Huawei Unveils New Pura 70 Series Smartphones

Today, our beloved Huawei surprised us by launching the brand-new Pura 70 series, utilizing the sudden attack skill from last year’s Mate60 series once again.

However, Tony was well-prepared this time since the last “ambush” by the Mate60 series. The editorial department managed to secure a 1TB Huawei Pura 70 Ultra priced at 10,999 yuan by going to the offline store at noon today.

Just look at the joy on Mr. Milo’s face…

Moving on, the Pura 70 series is the first work after renaming from the P series, which is Huawei’s inherited imaging product line. Four models were released at once: Pura 70, Pura 70 Pro, Pura 70 Pro+, and the whopping 1TB Pura 70 Ultra. The detailed specifications are listed below:

Huawei’s skills keep improving. I wonder if Yu has been learning from the guy next door who sells graphics cards…

If you plan to buy a Pura 70 series device, Tony has a piece of advice: avoid the standard Pura 70 model. Apart from its smaller battery, the standard version uses the Kirin 9000S processor, while the other three versions feature Huawei’s latest Kirin 9010—whether considering heat dissipation or battery life, buying new is the better choice.

Apart from the differences in camera and satellite communication functions among the three other versions, the key features lie in those areas.

Huawei can now send images with Beidou satellite communication. With a new algorithm compressing images to a few KB, along with latitude and longitude information, owners of the phone can give it a try.

Since we only have the Ultra model at hand, we cannot compare it with the other models in the P70 series internally. The following article will mainly focus on reviewing this Ultra version.

Let’s start as usual with the appearance. Before its release, there was already some controversy over the appearance due to the unique design of the camera module…

The appearance of the camera module varies among different models. For instance, only the Pura 70 Ultra has the XMAGE font placed separately below the module, while the other models integrate it together.

The white back of the unit we purchased features a suede-like material and an elegant design with embossed patterns, exuding a minimalist charm.

Interestingly, the phone case included in the box surprised us—it’s rare to see such an exquisite phone case as a standard accessory.

To be honest, this is one of the most thoughtfully designed cases I have seen included in the packaging.

But at that moment, I didn’t realize that Huawei had a purpose for providing this phone case… Yes, we will delve into this part very soon.

On the front of the device, there is a screen with slight curvature on all four sides, with evenly narrow black borders, offering a pleasant visual and user experience.

Moreover, it features high-frequency PWM dimming in low brightness, finally catching up in eye care practices. However, the implementation isn’t thorough as it reverts to low-frequency PWM at high brightness. Implementing an eye care solution like DC dimming in future updates would be appreciated.

Alright, we’ve talked about the design and screen. Normally, when introducing the P series, we should also talk about the camera. But as you know, with Huawei, the Kirin chipset is much more enticing to us than the camera features.

Especially this time, the last three versions of the P70 series debuted Huawei’s brand-new “Kirin 9010” chipset.

So, let’s test it out first!

In simple terms, the Kirin 9010’s CPU is slightly more powerful than the Kirin 9000S, with a performance increase of about 15%.

The GPU remains unchanged, still using the Maleoon 910. However, it seems that Huawei updated the GPU driver in this new HarmonyOS 4.2 version. This resolved the issue where AnTuTu was unable to test the GPU in the previous Mate 60 Pro (HarmonyOS 4.0), finally revealing that the total score of Kirin 9010 is just over 960,000.

This score is between the Snapdragon 888 and the Snapdragon 8+, still not considered high but adequate for daily use.

However, as you all know, AnTuTu is just for fun; for real performance testing, we need games like “Honkai Impact 3rd.”

Last time, the performance of the Starsnatch Cliff in the Mate60 Pro was disappointing, with only 28.9 frames per second at full high quality settings for 30 minutes.

But this time, when the test results came out, it directly shocked the entire office because the Pura 70 Ultra ran at 50.9 frames per second.

And through our scrutiny, the graphics of “Star Rail” are indeed in true 720P resolution.

Although the chipset didn’t undergo significant changes, this frame rate is quite impressive. So, what’s the catch?

The catch is the skin-scorching temperature of 53.7 degrees Celsius.

This might just be the hottest phone I’ve ever held – it’s really hard to hold without a case…

(LOL) No wonder there was a beautiful phone case in the package, just waiting for me…

Moreover, at 50 frames per second, the graphics sometimes become very laggy, affecting the characters’ movements.

So, I recorded a slow-motion video, scrutinizing it – and found out that the character’s legs mysteriously disappear while running…

Essentially, the frame rate of “Star Rail” should still be between 20 and 30 frames per second. It’s just that this time, Huawei used NPU for interpolation to increase the final frame rate!

Similarly, “Genshin Impact” also uses interpolation: 60 frames per second at full high quality for 30 minutes in Linyue Harbor, with an actual screen resolution of 680p.

But it must be said that Huawei’s interpolation for “Genshin Impact” is quite good. The graphics are very smooth, giving a seamless experience without feeling the interpolation, way better than the experience in “Star Rail.”

And the power consumption is only about 3.5W, roughly 70% of the Snapdragon 8 series, so the device’s temperature is only around 42 degrees Celsius.

Although some people online say “those who buy Huawei don’t play games,” from the above tests, everyone can see that Huawei has made significant progress in terms of processors and drivers in less than a year.

Gaming might still have some issues this year, but what about waiting a bit longer?

I must say – there’s hope in this matter!

Alright, after discussing the processor, let’s dive into the camera setup of the Pura 70 Ultra this time. For the first time, the main camera of the Pura 70 Ultra is equipped with a one-inch lens, making it Huawei’s first phone to feature such a lens. # Review of the Latest Huawei Pura 70 Ultra Smartphone

华子 (Huazi) added some new features this time, such as the primary camera that can extend and retract. However, its extension action may be a bit different from what everyone expects. When you open the camera, the lens immediately pops out. The speed is fast but the range is small, so if you don’t look closely, you won’t notice this process. This lens not only extends but also rotates simultaneously.

Although the concept of an extendable lens is not new – Xiaomi, OPPO, and Transsion have all explored this idea, with Transsion even mass-producing an extendable telephoto lens. But don’t underestimate the African phone king; they also have something special.

However, Huazi’s intention this time is different from what we’ve seen with extendable lenses before. It’s not about turning the phone into a “telescope” but into a “night vision device.”

A quick comparison reveals that the main camera aperture of the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra is F1.6, which is the largest among smartphones currently using a 1-inch sensor. For comparison, the Vivo X100 Pro is F1.75, and the OPPO Find X7 Ultra is F1.8. Xiaomi’s previous boasting about the large aperture of the Mi 14 Ultra at F1.63 still falls slightly short compared to Huawei this time.

So, what kind of effect does an F1.6 aperture bring? This afternoon, we found a dimly lit staircase and took photos with both the Pura 70 Ultra and Mate 60 Pro. Apart from chromatic aberration caused by sensors, you’ll notice that the brightness of these two pictures is similar. However, if you look closely at the bottom right corner, the shutter speed of the Pura 70 Ultra is 1/577 second, while the Mate 60 Pro is 1/100 second. Even after standardizing the ISO, the Pura 70 Ultra still needs nearly twice the shutter speed of the Mate 60 Pro to capture the same brightness information.

In other words, when capturing a moving object, there is a high probability of blurry shots with the Mate 60 Pro, but not with the Pura 70 Ultra (although the initial shot may be blurry, it will provide a very clear photo after 1 second).

There have been reports online that the Pura 70 Ultra can capture a car speeding at 200 km/h, and besides Huawei’s XD Motion engine, this retractable lens is the hardware basis for capturing such shots.

After introducing the main camera, let’s take a look at the other lenses of the Pura 70 Ultra. Well…I intended to write more, and I’ve taken quite a few sample shots.

Swipe to view more sample shots>>>

However, just a moment ago, I suddenly received a new system update on my phone, and we only have half an hour left before the deadline.

In other words, what we tested today may not count at all…

But it’s okay; tomorrow, our entire editorial team will be out capturing more samples to provide you with the most detailed introduction to Huawei’s latest imaging system.

See you tomorrow night!

But before that, we have a segment that everyone enjoys – the classic internet speed test.

As we all know, last year’s Mate60 Pro achieved excellent internet speed with its 4.9999G network. So, how does the new Pura 70 Ultra, equipped with a new chip, perform?

Due to time constraints, we couldn’t test the latest 5.5G base stations in the city, so we had to do a quick test on the company’s poorly signaled balcony instead.

Yet Huazi still surprised us! Compared with a competitor, they managed to achieve higher speeds with 4G than with 5G – quite a feat.

On the left: Pura 70 Ultra, on the right: a certain Snapdragon 8Gen3 phone.
In the specific environment of the Broadcasting and Television mobile card (unlimited speed, sharing base stations with China Mobile), Huazi’s download speed was 152 Mbps, while the 8Gen3 phone had 148 Mbps.

At the same time, Huazi’s latency was only 13ms, while the 8Gen3 phone had 19ms. However, the 8Gen3 phone’s upload rate was higher than Huazi’s.

Even after several attempts, changing positions or using different base stations, Huazi won most of the tests.

This phenomenon becomes even more pronounced under carriers with poor signals (looking at you, Unicom!).

On the left: a certain Snapdragon 8Gen3 phone, on the right: Pura 70 Ultra.

Consider this – at places where the signal is generally weak, achieving better speeds, it’s likely to maintain its dominance in areas with good signals…

However, during my day of use, I encountered a few drawbacks. For instance, its screen resolution is still at 1.5K (2844 x 1260), falling short of 2K resolution. And the fingerprint solution features the type of short-focus fingerprint I dislike the most.

Although I understand that Huawei’s supply chain has been affected for various reasons, from a consumer’s perspective, especially when paying a hefty price, one would expect excellence in all aspects.

After a brief period of use, I can give a simple summary of this phone. The Pura 70 Ultra is still a phone born amidst many challenges, but its chipset is more powerful this time, providing a better user experience.

Especially with the design of the extendable and variable aperture lens, although it didn’t bring a revolutionary camera experience, the fact that Huazi dares to put this feature on their flagship device shows their confidence in image quality. “`
We have found that in practice, the camera performance of the Pura 70 Ultra remains quite powerful. Although the algorithm processing time is relatively long due to the chip’s computing power, most of the time, its image quality remains stable.

Right now, I am updating my phone’s system, and I am very curious about the photos it will take tomorrow.

I am also eagerly anticipating what the Huawei flagship will be like a year from now.