Huawei recently announced a new chapter to its flagship devices with the unveiling of the Pura series which replaces the legendary P series. The first members of the Pura series was the Pura 70 series which included the Huawei Pura 70, HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro, HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro+, and HUAWEi Pura 70 Ultra.

The company invited us to a trip to China to experience the new series for ourselves and we were given the chance to try out the mid-tiered HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro.

Pura originates from purity and combines modern aesthetics and elegant style to lead the way in fashion with true originality.

Did the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro live up to its new spirit? Well, I’ve had it for roughly two days, and here’s what I think of it so far.

HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro First Impressions

HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro – Full Specifications

HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro – Design

The Pura 70 Pro is built around a 6.8-inch FHD+ LTPO OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. The panel has a slight curve to it and is protected by a second-generation Kunlun Glass which is more durable than its predecessor.

However, it’s the back panel that makes the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro, and the entire Pura 70 series stand out. It has a triangular camera module that houses its triple rear camera with the telephoto lens claiming most of the real estate on the right edge.

Huawei has been quite innovative with its design even with the flagship series namely the Mate and formerly P-series. Among the most memorable for me was the centered circular camera island of the Mate 30 and Mate 40 as well as the oval camera module with two circles to house the cameras of the P50 series and the koala-looking design of the P60 Pro.

The company has stepped this up even more with the Pura 70 series camera module. It’s quite unique and well-implemented. Let’s not forget that when titled on its side, I can’t help but spot the Hidden Mickey, which brings a strange joy.

That said though, it’s quite a thick camera bump which leaves the device leaning a bit when flat on its back. Moreover, because of the design and camera hardware, it is quite top-heavy which could cause the device to topple over if you’re not careful.

That said though, the rounded aluminum frame makes it quite easy to grip and hold on to.

The volume rocker and power button are found on the right. Meanwhile, the USB-C port at the bottom is flanked by a volume rocker on the right and a microphone and SIM tray on the left.

HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro – Hardware and Performance

Huawei has yet to reveal the chipset of the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro but we were given a unit that comes with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage. The latter goes as high as 1TB in China, which is more than enough for average users and those who just take photos now and then.

We were told not to run the benchmarks on the device though but based on my experience, it runs very smooth with EMUI 14 out of the box. Switching between apps and scrolling through them felt buttery smooth.

The Pura 70 Pro is equipped with a 5050mAh battery and supports up to 100W wired fast charging and 80W wireless charging. The unit that was lent to us is a sample unit and with my mobile data on and taking a lot of photos, it gave me around 8 hours of use before I had to charge.

It’s hard to say if this is what the retail unit offers but we’d like to think that it will offer more hours of use with light-medium usage with the consumer unit.

Despite that though, with the 66W fast charger that was included with the device, I was able to top up the device from around 15% to 100% in a little under 30 minutes.

HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro – Camera

Last, and not least, the camera system, has grown to be among the defining highlights of the P-series. The Pura 70 Pro features a triple rear camera with a 50MP main, a 48MP macro telephoto, and a 12.5MP ultrawide setup backed with the XMAGE imaging system.

It is quite a capable snapper based on my experience with it so far. It has come to a point where I decided to shoot with the device rather than the Sony ZV1 I brought on the trip. This is more true when I want to capture something further away like the scenery along the highway or just want a straightforward way to capture memories.

Here are some samples:

Main camera

Ultrawide

Portrait

Night

Front

HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro – Our Initial Verdict

I think the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro is worth keeping an eye on, especially if you’re looking for a strong camera phone and one that just stands out from design alone.

I’ve used quite a number of previous Huawei smartphones and as I held the Pura 70 Pro for the first time, it had a good premium feeling in the hands and it felt familiar.

We’re glad to see that Huawei has continued to work on its XMAGE imaging system and continues to be unafraid to be different in a sea of similar-looking devices in a crowded smartphone market.

Learn more about the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro via the official website.