HUAWEI Pura 70 Ultra Review: The Best Mobile Camera?
The "Ultra" in a smartphone's name usually implies two things: a gigantic body with impressive weight, and an equally hefty price tag. HUAWEI challenges these stereotypes with the Pura 70 Ultra, boasting reasonable dimensions and a moderate price. But how does the rest of the package hold up?
Designed for Humans
The Pura 70 Ultra shares its dimensions with the Pura 70 Pro. This means it's not the easiest phone to use one-handed, and its weight (over 220 grams) is noticeable. However, the engineers have gone to great lengths to make using this large device as comfortable as possible. The side edges are rounded, and the back panel is covered in a textured leatherette material that provides a secure grip. The included case protects the corners and edges, leaving the long sides exposed while adding minimal bulk. The phone boasts stereo speakers: one on the bottom edge and another integrated into the earpiece, both delivering loud and clear audio.
The screen is a masterpiece of engineering. It lacks any unsightly notches or curves, featuring subtly rounded edges that seamlessly blend into the side frame. The content display area itself remains perfectly flat.
This design eliminates issues with applying screen protectors while avoiding sharp edges that dig into your hand while typing.
Underneath lies an LTPO OLED panel with HDR support (peaking at 2500 nits) and a variable refresh rate (10-120Hz). Its resolution is a crisp 1260x2844 pixels (~460 ppi), making it one of the best displays in any smartphone. Colors are natural, the PWM dimming is imperceptible and doesn't cause eye strain even at low brightness, and outdoor readability is excellent. It's all protected by HUAWEI's Kulun Glass with an additional Basalt Tempering layer for enhanced scratch resistance. A pre-applied screen protector eliminates the need for additional protection right out of the box.
The camera module is the most noticeable difference from the Pro version. While still triangular, the sensor arrangement has changed. In the regular Pura 70 and Pura 70 Pro, the main and wide-angle sensors sit on the same level, with the telephoto lens below in the largest circle. The Ultra, however, houses a large one-inch main camera sensor that requires a larger lens, necessitating its relocation to the bottom. To avoid making the phone too thick or compromising the optics, the lens is now retractable. Activate the camera, and it pops out in a fraction of a second, ready to capture the moment.
The mechanism is robust and powerful, capable of lifting up to 350 grams. When encountering significant resistance, it displays a warning message, preventing users from attempting foolish feats. In normal use and unforeseen circumstances, it performs flawlessly. While it might be possible to break it with deliberate effort, who would benefit from that? Importantly, the mechanism doesn't compromise water resistance: the camera operates underwater without issues and doesn't fog up afterward. Take that, Elon Musk Lei Jun!
The Best Camera According to DxO?
We've all heard jokes about suitcases of cash being delivered to DxO in exchange for the "best mobile camera" title. Let's analyze the situation ourselves, starting with the technical specifications and then moving on to image quality.
The main camera features a custom 1-inch mobile sensor with stabilization, paired with a retractable lens (23mm equivalent focal length, f/1.6/4.0) offering adjustable aperture, macro capabilities, and all the autofocus bells and whistles. This includes phase detection, laser autofocus, and advanced AI for scene recognition and object tracking. In short, cutting-edge technology at its finest.
Instead of the traditional RGGB sensor, it utilizes an RYYB array with enhanced light sensitivity.
This approach has a drawback: accurately separating green and red hues is challenging. This issue is addressed through a custom image processing chip and extensive software optimization. HUAWEI's engineers deserve credit for their work. The red color cast issues present in previous Huawei devices with Snapdragon processors are gone, and the processor now effectively handles the unique characteristics of this sensor.
The wide-angle camera might seem underwhelming at first glance. It features a 40MP sensor, a bright lens (13mm equivalent focal length, f/2.2) with autofocus and macro capabilities, and can record 4K video at 60fps. However, comparing it to the competition reveals that HUAWEI's offering still surpasses most smartphones on the market. It's just that after the impressive specs of the main camera, it doesn't elicit the same excitement.
The telephoto lens is where things get interesting. It's a 50MP sensor with 3.5x optical zoom compared to the main camera (90mm equivalent focal length, f/2.1). This periscope lens offers close-up focusing (from about 10cm) and optical image stabilization.
All three sensors employ pixel binning (combining adjacent pixels to reduce noise). The 2x and 10x zoom levels are achieved through cropping the central portion of the image from the respective cameras, followed by AI-based detail reconstruction.
That's the theory covered. We're undoubtedly dealing with one of the most capable camera systems on the market. However, we all know that software plays a crucial role in mobile photography today. So, let's see how the images turn out.
XMAGE and the Unstoppable Neural Networks
The first thing that stands out is color reproduction. While Korean flagships tend to transform mundane scenes into an "Alice in Wonderland" with oversaturated hues and an almost aggressive cheerfulness, the Pura renders images honestly. Cloudy skies appear gray, dust-covered trees by the roadside retain their muted tones, and a gentle sunrise in pastel shades doesn't morph into a retro-wave screensaver.
Extensive effort has gone into achieving accurate white balance and color rendition, especially considering the unconventional sensor. Simply adopting an existing solution wouldn't have worked; the software had to be tailored specifically for these cameras. One minor gripe is the occasional over-processing of scene contrast. While these images might look striking, they lack the subtle charm of the real-life experience. Slightly less aggressive processing would have been welcome, enhancing the overall photographic experience.
The wide-angle camera is a solid performer, delivering consistent results with good dynamic range and acceptable distortion levels. It's important to remember that a good wide-angle lens with high resolution requires a complex lens design and numerous additional elements within the lens assembly to control distortion and enhance sharpness. Cramming all that into a smartphone is no easy feat. On the plus side, this module boasts autofocus, 4K video recording at 60fps, and excellent automatic mode performance.
The Pura 70 Ultra's telephoto lens is practically indistinguishable from the one in the Pura 70 Pro. Despite using a different sensor and a slightly modified lens, image quality is comparable.
Take two identical photos from the same spot, and you'd be hard-pressed to tell which one came from the "Ultra" and which from the "Pro." They share the same strengths and weaknesses: while the periscope design allows for a larger sensor compared to traditional telephoto lenses, it introduces a slight soft-focus effect (known as "black mist filter") and characteristic colored flares in backlit conditions.
The camera handles portraits admirably when shooting from a meter away and excels at street photography. The 10x zoom is suitable for capturing interesting shots for social media. However, viewing these images on larger displays reveals the limitations of the optical system. On a positive note, HUAWEI has significantly improved its AI-based upscaling algorithms. Details barely discernible in the 3.5x zoom images, such as small text or fine textures, are clearly visible in the 10x hybrid zoom shots. No more blurry messes or strange squiggles instead of letters!
The Mighty Kirin Returns
Once upon a time, before remote work and masks became commonplace, HUAWEI utilized its own Kirin processors. Opinions on them varied, with some praising their performance and others yearning for the familiarity of Snapdragon chipsets. Nonetheless, HUAWEI's flagship devices held their own against the competition and often surpassed them. Here's some good news: the best HUAWEI models are back on Kirin!
While manufactured using a less advanced 7nm process node, the Kirin 9010 is one of the most intriguing aspects of this smartphone. HUAWEI's engineers have managed to achieve two crucial things: ensuring decent energy efficiency and ensuring that the processor keeps pace with the competition in real-world usage. And guess what? With the latest firmware, the device scores over a million points in AnTuTu, shows no signs of thermal throttling, and runs any game smoothly at maximum settings with a stable frame rate.
In essence, its application performance and 3D graphics processing capabilities are on par with devices powered by SoCs built on 5nm, 4nm, and even 3nm process nodes.
Benchmark scores are just numbers, after all. What good is a record-breaking score if the device loses half its performance after 15-20 minutes of load? In contrast, the Pura 70 Ultra remains only slightly warm (around 40 degrees Celsius) even after an hour of intense gaming, and the frame rate remains consistently high.
The rest of the hardware is equally impressive. It packs 16GB of RAM, 512GB or 1TB of fast storage, supports 5G (not relevant in Russia but functional in China), features the latest Wi-Fi standard (802.11ax), includes Bluetooth with all the necessary profiles for wearables, and can utilize signals from five different satellite navigation systems simultaneously.
A ~5000 mAh battery with fast charging capabilities keeps the phone powered up: 100W wired and 80W wireless (Qi). The first 50% charges in 20-30 minutes, while a full charge takes just over an hour. This strikes a reasonable balance between speed and longevity, allowing users to quickly top up the battery before heading out. Reverse wireless charging is also available for wearables and other devices: up to 10W with Qi and up to 8W via a Type-C cable.
Technical Specifications
- Display: 6.8 inches, 1260x2844 pixels, 460 ppi, LTPO OLED, 1-120 Hz refresh rate, up to 2500 nits brightness
- Chipset: Kirin 9010 (7nm) with 1x2.3 GHz Taishan Big core, 3x2.18 GHz Taishan Mid cores, and 4x1.55 GHz Cortex-A510 cores
- RAM and Storage: 16 GB RAM, options for 512 GB or 1000 GB storage
- Battery: 5050 mAh
- Cameras:
- Ultra-wide: 40 MP (13mm equivalent), f/2.2, autofocus, macro mode
- Standard: 50 MP, 1"-type sensor (23mm equivalent), f/1.4–4.0 variable aperture, optical stabilization, PDAF, laser autofocus, macro mode
- Telephoto: Periscope lens (3.5x zoom, 90mm equivalent), 50 MP, f/2.1, optical stabilization, PDAF, macro mode
- Front: 13 MP, f/2.4, autofocus
- Connectivity: 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2 LE, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, QZSS, NavIC
- Dimensions and Weight: 162.6 x 75.1 x 8.4 mm, 220 grams
- Features: EMUI 14, 100W fast charging, 80W wireless charging
A Worthy Contender
The HUAWEI Pura 70 Ultra deserves to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other flagship smartphones. Its real-world performance is on par with the best, its camera captures excellent photos and videos, it boasts impressive battery life, and most importantly, it's comfortable to use. HUAWEI has distanced itself from unreliable Western partners and established its own production of key smartphone components, either independently or through collaborations with local companies. If this is just the first step in this new era for HUAWEI, then the Pura 70 Ultra is just a taste of things to come, and we can expect even more impressive devices in the near future.