We did mention that this was happening today. Huawei has unveiled four new headline smartphones in its Pura 80 lineup, with the 80, 80 Pro, 80 Pro+, and 80 Ultra all breaking cover at the company’s China event.
Anyone used to how companies name their smartphones will realise that the Ultra is the top of the lineup (until they change the definition of ‘Ultra’), with the others stepping down in some way until we get to the base Pura 80. Here’s what you need to know about them (except when they launch in South Africa — that hasn’t been revealed yet).
Post-Pura 80 ponderings
There are commonalities and differences across the range. The stock version uses a 6.6in 1,256 x 2,760 display, the Pro and Pro+ share the same 120Hz 6.8in display, with the Pura 80 Ultra offering an upgraded version of the same with up to 3,000 nits of brightness. No matter which phone you opt for, each features Huawei’s LPTO OLED tech and Kunlun 2 glass.
The base and Pro models have 12GB of RAM and either 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage. The Pro+ and Ultra jump to 16GB with 512GB/1TB storage options.
Battery options are larger than average across the range, with the Pura 80 fielding a 5,600mAh battery, 66W wired and 50W wireless charging. The others all sport 5,700mAh batteries, 100W wired and 80W wireless refills.
Picture this
Huawei tends to go big with its camera tech, and this year is no different. The Pura 80 Ultra is the monster of the bunch, with a massive 50MP telephoto sensor able to shift between two different lenses. That won’t confound your local repair shop at all, we’re sure. The shifting sensor offers between 3.7x and 9.4x optical zoom with sensor-shift optical image stabilisation. A 50MP 1in main sensor supplies a variable (f/1.6 to f/4.0) aperture and, Huawei claims, the best dynamic range ever seen in a smartphone. A 40MP ultrawide and 1.5MP multi-spectral colour sensor round out the camera features here.
The other models are, of course, a touch less capable. The Pura 80 has a 50MP main sensor with variable aperture, a 12MP periscope (5.5x optical zoom), and a 13MP ultrawide. The 1.5MP colour sensor turns up here as well.
The Pro and Pro+ both use the same 1in 50MP sensor as the Ultra, 48MP telephoto lenses, and the same 40MP and 1.5MP lenses seen in the Ultra. All of the devices launched have the same 13MP front-facing camera, IP68 and IP69 ratings (the second covers hot water jets, so using it in the jacuzzi is safe, we guess?), and satellite calling capabilities… in China. There’s no telling if that last one will make it over here.
But, as mentioned, nothing local is known yet. It shouldn’t be too long before South African launch and pricing details appear. We’ll let you know when they do.
