The Huawei Pura 80 Ultra is here, and its camera sounds genuinely wild.

While Huawei has officially taken the wraps off its latest flagship series in China — the Pura 80, Pura 80 Pro, and Pura 80 Pro Plus joining the top-tier Ultra — it’s the latter that’s grabbing all the attention, and for good reason.

The headlining feature is undoubtedly its “switchable” dual-lens telephoto camera. Yes, you read that right. Instead of the usual multi-camera setup with distinct sensors for different zoom levels, the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra uses a clever movable prism that allows two different lenses — offering 3.7x and 9.4x optical zoom — to share a single sensor.

Think about that for a second. Two different optical zoom levels feeding into the same 50-megapixel (for the shorter lens) and 12.5-megapixel (for the longer one, likely involving some pixel binning or cropping) sensor. It’s a different approach compared to the variable telephoto setups we’ve seen elsewhere, and it potentially offers a wider range of optical zoom in a more space-efficient package.

By cleverly using a single sensor for two lenses, it could potentially save on component costs and crucially, free up internal space. This extra room could explain the inclusion of a larger-than-average 1/1.28-inch main sensor, which also boasts a returning dynamic aperture. Alongside that, you’ll find a 40-megapixel ultrawide lens. Huawei is also touting “TCG triple-real-time fusion” technology on the Ultra, claiming an impressive 16EV dynamic range for detailed shots in various lighting conditions.

Huawei Pura 80 Ultra Zoom is crazy 🔥#HuaweiPura80Ultra pic.twitter.com/5ItXiEGjAG

— Mahir Shahriar (@MahirOnTech) June 12, 2025

Zoom in

Beyond the groundbreaking camera system, the Pura 80 Ultra packs the expected flagship-level specs. There’s a large 6.8-inch LTPO OLED display with a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate and a claimed 3,000 nits peak brightness. A large 5,700mAh battery keeps things running, supported by 100-watt wired and 80-watt wireless charging. The smartphone also boasts IP68 and IP69 ratings for dust and water resistance. You’ll find it with 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage.

The technology giant remains tight-lipped about the specific chipset powering the Pura 80 series, but reports claim the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra is based on the Kirin 9020 processor. It runs on HarmonyOS NEXT, the latest iteration of Huawei’s in-house operating system, which is no longer based on Android. The company is emphasizing performance improvements with the new “Ark engine.”

The Pura 80 Ultra is part of a larger family, as we said earlier. The Pura 80, Pura 80 Pro, and Pura 80 Pro Plus offer similar design language and varying camera configurations. Even the base model includes a triple-camera setup and a slightly smaller 6.6-inch display. The Pro and Pro Plus models share the Ultra’s main and ultrawide cameras but feature a single telephoto lens. Notably, all Pura 80 models can connect to China’s Beidou satellite system, with the Pro Plus adding support for two types of satellite communication.

For those of us outside China, the big question is always about international availability. Last year’s Pura 70 series did make its way to global markets a few weeks after its initial China launch, so there’s hope the Pura 80 series, and particularly this intriguing Ultra model, will follow suit.

Priced from ¥9,999 (roughly P77,432 or $1,390), the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra certainly sits at the premium end of the spectrum. If it delivers on its camera promises, though, it could be a serious contender for the title of the most innovative camera phone of the year. We’ll be keeping a close eye on when and if this model makes its way to the Philippines. Last year, the Pura 70 Ultra was released locally alongside the Pura 70 Pro and Pura 70.

Huawei Pura 80 Ultra specs

• 6.8-inch curved-edge LTPO OLED display, 1.5K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, second-gen Kunlun Glass 2
• 7nm Kirin 9020 chipset
• Maleoon 920 GPU
• 16GB RAM
• 512GB/1TB storage
• Quad 50-megapixel main with variable-aperture lens, 40-megapixel ultrawide, 50-megapixel periscope telephoto, 12.5-megapixel periscope telephotos with OIS rear cameras
• 13-megapixel front camera
• Under-display fingerprint reader
• 5,700mAh battery with 100-watt fast wired charging, 80-watt fast wireless charging
• HarmonyOS 5.1
• IP68/69 rating
• Dual-satellite communication (in China)
• Colors: Gold, Black

Image via Weibo

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