB 16GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM.
• OS/Software: HarmonyOS 4.2.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.6-4.0, 23mm, 1.0"-type, PDAF, Laser AF, sensor-shift OIS, retractable lens; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/2.1, 90mm, PDAF (5cm - ∞), OIS, 3.5x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 40 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, AF.
• Front camera: 13 MP, f/2.4, (ultrawide), AF.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@60fps, gyro-EIS, OIS; Front camera: 4K@60fps, EIS.
• Battery: 5200mAh; 100W wired, 80W wireless, 20W reverse wireless, 18W reverse wired.
• Connectivity: 5G; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 6; BT 5.2, L2HC; NFC; Infrared port.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); stereo speakers; BDS Satellite Calling and Message.

The Pura 70 Ultra is the only Pura phone to feature 1" sensor for the main camera in addition to higher-res tele and UW cameras, plus it also has the exclusive Crystal Armor Kunlun Glass for the screen.

Unboxing the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra

The Pura 70 Ultra ships into one large and thick luxury-looking box. Inside you will find the phone itself, one premium case with a matching color but a different P-styled texture, a 100W power adapter and a USB cable.

Notice the charger has both USB-C and USB-A ports, though it is not a dual-charger - you can use one of those at a time.