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This new flagship phone has two zoom lenses, but only one zoom camera (wait, what?)
June 11, 2025
- HUAWEI has announced the Pura 80 series of smartphones.
- The Pura 80 Ultra has a switchable tele lens, which sees one zoom camera used for two periscope lenses.
- The phone is available in China for $1,391.
HUAWEI has been teasing the Pura 80 series of flagship phones for a while now, and leaks point to a radical zoom camera system for the Pura 80 Ultra. Now, the company has indeed announced the Pura 80 series.
The Pura 80 Ultra stands out from other smartphones by offering a single zoom camera sensor for two sets of periscope lenses (3.7x and 9.4x). In fact, text on the back of the phone characterizes this as a “switchable tele lens.” More specifically, a prism seems to move between the two lenses as needed. This differs from Sony’s variable telephoto camera system, which sees the lenses moving to achieve different levels of zoom.
Unlike Sony’s small 12MP variable telephoto system, the Pura 80 Ultra offers a 1/1.28-inch zoom camera sensor. HUAWEI claims this is the largest telephoto camera in the industry. Interestingly, the company lists both a 50MP f/2.4 and a 12.5MP f/3.6 tele camera. It makes sense that we’d see different aperture sizes for each lens, but I’m not sure about the resolution discrepancy as they’re both using the same camera sensor in theory. I can only speculate that there is some cropping happening here at long range.
The Ultra handset also offers a one-inch 50MP RYYB main camera, complete with a variable aperture system. HUAWEI says this camera offers the industry’s highest dynamic range. This camera system is rounded out by a 40MP ultrawide camera, and a 1.5MP red maple sensor for color info. A 13MP camera handles selfies and video calls.
Otherwise, the phone also has a 6.8-inch 120Hz OLED screen (2,848 × 1,276), a 5,700mAh battery, 100W wired charging, 80W wireless speeds, and IP68/IP69 ratings. The device is also equipped with the Harmony OS 5.1 platform, which doesn’t support Android apps.
HUAWEI confirmed that the Pura 80 Ultra starts at 9,999 yuan (~$1,391) in China for the 16GB/512GB model. Meanwhile, the 16GB/1TB model costs 10,999 yuan (~$1,530). The company typically launches its Pura flagships in global markets shortly after the domestic launch. So, our fingers are crossed that the Pura 80 Ultra, in particular, is available outside China.