Huawei Pura 70 Ultra Review: First Impressions

First Impressions

The Huawei Pura 70 Ultra has a very exciting camera system that combines Huawei’s renowned image processing with a large 1-inch sensor for the first time. Things are looking good in the camera department, but as usual, the lack of Google services and an outdated chip sours the deal. This is a very interesting phone, and I’m looking forward to spending more time with it.

Introduction

Huawei’s P-series phones have been delivering the photographic goods for a long time, and it seems that’s set to continue. The latest model brings with it a rebrand, it’s now known as the Pura series, and have also gone “Ultra” – as is the trend in 2024.

Huawei has confirmed that the Pura 70 Ultra will arrive in Europe on May 22, with pre-orders open right now. There’s no word on whether this model will be coming to the UK just yet, but we’ve got our fingers crossed. Huawei has listed the price for the Ultra at €1499. But is it worth such a steep price?

This year, the flagship model finally makes a jump to a 1-inch sensor, and it does so without getting significantly thicker, thanks to a unique mechanical telescoping lens on the main camera. The variable aperture still makes an appearance, and the ultrawide gets a significant spec upgrade, too.

Huawei has a great reputation for photographic performance, so these upgrades are a promising prospect. However, this is a Huawei phone, and that means there are hurdles to overcome. It doesn’t pack a top-tier chip, and getting access to Google services will require some workarounds. Can it possibly be worth the hassle? After spending a few days with it, here are my early impressions.

Design & screen

• Premium embossed design
• IP68-rated waterproofing
• 120Hz 2K+ LTPO OLED display

The Huawei Pura 70 Ultra sports a pretty flashy design; it has a leather-effect rear panel with an embossed pattern and shiny metallic accents. The look reminds me of designer luggage. It stands out, but it manages to remain tasteful, too.

I have the light green model in for testing, and it’s probably my favourite of the bunch. However, the black, white and brown options all look good in their own right. Every model has faux leather backing, and each comes with a premium colour-matched case in the box.

The camera array takes on a new triangular formation, which Huawei says represents moving forward. It also happens to look a bit like the letter “P”, which I’m sure is no accident.

One of the standout features of this phone is its telescoping lens, which is designed to reduce the camera bump when using a 1-inch type sensor. It’s very cool, makes a nice sound as it pops out, and seems to work flawlessly, but I can’t help but feel that the phone just isn’t very slim. The main body of the phone is thicker than my Vivo X100 Pro, which also has a 1-inch sensor, and the camera bump is only very slightly smaller. 

The display is an OLED panel that boasts a 1260 x 2844 resolution, an adaptive refresh rate that can switch from 1Hz to 120Hz, and a peak brightness of 2500 nits. The brightness output might not sound too wild, with phones like the Honor Magic 6 Pro claiming a 5000-nit output, but in reality, it’s more than enough. I used it in the blazing sunshine on the streets of Hong Kong, and I never had trouble seeing what I was doing.

The screen has slightly curved edges on all sides, but most of the area that you interact with is completely flat. I feel like this is a nice middle ground, as it delivers most of the benefits of a flat screen, but gesture controls still feel nice and smooth, and the phone feels very comfortable in the hand. It’s protected by Huawei’s Crystal Armor Kunlun glass, which is said to have 3 times the scratch resistance of previous generations, too.

Camera

• 50MP, 1-inch sensor for main snapper
• Telephoto is mostly unchanged from last year’s P60 Pro
• Should excel in both low-light shooting

The camera array is this phone’s strongest asset, particularly the main camera. It offers a massive 1-inch type sensor, a constantly variable aperture (just like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra) and sensor-shift image stabilisation for the first time.

The telephoto appears mostly unchanged from last year’s P60 Pro, but it was already an excellent lens, so no complaints here. Meanwhile, the ultrawide gets a significant increase in resolution, which can only be a good thing.

With big sensors and wide apertures across the board, the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra should excel in both low-light shooting and in capturing fast-moving subjects like sports and animals. From my brief testing so far, that indeed seems to be the case.

The Pura 70 Ultra has a unique trick up its sleeve for shooting action. Using snapshot mode, the phone will simultaneously capture a long exposure and a quick exposure, then combine them using computational magic. This means that the ambient lighting will look correct and the image will be free from motion blur.

Huawei showed a great demo by taking photos of an image on a spinning platter, like a record player. When you first look at the photo, the image is blurry, as you’d expect with something spinning at high speed. Then after half a second or so of processing, you get a completely clear picture with natural lighting and fully frozen movement. It’s really clever stuff.

I still need to test more, but I’m very impressed with the images captured by the Pura 70 Ultra so far. As mentioned, it’s great at capturing motion, and Huawei’s portrait mode blur effects are still some of the best in the business. Low light shots from the large main sensor and telephoto also look excellent. It could prove to be one of the finest camera systems this year, and with the competition being so fierce, that’s really saying something.

Features and software

• EMUI 14, based on Android 14
• Gesture and eye-tracking features
• No Google Media Services

This is where things get a little more complicated. As most will know by now, US sanctions mean that Huawei devices no longer have access to Google services, and the brand is severely limited with the chips it can use, too.

The former can be overcome using workarounds like GBox, and if you’re not afraid of a little tinkering, the MicroG Project can get Google apps working almost as well as native apps. However, most consumers aren’t going to want to go to such lengths, and it’s sure to be a big turn-off for most would-be buyers.

Huawei’s marketing materials neglect to mention the SoC altogether, but it’s widely reported to be the Kirin 9010. It’s a 7nm processor with many similarities to the Kirin 9000s that powers the Huawei Mate 60 Pro. This means it’s a long way behind the competition, most of which runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

Whether this matters depends on how you use your phone. Simple tasks feel just as fast on this device as on any other flagship, but if you’re a keen gamer, then you’re sure to notice a difference. Image processing seems to take a lot longer, too. Sometimes you’ll be waiting for a few seconds before the sharpening and HDR effects appear in the gallery. I’ll need to spend more time with it to get a clearer view on the performance.

The phone runs EMUI 14, and Huawei fans will have a good idea of what to expect. It’s a heavily skinned and iOS-inspired version of Android 14 that some will love, and some will hate. Personally, I quite like it, aside from the lack of Google support.

There are some really fun and unique features baked in. I’m particularly enjoying the new interactive lock screen options, some of these support eye-tracking and can adjust the animation depending on whether you’re looking at the top or bottom of the screen. There’s no practical purpose to this, but it’s fun.