Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
While the Huawei Pura 90 Pro Max’s name isn’t at all unique, the way the phone is designed and its 200MP camera provide one of the most distinctive looks I’ve ever seen on a tablet.
The Huawei Pura 90 Pro Max features a two-tone gradient wallpaper. I used it for a day and it reminded me of Huawei P30 Pro – The last phone I tried had a similar gradient on the back. That was in 2019, when the Chinese company was still collaborating with Leica and shipping phones with Google services pre-installed. Six years later, Huawei continues to deliver premium hardware, unconventional ideas and innovative camera features – but unfortunately, No Google services.
A big phone with character and pop
The screen is sharp, vibrant, and easy to read outdoors.
The new Huawei phone doesn’t reflect the Huawei P30 Pro’s aurora borealis or the breathable crystal finish. Instead, the so-called Ocean Orange variant features a bolder purple-to-orange gradient that stands out more dramatically. Besides Ocean Orange, the phone also comes in two other gradient colors – Sunset Purple and Emerald Lake – as well as two solid colors: Dawn Gold and Obsidian Slack.
However, I’m not a fan of Huawei’s choice to go with a flat bezel. I liked the curvy sides of the Pura 90 Ultra more. It was easier to carry and use in daily life. Fortunately, the new Huawei Pura 90 Pro Max does not feel like a stone in the hand. It weighs 230.5 grams (versus 233 grams for the version iPhone 17 Pro Max And 232 grams for Google Pixel 10 Pro XL) and remains comfortable enough for one-handed use. Like other flagship phones, it also carries IP68 and IP69 dust and water resistance ratings.
On the front, you get a 6.9-inch OLED display with 1Hz to 120Hz refresh rate support and an anti-reflective coating on top. I took it on the sunny streets of Bangkok and had no issues with clarity. Whether I was framing shots in the viewfinder or navigating using Huawei’s Petal Maps, everything remained clearly visible outdoors. I wasn’t able to install my favorite media apps during my limited hands-on time — again, there’s no access to the Google Play Store here — but the screen’s minimal bezels should make it feel immersive when watching videos.
The camera’s hardware and software are packed with features
You can actually see the aperture blades adjust on the lower sensor when changing the settings in Pro mode.
Apart from the colorful design, this phone is equipped with the latest camera technology. 200MP camera? Checks. Variable aperture? Checks. New AI features? Also check! However, it falls below the Pura 90 Ultra in the lineup.
Huawei’s exclusive phone in China contains a 50-megapixel main camera Side surplus integration capacitor technologywhich allows image sensors to handle a wider dynamic range between light and shadow. It also supports a 10-stop variable f/1.4-4.0 aperture to give you more physical control over the amount of light hitting the sensor, similar to eye squinting. For example, you can use f/4.0 in very bright conditions, switch to f/2.4 or f/2.8 for sharper shots in good lighting, or open it with a wider f/1.5 aperture to capture more light in dark environments. This level of light control is still rare in a phone camera, where adjustable apertures aren’t usually that versatile.
Taken using the Pura 90 Pro Max’s telephoto camera.
This is coupled with a massive 1/1.28-inch telephoto sensor with 200MP resolution and f/2.6 aperture. It is a 96mm equivalent unit with 4x optical zoom. Huawei says it is able to provide continuous detail preservation even in difficult lighting conditions. There’s a third 40-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 aperture that can handle ultra-wide tasks. I wasn’t able to test all of the camera’s capabilities but there are notable things to talk about after our one-hour shooting tour with it.
This flower image was captured using one of the filters built into the Pura 90 Pro Max, which allow for color and tone adjustment.
- The 200MP resolution is useful when you need detailed shots, such as when capturing skyscrapers or landscapes.
- The variable aperture is interesting, letting you see how different settings can change the look of your shot. It’s available in Pro mode, giving you more flexibility without the need for external tools or editing tricks to brighten or darken your images.
- There’s also a new control — which I didn’t notice on my Pura 90 Ultra — that’s similar to iPhone photography styleswhere you can adjust the color and tone of the image using the slider inside the camera lens.
- I forgot to turn off beauty mode, so all my selfie shots ended up with smooth skin. It looks decent, but I prefer to keep some of the natural texture in my skin.
Pose Ideas is a convenient feature but needs better implementation.
Huawei has also introduced a new feature to the camera app called Pose Ideas, which suggests poses based on your surroundings. Works with both rear and front cameras. Turning it on when you’re not the subject is impressive in theory, but also somewhat impractical in execution.
For example, during lunch, I pointed the camera at a friend sitting across from me, and Pose Ideas recognized her and suggested some sitting positions. I then had to turn the screen towards her, cover the camera with my palm so she could see the suggested pose and ask her to recreate it. Next, I flipped the phone over again and aligned her position with the outline on the screen.
Photo taken with Huawei Pura 90 Pro Max.
This process of pointing the camera at a subject, clicking on Pose Ideas, choosing a pose, showing it to them and then aligning them with the outline is tedious, and I don’t think I’ll ever use it. But the same thing is really useful when taking selfies: I can simply turn it on and align the outline.
The camera’s fast shutter speed helps when taking photos of moving subjects like this busy street.
I like these posing ideas because I never know what to do with my hand when I’m posing, but it seems like a feature that would be better on a foldable phone. This is because these phones often allow your subject to see what they look like using the external display, making it easier to view the pose suggestion.
Huawei also needs to better implement its Pose Ideas feature. There were times when I randomly switched to the ultra-wide lens for no apparent reason. However, it worked better indoors, when my friend was sitting at the table and the camera was automatically set to 2x zoom.
What’s next?
Color changes with ambient light.
The Huawei Pura 90 Pro Max is powered by Huawei’s in-house Kirin 9030S chipset, which the company claims offers a 200% improvement in image NPU performance compared to the previous generation. I wasn’t able to verify these claims during my limited time with the phone, but overall it felt smooth and responsive to use.
It is paired with a 6,000 mAh battery with support for 100W wired charging and 80W wireless charging. The phone runs on Huawei’s latest HarmonyOS 6.1 operating system, which has a native AI assistant. I think it would be useful once you understand your usage patterns, but again, I haven’t had time to form an opinion.
The Huawei Pura 90 Pro Max is now available for purchase in China at a starting price of CNY 6,499 (~US$955) for the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage variant.
