HUAWEI has built a reputation for dominating smartphone photography with every flagship release—and the story continues with the new HUAWEI Pura 80 Series. Just like with the P60, HUAWEI once again sets the bar, and competitors will likely spend the next few months trying to catch up.
While the Ultra variant is grabbing headlines, the spotlight today is on the HUAWEI Pura 80 Pro. I had the chance to test it out in Bangkok, and it brings some serious camera upgrades worth talking about. If you’re wondering how the Pura 80 Pro performs in real-world use, especially in photography, keep reading to find out.
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| Huawei Pura 80 Pro White and Glazed Red |
Remember the Pura 70 Ultra and its impressive 1-inch sensor? Well, that’s no longer exclusive to the Ultra variant. The Pura 80 Pro now carries the same massive sensor for its main camera—a pretty big deal.
Thanks to the retractable mechanism on the Pura 70 Ultra, HUAWEI figured out how to fit that 1-inch sensor, and for the Pura 80 Series, they’ve gone with a slightly thicker camera bump to do the same—no moving parts this time.
Honestly, I’ll take a bit of extra thickness over mechanical parts that could wear out. That bigger sensor is worth it. The main camera comes with 50MP, paired with a 48MP telephoto and a 40MP ultrawide.
For context, I currently use the Pura 70 Pro and an iPhone 16 Pro Max, and based on my experience, the Pura 80 Pro actually delivers sharper results in telephoto shots compared to the two.
The first thing I noticed when comparing it to the previous generation was how much detail is retained, even when zoomed in at 10x.
In dimly lit scenes, shots still looked like they were taken in good lighting.
Color reproduction has also improved, with tones now looking much closer to real life. There's still a slightly processed feel, especially in low light where saturation is bumped up, but in daytime shots, colors appear more neutral and balanced.
In low light, cameras usually raise the ISO, which introduces noise. So it makes sense that the Pura 80 Pro uses image processing or AI to reduce that noise while boosting saturation to create a more pleasing image.
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One of my favorite features in the Pura series is its ability to freeze motion and capture moving subjects clearly, even when zoomed in. In my experience, Huawei is the only brand that has consistently nailed this feature. It’s how I was able to capture concerts with the Pura 70 Pro — and with the Pura 80 Series, it’s gotten even better.
Thanks to the larger main sensor, the Pura 80 Pro has noticeably improved its low light performance. I even tried a little experiment by covering each camera lens, and I noticed that when I covered the telephoto lens, there were times the main camera was still being used.
I’m not entirely sure, but it seems like the main and telephoto cameras are working together when taking zoomed-in shots—likely through computational processing and AI. Whatever’s going on behind the scenes, the results have clearly improved across the entire camera system.
Even the ultra-wide camera performs well in various lighting conditions, though I wouldn’t say it’s a huge leap from the Pura 70 Pro.
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| Pura 80 Pro Ultra wide |
Based on my initial testing of both the Pura 80 Pro and 80 Ultra, I’d say the Ultra might just have the best telephoto camera available right now, with the Pura 80 Pro coming in at a close second.
Both are incredibly capable. And having used the Pro versions of both the Pura 70 and 80, I’d say the Pura 80 Pro still holds its own as a top-tier device. It might not be the “King” of the lineup—but it sure makes a strong case for being the Queen.