Huawei Pura 80 Ultra Crushes iPhone 16 Pro Max In Camera Rankings

Forbes

6 hours ago

Key Takeaways
Huawei's latest flagship smartphone, the Pura 80 Ultra, has claimed the top spot in Dxomark's camera rankings, significantly outperforming the iPhone 16 Pro Max, Google Pixel 9 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
With an overall Dxomark score of 175 points, the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra decisively dominates the iPhone 16 Pro Max (161 points), Pixel 9 Pro XL (160 points), and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (151 points).
Notably, the Pura 80 Ultra matches the iPhone 16 Pro Max in Dxomark's video tests, a category where Apple traditionally excels. However, like its predecessor, it's hard to recommend the Pura 80 Ultra to anyone living in the US or Europe, at least as a primary device.
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra Key Camera Innovations
With the Pura 80 Ultra, Huawei has once again prioritized cutting-edge camera hardware, taking a radically different approach than industry leaders Apple, Google, and Samsung, which prioritize thinness, style, and ergonomics with a greater reliance on digital processing enabled by considerably more processor hardware.
The Pura 80 Ultra boasts several cutting-edge hardware features, including:
The Pura 80 Ultra's camera system combines a 50-megapixel primary sensor with a 40-megapixel 1/2.8' ultrawide sensor (with an f/2.2 aperture lens) and a 50-megapixel 1/2.8' telephoto camera sensor offering interchangeable 3.7x f/2.4 and 9.4x f/3.6 optical telephoto lenses.
The innovative dual-periscope zoom system utilizes a tiny, movable prism to direct light to either the 3.7x or 9.4x telephoto lens, saving space and reducing costs by using a single sensor to serve both. For a more detailed explanation of this innovative system, see Forbes contributor Prakhar Khanna's article.
The variable aperture feature, available on the primary lens, allows the camera to adapt to lighting conditions just like a stand-alone compact camera. Setting the aperture to f/1.6 captures the maximum amount of light when shooting in low-light situations and provides a blurred background with natural bokeh that's less reliant on software processing for portrait mode shots.
The primary lens features a variable aperture (f/1.6 - f/4.0) that allows the camera to adapt to varying lighting conditions, similar to a traditional compact camera. At f/1.6, the lens maximizes light intake for low-light shots and creates a naturally blurred background (bokeh) for better-looking portraits. Conversely, closing the aperture to f/4.0 increases depth of field, ensuring sharpness in group photos. This adjustable aperture is advantageous in conjunction with the Pura 80 Ultra's 1-inch type sensor, which typically results in a shallower depth of field due to its increased size.
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra: Impossible To Recommend?
Despite its impressive camera capabilities, the Pura 80 Ultra, like all of the company's smartphones, faces significant challenges in the US and European markets due to limited availability and potentially deal-breaking feature omissions forced by US trade restrictions.
Key drawbacks for potential buyers in the US and Europe include:
Workarounds exist for many apps, but reliance on third-party app stores and the lack of Google Wallet and reliable mobile banking remain powerful purchasing deterrents.
But I Still Want One
There is, of course, another option: For photography enthusiasts, the Pura 80 Ultra can serve well as a dedicated camera alongside your existing device. It's not unusual for people to carry both a phone and a camera, so why should it matter if that camera is another smartphone?
It could be argued that the Pura 80 Ultra's best-in-class camera exists partly because of the US's trade restrictions rather than despite them. Without access to the world's fastest processors, Huawei is compelled to rely on state-of-the-art camera hardware instead.
For a detailed analysis of the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra's camera performance, check Dxomark's full test report.
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