Huawei Pura 70 review
The Huawei Pur 70 Ultra is a unique smartphone that boasts an impressive camera system, featuring a retracting main lens with variable aperture, making it ideal for capturing professional-grade photos. The device's OLED screen offers excellent protection and fast charging capabilities, adding to its appeal. While it excels in still photography, its video recording quality falls short of expectations. Additionally, the Pur 70 Ultra's chipset is not as powerful as competing flagships, and it lacks official Google support. Despite these drawbacks, this phone may be perfect for those seeking exceptional camera performance.
Build Quality and Design
The Huawei Pura 70 boasts an impressive build quality that sets it apart from its competitors. The device's sleek design is both visually appealing and durable, making it a joy to hold in your hand. The premium materials used in its construction give the phone a solid feel, exuding a sense of luxury and sophistication. One of the standout features of the Pura 70's design is its unique shape. Unlike other flagship phones on the market, the Pura 70 has a distinctive curve that makes it easy to grip and comfortable to hold for extended periods. This attention to detail demonstrates Huawei's commitment to creating a device that not only performs well but also feels great in your hand. The phone's display is another area where Huawei has excelled. The high-quality OLED screen provides vibrant colors, crisp text, and deep blacks, making it perfect for watching movies or browsing through photos. The screen is also protected by a durable glass layer that can withstand scratches and drops. Another notable aspect of the Pura 70's design is its camera system. The main camera has a retractable lens with a variable aperture, allowing you to control the depth of field in your shots. This feature is not only useful but also provides an added level of creativity for photographers. In terms of build quality, the Pura 70 feels solid and well-made. The device's weight is evenly distributed, making it comfortable to hold, and the buttons are responsive and tactile. The phone's overall design is a testament to Huawei's attention to detail and commitment to creating a high-quality product that will stand the test of time. Overall, the Huawei Pura 70's build quality and design make it a standout device in its class. While there may be some compromises on other fronts, such as performance or battery life, the phone's impressive design and construction more than make up for these limitations. If you're looking for a premium smartphone that feels great in your hand, the Pura 70 is definitely worth considering.
Battery Life
One aspect where the Huawei Purus 70 Ultra shines is its battery life. The device packs a decent-sized 4200mAh battery that, combined with power-efficient hardware, manages to deliver respectable endurance. However, the actual performance varies greatly depending on usage patterns. In ideal conditions, such as browsing, social media, and light gaming, the phone can easily last for two days or more. This is largely due to Huawei's power-saving features like 90Hz refresh rate scaling down to 60Hz when not in use, and a system-wide Dark Mode that significantly reduces battery drain. However, when subjected to intense usage, such as high-end gaming, video streaming, or photography, the battery life takes a hit. The phone's performance becomes more inconsistent, with the battery draining faster than expected. This is where the phone's limited cooling mechanisms and relatively underpowered hardware become apparent. To mitigate this, Huawei has included a range of power-saving features, such as an aggressive battery saver mode that kicks in when the device is idle for extended periods. While these tools are useful, they can't entirely compensate for the inherent limitations of the phone's hardware. Ultimately, the Huawei Purus 70 Ultra's battery life is a mixed bag, with impressive endurance in light usage scenarios giving way to inconsistent performance under heavy loads.
Display
The display on the Huawei Pura 70 is a highlight of the device. It's a well-protected OLED screen that offers vibrant colors and crisp text. The screen is protected by a durable layer that makes it resistant to scratches and drops. One of the unique features of the Pura 70's display is its ability to retract the main camera lens, which is a clever touch. This allows for a more seamless viewing experience when watching videos or browsing through photos. The OLED panel itself offers excellent color accuracy and a wide viewing angle. The colors are punchy and vibrant, making it ideal for consuming media on the go. The screen's brightness is also impressive, making it easy to see in bright outdoor conditions. One of the standout features of the Pura 70's display is its ability to detect fast-moving objects and increase the shutter speed automatically. This results in sharp and clear photos, even when capturing moving subjects. In terms of video quality, the Pura 70 can record footage at up to 4K resolution at 60 FPS on all three cameras. However, daylight video quality is average at best, lacking some detail that we've seen from other devices. The dynamic range is wide, and the colors are mostly accurate, but there's visible noise. Despite this, the Pura 70's display is a significant selling point for the device. Its unique design and excellent screen make it an attractive option for those looking for a high-quality camera phone.
Camera
The camera system on the Huawei Pur 70 Ultra is one of its standout features. The primary camera uses a 1-inch IMX 989 sensor with sensor-shift stabilization, which delivers outstanding image quality. The variable aperture allows users to adjust between f/1.6 and f/4.0 in nine fixed steps, giving more control over the depth of field. When shooting at the widest aperture of f/1.6, the camera produces a shallow depth of field with a blurred background. In contrast, using the wider f/4.0 aperture results in a deeper depth of field with more of the scene in focus. The 12-megapixel photos from the main camera are exceptional, with plenty of detail and a natural-looking rendition. Colors are accurate, and the dynamic range is not super wide, making for more realistic photos. One notable feature of the primary camera is its ability to detect fast-moving objects and increase the shutter speed automatically. In testing this feature, no blurry photos were produced, even when capturing moving subjects like birds in flight. The telephoto camera offers 3.5x zoom capabilities, producing excellent images with plenty of detail, accurate white balance, and lively colors. It also features tele macro capabilities, allowing users to capture close-ups as close as 5 cm away from the subject. These macro shots are particularly impressive, with a naturally defocused background. The ultra-wide camera produces photos with an incredibly wide field of view. The quality is great, with plenty of detail, balanced sharpness, punchy colors, and good dynamic range. Autofocus on this camera also enables users to capture macro close-ups, which are good but slightly inferior to those from the telephoto camera. Low-light performance is exceptional across all cameras, with minimal noise and excellent color saturation. The selfies taken using the 13-megapixel front-facing camera are superb, offering plenty of detail, low noise, vivid colors, and great dynamic range. While the daytime video quality is good but unremarkable, the nighttime videos from the main camera are exceptional, featuring plenty of fine detail, saturated colors, and good dynamic range. Electronic video stabilization is always on and works well to smooth out footage. Overall, the Huawei Pur 70 Ultra's camera system is one of its strongest features, delivering outstanding image quality in a variety of situations.
Price and Value
The Huawei Pura 70 Ultra is a smartphone that boasts an impressive camera setup, unique design, and fast charging capabilities. However, its price and value proposition are worth examining. Priced at around $999, the Pura 70 Ultra is positioned as a premium device. While it certainly delivers in terms of camera performance, with excellent still photos and video quality, one can't help but feel that the price is somewhat steep. Compared to other flagship devices on the market, such as the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra or the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, which offer similar features and performance at a lower price point, the Pura 70 Ultra starts to feel like an overpriced option. Furthermore, the absence of 5G support and official Google services may be a turn-off for some users who are looking for a seamless experience. In this regard, the value proposition of the Pura 70 Ultra becomes somewhat compromised. In terms of value for money, the Pura 70 Ultra falls short of expectations. While it excels in certain areas, such as camera performance and design, its price and lack of 5G support make it a less appealing option compared to other flagship devices on the market. Ultimately, the decision to purchase the Pura 70 Ultra will depend on individual priorities. If camera performance is paramount, then this device may be worth considering. However, for those who are looking for a more comprehensive and affordable package, there are other options available that may provide better value for money.
Performance
The performance of the Huawei Pur 70 Ultra is a mixed bag. On one hand, the device's retracting main camera with variable aperture is an interesting touch, and when it comes to still photography, this camera phone is one of the best around. The primary camera delivers outstanding 12 megapixel photos, with plenty of detail and a nicely balanced rendition that looks natural without extreme sharpening. However, things take a turn for the worse in terms of performance when we look at the chipset. Despite its sleek design and impressive camera capabilities, the Pur 70 Ultra's processor is nowhere near as powerful as competing flagships. This results in sluggish performance, making everyday tasks feel slower than expected. Furthermore, the lack of 5G support on this device means that users will miss out on faster mobile data speeds compared to their friends with more modern devices. This is a significant oversight, especially considering the high-end price point of the Pur 70 Ultra. Additionally, while the camera phone excels at taking photos, its video recording capabilities are not as good. Daylight videos lack detail and have an overexposed look, which is disappointing given the quality of the stills. Nighttime videos from the main camera are better, but they still don't live up to expectations. Overall, while the Huawei Pur 70 Ultra has some impressive features, its performance falls short of what we expect from a high-end device. If you want excellent photos and can live with using workarounds to get Google's apps and services, this phone might be for you. However, if you're looking for convenience and value elsewhere on the market, there are better options available.
Pros
1. It brings a unique design
2. A great and well-protected OLED screen
3. Fast charging
4. The retracting main cam is an interesting touch
5. When it comes to still photography, this is one of the best camera phones around
6. Excellent photos from the main camera
7. Great selfie quality with autofocus
Cons
1. Video recording quality is not as good as that of stills
2. The chipset is nowhere near as powerful as competing flagships
3. No 5G support
4. Official Google support is missing
5. Need to use workarounds to get Google's apps and services
6. Value and convenience can be found elsewhere on the market
7. Nighttime videos from other cameras have visible issues