Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max hands-on review

Brand-new 200MP telephoto, changes to the main camera

There's a bit of a reshuffling in the Pura roster when it comes to the camera hardware. The way we're seeing it, the Pura 90 Pro Max (and, by extension, this international Pura 90s Pro Max version) is sort of a replacement for the Pura 80 Pro+, with an upgraded telephoto camera and a bit of a side step on the main unit. Meanwhile, there's apparently not going to be a direct Pura 80 Ultra successor (no pseudo-dual-telehoto shenanigans), so the 90(s) Pro Max is going to have to be the headliner for this generation.

The new telephoto camera uses a 200MP 1/1.28" sensor - a tie for the largest sensor in a telephoto camera with the Oppo Find X9 Ultra (and, well, the Pura 80 Ultra). It's not the same OmniVision OV52A imager found on the Oppo, however, nor is it the one from the Pura 80 Ultra either (that one is 50MP), since Huawei is explicitly stating that theirs has an RYYB subpixel array and it's the first of that kind in the industry (Huawei has a long history of preferring Yellow sub-pixels over Green). A certain SmartSense model was floated in earlier reports, called the SCC80XS, but we currently have no way of confirming it.

The telephoto camera uses a longer lens than the one on the Find, with the Pura 90s Pro Max offering 4x zoom (3x on the Oppo). As is often the case, focal lengths can be a bit of a moot point with Huaweis - here, the phone reports an 89mm equivalent in hardware apps, while the photos have 96mm in the respective EXIF field. Either way, the lens is stabilized and is CIPA-rated for up to 7 stops of stabilization. The aperture is f/2.6. The Pura 80 Ultra's optical zoom-in functionality (which itself wasn't entirely honest) is gone for the 90s Pro Max, and getting more reach beyond the nominal 4x will require some in-sensor remosaicking action, which the 200MP imager should be well-equipped to deliver.

On the main camera, we're looking at another 1/1.28" sensor, only this time it's a 50MP one. It's also got an RYYB subpixel arrangement, of course. Now, the previous generation had 1.0" type sensors on the main cameras on all but the vanilla model (so the Pro, Pro+ and Ultra), but this time it's a new LOFIC (Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor) type sensor, so it should be at least as good, maybe. The lens has OIS and a variable aperture in the f/1.4-f/4.0 range (another typical Huawei feature).

The trio of cameras on the back is completed by the ultrawide that has a 13mm equivalent lens with an f/2.2 aperture and autofocus. The sensor is also a Huawei staple - a 40MP RYYB unit.

There's also what Huawei calls True-to-Color camera, which is a dedicated spectral sensor for more granular color temperature sensing and accurate white balance in complex lighting. They're claiming a 43% improvement in 'color restoration accuracy' compared to the Pura 80 generation, too. Specific scenes should be rendered a lot better than on rivals, they say, like high saturation mixed lighting (a pretty extreme pink/orange/purple neon test setup was shown) and high saturation blue lighting (think of an underwater aquarium).

Over on the front, there's a fairly modest 13MP selfie camera - same one as on the entire previous generation in the lineup. It's still got a wide 21mm lens and it has autofocus, so it's not entirely basic - it's just the sensor that's a little old-school.

• Wide (main): 50MP (1/1.28", 1.22µm - 2.44µm), f/1.6-f/4.0, 24mm, PDAF (12cm - ∞), Laser AF, PDAF, OIS; 4K60 video recording
• Ultrawide: 40MP, f/2.2, 13mm, PDAF; 4K60.
• Telephoto: 200MP (1/1.28", 0.61µm-2.44µm), f/2.6, 89/96mm, PDAF (15cm - ∞), OIS; 4K60.
• Front camera: 13MP, f/2.0, 21mm, PDAF; 4K60.

There's a ton of AI features on board if you're getting a Pura 90s Pro Max in most of the world, while the EU-bound handsets will feature a more limited subset of AI bits. What Europe will be missing out on is AI Remove (object eraser), AI Best Expression (all of the group members' smiles from multiple images brought into a single shot), AI Move (moving elements around the image after the fact), and AI De-glare (removing reflections).

Either way though, the AI Composition functionality will be on board, and it's seemingly the most important one. It offers scene and intent understanding, plus composition, focal length and aspect ratio assistance. Huawei says the Pura 90s Pro Max's AI Composition algorithms are vastly more capable than competitors' efforts and offer continuous zoom suggestions in the 1x-10x range (as opposed to no cross-lens switching on other models), pitch/tilt and camera position guidance, and recognition of humans, pets, and architecture.

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

Starting off with the main camera, you'll get a chance to have a look at bits and pieces of the Kuala Lumpur skyline, as well as a glimpse into the local bird park.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x)

Next up - 2x zoom.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x)

Telephoto camera

Moving on to 4x zoom for our first look at the new telephoto camera.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (4x)

Here's also a handful of close-ups shot on the telephoto at 4x zoom at its minimum focusing distance of around 15cm.

Close-up samples, telephoto camera (4x)

The UI's next zoom step is 10x, which feels more like a marketing decision than optimizing for the sensor's best performance. We might give it a try at something like 8x come review time.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (10x)

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide camera shouldn't bring a lot of surprises, being essentially unchanged on Huawei phones for a while now.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Low-light photo quality

Main camera

Next up is some of Kuala Lumpur's skyline at dusk and at night, starting with the main camera at 1x zoom.

Low-light samples, main camera (1x)

And a handful of shots taken at 2x zoom.

Low-light samples, main camera (2x)

Telephoto camera

The new telephoto's low-light performance is also worth exploring in more detail, but here's just an early look for now.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (4x)

And a few scenes at 10x for good measure.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (10x)

Ultrawide camera

We also shot a handful of low-light photos with the ultrawide, of course.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Selfies

And finally, a few selfies.

Selfie samples

Video recording

The Pura 90s Pro Max records video up to 4K60 with all of its cameras, including the front-facing one. Huawei is making a semi-big deal of the phone's capability to record 20x clips and we'll look into it when we have more time to spare.

You can hit '> play' below and use the '>| next' button to advance through the playlist of all video samples, or you can watch the full playlist on YouTube.

Wrap-up

As is often the case with such early encounters, we have little to say along the lines of objective findings, but we're still left with a generally positive impression of the Pura 90s Pro Max.

The fundamentals look solid. Build quality is up to the expected flagship standard, and the Pura design is nothing if not recognizable. The display is plenty nice, and the anti-glare treatment is a positive development too. Admittedly, battery capacity is just about okay if you're in the APAC region and more like too little when you account for the EU limitations, but we'll need to wait for the review to get a better idea of how the phone converts that into actual usage time.

The chipset and software are two more somewhat problematic areas, both affected by the years-long US sanctions on Huawei. So performance will be behind the current Android top dogs, and out-of-the-box Google app support is still a no-go. That said, the international EMUI software build may have made a significant jump to an Android 16 kernel, which would also be a welcome sight.

Then there's the camera system, where we're seeing a few changes this generation. A move to a new telephoto setup with a new sensor and no unnecessary dual-lens gimmicks (looking at you, Pura 80 Ultra) looks potentially like a step in the right direction, while the shift to a smaller-sensor main camera may have helped with packaging, and we'll have to see what it's done for image quality.

All things considered, within the limitations that Huawei has faced since 2018, the Pura 90s Pro Max is shaping up like a worthy high-end offering. For more details, we'll all need to wait for the full review.