It’s not P anymore, it’s Pura! Pura 70? Don’t mind if I do!
Huawei decided that the P series needed a makeover and what better way to do that starting with its name? Enter the Pura 70 series! There are four phones in the series. In order, they are the Pura 70, Pura 70 Pro+, and the Pura 70 Ultra. While the company may no longer be that juggernaut it once was, it’s still a striving company in its homeland and it is still serving many countries worldwide through infrastructure technology, although far more limited thanks to US Sanctions.
Huawei is a company that goes far and wide when it comes to smartphone designs. The P60 series is one of the most unique designs we’ve seen in any smartphone thus far. The Pura 70 continues this trend by giving a triangular-looking island, an unusual shape which Huawei boldly releases, and we respect them for standing out.
While Leica and Huawei are no longer with us, they have used this experience for their own R&D, the company is pretty large in its home country and its R&D facilities are arguably one of the world’s largest. The culmination of efforts and experiences learned from Leica eventually evolved into the XMAGE technology that was self-developed.
Huawei got itself into scrutiny once again when the US started reassessing the company, especially when it was able to develop 5G chipsets of its own without the help of MediaTek and Qualcomm. After the success of the Mate 60 in its homeland, the company poses a threat to Apple in China once more.
HUAWEI PURA 70
The Huawei Pura 70 is a phone with many colours. It is a phone with an aluminium back, a typical feature for many flagships. It’s either this, glass, or the currently trending vegan leather. Its design is used as the basis for the rest of the series and is mainly taken from the P60 Art.
Huawei’s phones, especially its flagship lines, are probably the most “homegrown” out of all the Chinese brands available. Huawei’s large R&D centers were able to make an alternative to Corning’s Gorilla Glass called Kunlun Glass. It was able to partner with local fabless semiconductor companies to rebuild Kirin, Huawei’s own chipset brand, which, for a period of time, seriously threatened both Qualcomm and MediaTek.
The Pura 70 features a 6.6″ LTPO 4.0 OLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate and 2500nits peak brightness. Typical flagship things. It also has 1440Hz PWM Dimming which is significantly less than what globally available phones, such as the OnePlus 12, offers (2160Hz at the minimum).
The phone’s chipset is not announced, but it is speculated to be homegrown. We can guess the reason why Huawei shies away from mentioning its chipset, and it’s probably due to geopolitical reasons. The phone has 12GB RAM and up to 1TB internal storage.
There are three cameras at the back with the primary camera having Huawei’s “XMAGE” technology which allows it to retract to different aperture sizes like a real DSLR. Although not a new thing as Oppo did the same thing before with the R17 Pro, it is nice that Huawei is continuing this development. The primary camera has 50MP resolution, with OIS. It also comes with a 12MP telephoto also with OIS, and a 13MP Ultrawide. The front is also 13MP but considering this is a flagship, these numbers are not to be underestimated.
It has a 4900mAh battery with three ways to charge it. There is your typical Type-C charging with 66W rating, 50W of wireless, and 7.5W reverse wireless. The phone also has an IP68 rating so it could survive being dunked for a few minutes UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS.
It launches with HarmonyOS 4.2 probably with no support to APK sideloading. It also has Bluetooth 5.2 and Dual-band Wi-Fi. It does support 4G LTE but 5G remains a mystery.
Its main colour is Cherry Rose but also Ice Blue, Snowy White, and Feather Black. Its price initially goes for CNY 5,499 (~PHP 43.3K) (12/256) and goes all the way to CNY 6,999 (~PHP 55.1K) (16/1TB).
Source: Huawei China
HUAWEI PURA 70 PRO:
The Pura 70 Pro is pretty much a similar deal and is positioned in between. So, it is the sweet spot for those who want to try the new series but believe the Pura 70 is underwhelming and the Pura 70 Ultra is too much.
It pretty much has the same specs as the Pura 70 but with a few more bells and whistles. See, the telephoto is now 48MP and now supports periscope zooming of up to 3.5x optically. Its charging speed is also increased to 100W, 80W, and 20W for the wired, wireless, and wireless reverse respectively. It has a similar battery capacity however. Of course, IP68 remains.
Again, Huawei decided not to mention the chipset it uses, likely for geopolitical reasons. The phone does come with 12GB RAM and up to 1TB storage, exactly like the Pura 70.
Another distinguishing feature is its color options. Here, you get Purple, White, and Black. Prices start at CNY 6,499 (~PHP 51.2K)
Source: Huawei China
HUAWEI PURA 70 PRO PLUS:
The Pura 70 Pro Plus comes in three colours that look bland but is greatly offset with its pattern design that appears to resemble laser-cut lines. All three colours are derivatives of each other. There is Silver, White, and Black.
Again, it features the same display as the previous two. To recall, since you probably won’t scroll up from here, it’s a 6.8″ Kunlun-protected LTPO4.0 OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and IP68 ingress protection.
It starts with 16/256 and goes all the way to 16/1TB. The chipset used is once again not mentioned and we have a feeling it’s the same one throughout the entire series. The brand’s surprisingly lack of transparency makes it hard to write for them. The chipset is a core part of a phone and therefore it should always be mentioned to ensure the guarantee of customers.
The phone is essentially a clone of the Huawei Pura 70 Pro but with 16GB RAM. That’s it. That’s the change. Well, also, a different design pattern at the back.
Source: Huawei China
HUAWEI PURA 70 ULTRA:
Being the most powerful phone in the entire lineup, the Pura 70 Ultra should be the most stand-out feature of the Pura 70 series and most of the resources should be reserved here. So, what does the Pura 70 Ultra offer that makes it deserving of its “Ultra” moniker?
The answer lies in the three cameras. Everything else is the same as the P70 Pro and Pro Plus. Also, just like the other three, the chipset remains a mystery and Huawei did not exactly confirm whether the phone has 5G or not. We’re also not likely seeing the phone released in the global market. Moreover, the Pura 70 Ultra is the only one with satellite communication.
The phone also uses synthetic leather for the back panel making it easier to hold. This type of material got trending for smartphone brands because of its perceived luxury and peculiarity. It comes in four colours: Chanson Green, Mocha Brown, Star White, and Star Black.
The three cameras are heavily upgraded. Sure, it keeps the same 50MP Primary camera with OIS but the ultrawide and periscope telephoto are upgraded. Now, the ultrawide has 40MP resolution and the telephoto has 50MP resolution, allowing it to do 3.5x optical zoom. The selfie camera remains the same, however. It has 13MP resolution.
The charging rates are mostly the same, except that wireless reverse charging is again 7.5W. The phone has 100W wired fast charging and surprisingly, slower 50W wireless vs the Pro.
It is priced initially at CNY 9,999 (~PHP78.8K) (16/512) and goes to CNY 10,999 (~PHP 86.7K) with its top-of-the-line 16/1TB variant.
Source: Huawei China