Huawei Pura 80 Ultra: First camera photos and comparisons with iPhone 16 Pro, Vivo X200 Ultra and Oppo Find X8 Ultra
On June 11, 2025, Huawei unveiled its Pura 80 series, consisting of four model variants. In addition to the Pura 80, the Pura 80 Pro and the Pura 80 Pro+, the Pura 80 Ultra has naturally caught the attention of the global public, as it once again combines two new in-house technologies. On the one hand, there is the new 1-inch main sensor with an impressive 16 dynamic levels, and on the other, the first "switchable lens" based on a 1/1.28-inch sensor, which, at a 45-degree angle, operates with both an 89mm 3.7x lens and a 240mm 9.4/10x lens. However, the latter has the disadvantage that the 10x lens only has 12.5 MP of the sensor's 50 MP and the aperture is reduced from F/2.4 to F/3.6.
Since its launch, there has been much discussion about the usefulness of this solution. While it eliminates the need for a second sensor and appears to free up some space in the otherwise cramped smartphone housing, it is also very expensive and may be less useful than it seems at first glance due to its limitations. It should be noted that the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra costs just under 10,000 yuan ($1,394) in China. By comparison, both the Vivo X200 Ultra and the Oppo Find X8 Ultra are available for under 7,000 yuan ($975), almost a third cheaper. So, does the result justify the additional cost? Especially in view of the fact that, at least from the perspective of a European buyer, importing an Android-free HarmonyOS 5.1 device that lacks Google services means that you are potentially spending more on compromises than with competing camera flagship smartphones.
New criticism: No video recording at 9.4x optical zoom
And there appear to be further limitations to the unusual switchable lens solution, as Weibo and X user @feni_book points out. In his hands-on (see below), he discovered that there is no switch to the 9.4x telephoto when recording videos, meaning there is only a classic crop solution from 3.7x telephoto. As far as we know, no other users have yet confirmed this. The argument in favor of this limitation, namely that the motor noise or the brief interruption when changing lenses would be too disruptive for video recording, is a little lame and somewhat misleading, because nothing speaks against starting video recordings at 10x zoom, which is apparently not currently possible in either regular or Pro mode, at least according to this early user.
Pura 80 Ultra confirms Kirin 9020 chipset
It should be common knowledge by now that the Pura 80 Ultra is powered by the Kirin 9020, the same chipset used in the Mate 70 Pro. The Pura 70 Ultra still featured the Kirin 9010. Compared to current Snapdragon mobile platforms, it is obviously not an equal competitor, but the Pura 80 Ultra is likely to be viewed as a camera replacement by many (and not as a high-performance smartphone). Although the hands-on video below is in Chinese, the section starting at minute 2.00 may be interesting for some, showing the telephoto lens changing several times in slow motion.
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra portrait shots
Portrait shots taken with the Pura 80 Ultra cameras have been consistenly well received; you can see a few examples from Weibo below. Huawei appears to have achieved a particularly high level of quality in contours, such as hair.
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra 24 mm photos
This also applies to the 24mm photo samples that we found on the Chinese microblogging network. While the majority of the available photos focus, for understandable reasons, on the innovative telephoto duo, there is little to criticize about the photos from the 1-inch main camera (as well as the 2x crop zoom) we've seen so far, including the variable aperture. The latter, of course, provides photographers with additional creative possibilities, such as creating light stars, as in the example below.
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra 89 mm photos
The ultra-wide angle does not seem to play a role at all in any of the photos taken so far by Huawei testers, making the dual telephoto all the more popular. We are yet to see any critical comments of the 3.7x position with an equivalent focal length of 89mm. No wonder, since the full 1/1.28-inch 50-MP sensor size and a fairly large f/2.4 aperture are available here, even if the Vivo X200 Ultra is a little brighter at f/2.3, albeit with a reduced 1/1.4-inch sensor size. But we'll get to the comparisons later.
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra 240 mm photos
The 10x zoom shots, i.e., in the second position of the lens carriage inside the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra, have been met with some criticism. Some observers, such as X-user @ISAQUES81, have made some rather negative comments about some of the sample photos below, which were taken by various Weibo users (see sources at the bottom). Indeed, some of these photos do look somewhat one-dimensional, while this effect is less pronounced in others. This could also be due to early camera software that is still buggy. Personally, I really like some of the 240 mm telephoto shots, such as the flower. Pixel peeping does produce some unsightly (AI) artifacts, such as in the last three shots. Whether a Vivo X200 Ultra, especially with the additional teleconverter, can't do this similarly well and at a lower price is something that the next few paragraphs may be able to answer.
First hands-on and camera test videos with comparison shots
In China, some testers have already uploaded their first test videos or at least hands-on videos, two of which are included below, including comparisons with the iPhone 16 Pro Max and partly with the Vivo X200 Ultra. Readers can draw their own conclusions from these comparison tests without understanding the language. The larger telephoto sensor of the new Huawei flagship appears to fully exploit its advantages, especially in low light; the iPhone is clearly beaten in daylight and at high zoom levels, although the comparison could hardly have turned out any differently given the different telephoto hardware.
Camera bump: Huawei Pura 80 Ultra vs. Vivo X200 Ultra
In terms of camera bumps, the Vivo X200 Ultra and Huawei Pura 80 Ultra are equally matched. Both are on a similar level, making them among the two flagship camera smartphones with the thickest camera modules on the market.
Pura 80 Ultra vs. Vivo X200 Ultra vs. Oppo Find X8 Ultra
Finally, we also found the three sets of comparison photos below, comparing the Pura 80 Ultra with the Vivo X200 Ultra and the Oppo Find X8 Ultra. However, these are comparatively uninformative, especially since only text passages were photographed. The comparison images were apparently taken in a Huawei store. We'll leave it to the readers to judge; none of the candidates are particularly bad at these digital zoom values, at least when it comes to readability.
