Huawei Pura 80 Ultra introduces dual-focal telephoto lens-switching technology.

      Credit: Huawei

      On Wednesday, Huawei introduced its Pura 80 series smartphones, featuring four models: Pura 80, Pura 80 Pro, Pura 80 Pro+, and Pura 80 Ultra. As the company’s flagship release for the year focused on imaging, the series showcases cutting-edge imaging technology along with the HarmonyOS 5.1 operating system. The base model, Pura 80 Pro, starts at RMB 6,499 ($905), the Pro+ is priced at RMB 7,999 ($1,100), and the Ultra at RMB 9,999 ($1,370), while the pricing for the standard Pura 80 has yet to be disclosed.

      Significance: The pricing of the Pura 80 series indicates Huawei's strategy to directly compete with Apple and Samsung in the premium smartphone market. This demonstrates Huawei's increasing confidence in its domestic chip and imaging advancements to regain a foothold in the high-end sector despite global sanctions.

      Details: All models in the series operate on HarmonyOS 5.1, the latest version of Huawei's operating system, which is the third major mobile platform separate from Android and Apple's iOS.

      The Ultra model features a “dual-field periscope” design that employs a mechanical system to alternate optical paths, enabling both 3.7X mid-telephoto and 9.4X ultra-telephoto modes to utilize a large 1/1.28-inch sensor. This innovation minimizes the size typically associated with dual-telephoto modules and improves image consistency, especially in situations such as stage performances and low-light long-distance shooting.

      User tests and reports from tech bloggers indicate that both the Pura 80 Ultra and Pura 80 Pro+ are equipped with the Kirin 9020 chipset. The CPU consists of one Taishan big core running at 2.5GHz, three Taishan mid cores at 2.15GHz, and four A510 efficiency cores at 1.6GHz, while the GPU is a Maleoon 920 operating at 840MHz.

      The standard model features a 6.6-inch flat display, whereas the Pro and Ultra models each have a 6.8-inch quad-curved display with a 1–120Hz LTPO adaptive refresh rate and a peak brightness of 3,500 nits.

      Context: IDC's data released in April indicated that China’s smartphone shipments totaled 71.6 million units in the first quarter of 2025, marking a 3.3% year-on-year increase. The leading smartphone brands in China for the same quarter included Xiaomi (13.3 million units, a 39.9% increase y-o-y), Huawei (12.9 million units, a 10% rise), Oppo (11.2 million units, up 3.3%), Vivo (10.3 million units, a 2.3% increase), and Apple (9.8 million units, down 9%).

      Jessie Wu is a tech journalist located in Shanghai who covers consumer electronics, semiconductors, and the gaming sector for TechNode. You can contact her via email at [email protected].

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