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It’s hard to believe that HUAWEI has launched yet another line of smartphones… because they’re not. The HUAWEI Pura series is a rebranded version of the HUAWEI P series, starting with the HUAWEI Pura 70.
Rebranded or not, HUAWEI has some seriously high expectations to live up to with regards to the midrange phone. We got our hands on the middle child of the new lineup, the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro, and here’s what we think about it.
Design and Build
First and foremost, the HUAWEI Pura 70 is an incredibly stunning phone when it comes to build and aesthetics.
For real, the first thought I had when I got it out of the box was “hey, this is pretty”. And considering how smartphone designs are pretty much stagnant right now, the HUAWEI Pura 70 really stood out to me.
Uniquely, the rear camera module is triangular instead of the usual circular or rectangular, with one large lens and two smaller lenses set in it. The raised module may be a little thicker than usual, but surprisingly, that’s not a bad thing. It provides a very convenient resting spot for your finger when holding the phone normally, meaning no more “smartphone pinky”.
The frame of the Pura 70 is made of polished aluminium with a slight curve to match the overall design aesthetics and comfortability of the phone. The phone is nicely weighted, making for a really comfortable feel in hand.
Display
On the front, the Pura 70 Pro features a 6.8” second-generation Kunlun glass, promising enhanced drop and scratch resistance. In practical use, the screen proved resilient against scratches, even after several days of jangling about a purse with keys.
The display is really bright and vivid, with excellent reproduction of colours and so smooth that it defines buttery smooth. The screen also has anti-glare properties, so its really ensures comfortable viewing in various lighting conditions.
Performance
Powered by the Kirin 9010 processor, the Pura 70 Pro delivers flagship-level performance, handling demanding games and video playback without noticeable framerate drops or lags.
While the Kirin 9010 is classified as a mid-range chip, it certainly holds its own, with a performance robust enough for most users. During our experience, the phone was incredibly smooth and multitasking was handled with ease.
As always with HUAWEI phones, the concern is with Google Services: and no, Google is not back on HUAWEI yet, but all is not lost. You can still download Gsuite straight from AppGallery, though you still need to go through Gbox for setup.
The only issue we had was the phone heating up during extended use and charging, which isn’t really ideal as this might damage the battery in the long run.
Camera
With a 50-megapixel main camera, a 12.5-megapixel ultrawide lens, and a 48-megapixel telephoto lens capable of 3.5x optical and 100x digital zoom, the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro has a nice little collection of camera lenses that doesn’t let down in practical use.
Most interestingly, it has a retractable lens for even better aperture settings. You can actually see the lens physically retracting, which was really cool.
The camera system delivers impressive results in various lighting conditions. The AI-powered software enhances colour profiles and clarity, making distant objects remarkably clear.
Now, as always, AI tends to go overboard in the corrections, especially when it comes to lighting and background blurs, but overall, the camera was really amazing. The Ultra Speed Snapshot mode, Portrait mode, and Super Macro mode offer diverse photography options, all performing exceptionally well.
Battery
The HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro has a 5,050mAh battery, which isn’t as large as its older brother, the Pura 70 Ultra, but as we all know, capacity is just a number. In practical use, the battery lasted a little over 12 hours from full charge with regular usage, which is quite good, all things considered.
The Pura 70 Pro supports both wired and wireless charging, with 100W SuperCharge on the former and 80W fast charging on the latter. It comes bundled with a 100W charger with two USB ports (A and C).
