Lack of Google Play Services is still a concern for many, but last week’s poll shows that Huawei has not lost its mojo – the new Pura 80 Ultra in particular is a highly desirable phone. That said, it may be out of reach for many, literally or figuratively.
The Huawei Pura 80 Ultra received a very warm welcome. If Huawei was still using Google-connected Android, this could have been one of the best selling premium phones of the year. It’s not just Google Play access, though. When Huawei was embargoed by the US, it had to shrink its global distribution network and it still hasn’t recovered.
There was a debate over the overcomplicated telephoto camera – many felt that Huawei could have been clearer about that in its marketing. The camera offers a choice of 3.7x and 9.4x zoom, but it can’t do full resolution shots at the longer focal length. The large 1/1.28” 50MP sensor is usable in full at 3.7x, but does a 2x crop when in 9.4x mode, which limits the resolution to 12.5MP.
The Huawei Pura 80 Pro and Pro+ differ mainly in the more advanced satellite messaging support for the latter. And yet the Pura 80 Pro+ was the clear favorite between the two – it goes to show that satellite messaging will be an increasingly more important feature going forward. Anyway, neither Pro model was as popular as the Ultra, but they did alright.
Finally, the vanilla Huawei Pura 80 got a surprising number of votes – we’re used to seeing the vanilla model get the cold shoulder (it does have the advantage of not splitting the votes, unlike the Pro and Pro+).
The usual considerations apply for the whole Pura 80 family. Some mentioned that apps like GBox can act as a replacement for Google Play Services and will allow you to run Google apps (and other apps that rely on Google APIs).
Still, if any issues occur, you’d be on your own. That applies to warranty too – if you import a Pura 80, repairs and servicing will be difficult. And last but not least, 5G band support is an issue in some regions.
Even with all that said, there is a good reason why Huawei was the biggest smartphone maker in the world for a bit. And phones like the Pura 80 family are a good reminder of that.
If you are not deterred by the lack of Google services, mark July 10 on your calendar – that is the date of the global launch of the Huawei Mate 80 series. We are not sure whether all four models will be available (the Pro+ is a long shot). Also, we haven’t seen any ads in the EU – but fans in South America, Africa and Asia can look forward to the new camera flagships.