I believe everyone is already aware that we rushed to grab Huawei's newly released flagship offline.
Yes, it's the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra priced at a whopping ten thousand yuan, stealing the spotlight from our previous night's article.
The night before last, we covered everything from the standout rotating camera, signal performance, to the performance of the brand-new Kirin 9010 processor with you all, leaving only "imaging" untouched.
Well, I can't take all the blame for this; it was mainly because of a surprise ambush by the software. Just before we were about to publish, a system update popped up, rendering the sample photos taken the day before useless.
So, I also promised everyone to wrap up Huawei's "Pura" properly today.
The other day, we briefly mentioned the standout feature of the Pura 70 Ultra in terms of imaging, which is its "pop-up" main camera.
With a rotating and retractable lens structure that I haven't seen on any other phone so far, it manages to deliver both a large F1.6 aperture on a 1-inch main camera sensor and a nicely designed body with good ergonomics.
What I didn't mention the day before yesterday is just how challenging achieving this can be.
On a small scale: What about the waterproofing of the phone?
On a larger scale: How about the optical image stabilization (OIS) of the entire lens? You see, the success rate of photos taken with cameras with OIS is completely different. But after Huawei implemented the retractable lens structure, the traditional OIS structure became obsolete.
The result? Huawei solved both of these issues: Not only did they pass the IP68 dust and water resistance certification, but they also introduced shift-type stabilization for the 1-inch main camera sensor.
Speaking of waterproofing, I actually splashed water on this Pura 70 Ultra in my hand and found that neither the main camera nor the retractable mechanism would retract in photo or video modes. This means that the mechanical structure's sealing is done exceptionally well, and retracting it doesn't affect its waterproofing performance.
I'll take another look at the details. In the case of hanging water, droplets can't infiltrate the internal mechanical structure.
How do those four words go again...?
When it comes to sensor-shift stabilization, it's not particularly groundbreaking. Apple, for instance, employs sensor-shift stabilization in iPhones. However, the iPhone sensor size is only 1/1.28 inches, which means the requirements for module structure design and internal stacking are not as stringent as Huawei's, making it easier to implement.
Huawei went to such great lengths to master this retractable lens for a reason. As I mentioned the day before yesterday, when the aperture is enlarged, coupled with the XD Motion algorithm, the ability to capture snapshots becomes extremely powerful.
But how strong is it specifically? We didn't have a clear idea the day before yesterday, so these past two days I've been taking it out specifically to snap some street shots.
And then I found that this ultra-high-speed flash function is really suitable for capturing sports scenes. Like when I saw a kid learning skateboarding on the street, I casually took a few shots, and none of them were blurry. Plus, I managed to capture every moment of the kid's movements.
After showing the photos to the kid, he even praised me for taking them so well, making me feel a bit embarrassed...
In addition to capturing images, the main camera with a large aperture and a 1-inch sensor also has another benefit: the cropped 2x portraits turn out quite usable in terms of quality.
Take a look at this elderly gentleman I photographed—the details in his face, hair, and attire are quite well preserved. Remarkably, even the threads on his clothes in the second image were identified by the image processing algorithm.
This algorithm is certainly quite something...
The Pura 70 Ultra utilizes a combination of wide-angle, periscope telephoto, and lift-type main cameras.
With the telephoto lens opting for a "large sensor" solution, the actual magnification of the telephoto is only 3.2x. After cropping out the edge portions with poor image quality in the camera app, it becomes a 3.5x telephoto.
Take a look at these flowers below, all captured using this 3.5x telephoto lens. Aren't they quite captivating?
And believe it or not, the honey-gathering bee below was captured by me at 10x magnification. This little bee was in constant motion throughout, so capturing this moment was quite a feat.
It's safe to say that this telephoto lens still maintains some usability even when cropped at 10x.
Apart from the decent image quality, the telephoto macro feature of this lens caught my attention. It's intriguing how it can focus as close as 5cm and reach a maximum focal length of 90mm. Coupled with its wide aperture of F2.1 and algorithmic optimizations, it manages to deliver impressive detail even in less-than-optimal lighting conditions.
Check out these sample shots; whether it's the droplets on the bottle, the veins of a leaf, or the pixels on a screen, everything is captured with remarkable clarity. It truly evokes the essence of macro photography.
The sample photos taken this time are indeed quite numerous, and there isn't enough time to analyze each one in detail. So, here they are all together for everyone to take a look at.
When the Mate 60 series was released last year, some buddies asked Tony if they should ditch their P40 Pro— I told them, "Hold your horses, the P series is sure to have some new tricks up its sleeve!"
And sure enough, Huawei has pulled another rabbit out of the hat.
Oh, but now it's not called P anymore, it's called "Pura" ~
While it's not uncommon for smartphone manufacturers to rename their products, Huawei's move is quite unusual.
On one hand, the P series has been evolving for 12 years, from the first generation Ascend P1 to the present, and users have become accustomed to it.
On the other hand, Huawei's "Pura" trademark was unearthed online as early as 2019, indicating that the renaming was a long-planned move.
After understanding all of this, the answer to the question of renaming the P series becomes quite clear: the climate of the P series has matured, and it's time for a revitalizing brand upgrade.
As Yu Chengdong put it, "Starting anew with a fresh attitude."
For Huawei, it's also time for the P series to mature into a brand similar to Mate.
Because with the return of the Mate60, Huawei has sent a clear signal that in the high-end market, "what belongs to me, I want to reclaim."
The cumulative activation of Huawei's Mate60 and Mate60 Pro models has reached 17.33 million units, according to QuestMobile data, helping Huawei regain some lost ground in the high-end market.
However, for Huawei, this isn't enough. It's worth noting that during its peak around 2020, the cumulative sales of the Huawei Mate40 series exceeded 32 million units, securing the top position in both domestic and global markets.
To reclaim its peak position, Huawei knows that relying solely on the Mate60 won't be sufficient. Hence, they've made more attempts in the high-end market.
For instance, Pocket has broken away from the P series to establish itself as a standalone brand, aiming to fill the gap in the high-end market with its stylish, feminine, and vertically folding differentiated products. In a recent conversation with colleagues from other smartphone manufacturers, one mentioned that everyone is keeping an eye on Huawei's approach to the high-end vertically folding segment.
Similarly, Huawei is continuously exploring the ultra-high-end market with its luxurious brand, Extraordinary Master.
So, the upgrade of the P series to Pura is actually a crucial part of Huawei's high-end brand strategy.
The arrival of Pura means that Huawei has another "warrior" in the high-end market, just like Mate. This dual-flagship layout greatly strengthens their influence in the high-end segment—Mate for men, business, and versatility, and Pura for women, fashion, and imaging.
Moreover, for Huawei, Pura carries another layer of significance—it continues the imaging and aesthetic genes of the P series while leading the brand system's maturity with technology.
I'm not sure if everyone has read our article on Huawei's imaging (link), where we mentioned Huawei's ambition for its imaging to establish a unique style because "fashion fades, but style remains."
Pura follows the same principle. Huawei aims to use this brand to lead the market trends.
It's akin to those big names in the fashion industry, whose new releases each year can set off a new trend within the circle.
However, achieving this isn't easy. After getting my hands on the Pura 70 Ultra, I feel like there's potential. Because this phone does have a bold, pioneering spirit.
Let's take a moment to recall the past few years. The Huawei P series led the trend with its groundbreaking features like ultra-large sensors and periscope zoom lenses. Gradient color schemes also became synonymous with the P series.
Speaking of imaging, the P series truly kicked off a linear acceleration in photography with the P9. It was the first Huawei phone to feature a color and monochrome dual camera setup, marking Huawei's debut in the imaging arena.
Subsequently, from the P10 to the P60, features like portrait photography, super night mode, and periscope zoom were introduced, each adding a new dimension to Huawei's P series lineup.
After the P20, Huawei made significant strides in aesthetic design. The gradient Aurora color of the P20 became an instant trendsetter. It's remarkable how various models, from entry-level to flagship, adopted gradient finishes back then.
Subsequently, we saw the ethereal "Breathing Crystal" and "Amber Sunrise" of the P30, the frosty silver of the P40, the "Cocoa Tea" and the "Dual-ring" design of the P50, the "Cocoa Tea" and the "Dual-ring" design of the P50, the "Lolita White" of the P60, and the island-themed design of the P60 Art... Almost every generation had a design that left a lasting impression.
Especially the white back panel of the P60, it has become a kind of "gemstone gambling" directly on Xiaohongshu.
And this generation, Huawei still made some new attempts. Take this white version Pura 70 Ultra for example, they have brought the embossed printing process commonly seen in luxury handbags to the back cover, giving the white leather back cover a strong sense of luxury.
And I heard that this process is called high-end embroidery embossing, very exquisite, the width of each fine line pressed and the distance between lines are both less than 0.5mm.
So much so that when I got the phone at that time, I once suspected that they had poached people from the fashion circle...
In addition, the design of the large and peculiar camera module is quite remarkable - this time they boldly opted for a triangular design, with a protrusion on one side bearing the "XMAGE" logo and a flash.
Coupled with the included phone case, featuring a "P" emblem and triangular elements, it complements the design of the Pura 70 Ultra quite nicely - this isn't the first time I've praised this phone case, and I hope other flagship phone cases in the future will follow suit.
Honestly, I feel that the design and thinking brought by Pura 70 this time still have scarcity in the current market environment. Apart from bringing some surprises to the innovation of flagship phones, it can also play a role in intensifying competition, putting pressure on the leading players.
After all, during the years when Huawei was absent from the high-end market, competitors' flagships could hardly shake Apple's position in the high-end segment. Looking at the data from 2023, Apple still ranks first among smartphone manufacturers in the Chinese market.
According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the shipment volume of the Pura series is expected to increase to 13 to 15 million units in 2024.
What does this mean? Well, consider this: the iPhone 15 series sold nearly 20 million units in China alone within about six months of its release. This implies that with the Pura 70, along with the Mate60 and the upcoming Mate70, Huawei finally has the means to go head-to-head with Apple.
Tony is quite pleased with this turn of events. For users, it's definitely not a bad thing. After all, when manufacturers compete, consumers often get the chance to benefit.
