<\/p>\nArticle Jumplist<\/p>\n
<\/default:svg><\/button><\/p>\n\n1. The most unique-looking phone in a long time<\/li>\n 2. Still no Google Mobile Services, but does it matter?<\/li>\n 3. Celia\u00a0AI assist<\/li>\n 4. Imaging performance<\/li>\n 5. New AI Composition & Deglare tools<\/li>\n 6. Benchmark performance<\/li>\n 7. Battery Life<\/li>\n 8. Worth your S$1,500?<\/li>\n 9. Pricing and availability<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/section>\nOver the years, we\u2019ve tried a lot of Huawei devices, but they always had the same caveat: there\u2019s no native Google Mobile Services support. For some, that is the ultimate dealbreaker. But for others, some inconvenience can be lived with, since there are workarounds for most commonly used apps.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But what makes these phones worth the inconvenience? Usually, it\u2019s been the impressive cameras. Remember the Huawei P20 Pro from 2018 the first grabbed our attention? That only continued to improve year after year with the Mate 20 Pro, P30 Pro, Mate 30 Pro, P40 Pro+, Mate 40 Pro, P50 Pro, P60 Pro, the Pura 80 Ultra and many more. The new Huawei Pura 90s Pro series is no different with a really compelling focus on its new camera system.<\/p>\n
This year, while there\u2019s no Ultra model, you get the Pura 90s Pro and Pura 90s Pro Max devices available with the latter being the first Huawei phone to debut with the \u201cPro Max\u201d nomenclature.\u00a0The lack of an \u201cUltra\u201d model might not be a problem considering how these devices are positioned:-<\/p>\n
\n
Play<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\nBoth devices have similar cameras, except for the new 200MP<\/b> telephoto camera that\u2019s featured only on the Pura 90s Pro Max model.\u00a0Without the complexities of the Pura 80 Ultra and its world\u2019s first dual switchable telephoto camera lenses using a 50MP main sensor, the new Pura 90s Pro Max aims to use the 200MP camera to reduce costs and be better equipped to battle the rising component costs that\u2019s plaguing the entire tech industry. Coupled with less memory at 12GB (rather than 16GB on the Pura 80 Ultra), the new Pura 90s Pro Max is able to offer compelling overall features at S$400 less<\/b> than its more expensive predecessor.<\/p>\n
Will its better price point help the Pura 90s Pro be the iPhone Pro Max killer or the lack of official Google Mobile Services still hinder Huawei\u2019s offering? Could it perhaps be the best companion phone for photo taking alongside your main driver? Let\u2019s find out.<\/p>\n
The most unique-looking phone in a long time<\/h2>\n\nLeft to right: Huawei Pura 90s Pro, Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Black and white phones are a dime a dozen these days, and it\u2019s always a breath of fresh air when brands are brave enough to try new colours. Huawei has taken it to the next level with the Pura 90s series, with the Pro and Pro Max series each getting a unique \u2018hero\u2019 colourway.<\/p>\n
While the Pura 90s Pro\u2019s Guava Soda<\/i> colourway gets a more subdued pink-and-green gradient on the back plastic cover, its matte metal chassis comes in pink only. To better embrace the colour theme, fortunately, Huawei paid attention to the smaller details, like incorporating a subtle gradient in the glass covering the triangular camera bump, and the metal power button is green-tinted while the volume rocker is pink.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s definitely a refreshing design, but the Pura 90s Pro Max takes the cake.\u00a0<\/p>\n\nWe quite like the unique design.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The Ocean Orange<\/i> colourway is extremely eye-catching on the rear, reminiscent of the orange hues of a sunset over the blue waves of the sea. But the unique part is the gradient incorporated into the metal chassis to match the plastic backing, possibly through controlled heating or an electrochemical anodization process.<\/p>\n
Regardless of the technique used, the outcome impressed us so much, when we first got the device, we spent a bit of time wracking our teammates\u2019 brains to recollect if this approach has been adopted in any prior mobile device. (Spoiler: we couldn\u2019t think of another phone that has adopted such a design on its metal chassis.)<\/i><\/p>\n\nSadly, the back is an absolute fingerprint magnet.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
However, the downside of the Pura 90s Pro Max\u2019s design is the glossy back and sides that attract very obvious oily fingerprints all over the phone. If you purchase this device, be prepared to wipe it down thoroughly every few hours if you detest the sight of oily smudges.<\/p>\n
The 6.9-inch<\/b> LTPO AMOLED display is spectacular, with vivid colours even in Normal mode that look gorgeous when watching videos. The screen has a 1-120Hz<\/b> adaptive refresh rate and supports 10-bit colour and HDR10.<\/p>\n
The standard colour temperature has a slight warm tint that makes it a little less fatiguing to the eyes, but it\u2019s easily adjusted in the settings if you prefer a cooler tone.\u00a0<\/p>\n\nThe added anti-reflection on the Pro Max model works as expected.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Protected by Kunlun Glass, the display’s anti-reflection<\/b> coating is quite noticeable when using the device under bright sunlight. Its smaller brother, the Pura 90s Pro, doesn\u2019t have this anti-reflection layer, and we\u2019ve noticed a large difference when compared side by side, as seen in the photo above.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Peak screen brightness is unchanged from last year, with a maximum rated brightness of 3,000 nits<\/b>. There\u2019s IP68\/IP69 dust and water resistance on both models, which is already very reassuring, but we\u2019ve also taken the phones to the beach and buried them in the sand<\/u> with no issues afterwards.\u00a0<\/p>\nStill no Google Mobile Services, but does it matter?<\/h2>\n
Software has been a prickly topic for Huawei over the last few years, and not much has changed in this regard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There\u2019s still no Google Mobile Services natively, and you\u2019ll have to resort to workarounds like GBox to (unofficially) get the Google Play Store and download apps that might not have been ported to the Huawei AppGallery.\u00a0Fortunately, Huawei\u2019s AppGallery has a number of services offered natively:-<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n
Most major local apps are available in the Huawei AppGallery.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
Banking apps are mostly available as well.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
You\u2019ll be able to get pretty much any app you want from either app store, and most of the daily apps we might need like Singpass, banking apps and other apps like Grab, social media platforms and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n
You can get even more apps from GBox.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
Apps that aren\u2019t available on the AppGallery can be obtained here.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Apps like Gmail, Drive, Google Maps and more can all be downloaded from GBox as well. Unfortunately, one of the apps that is unable to work on the phone is Google Pay, so if you\u2019re a fan of tapping your phone to pay for your expenses without opening specific apps, this might be a big bummer. Android Auto will also not work, so if you\u2019re used to linking your phone to your car, this might annoy you too.<\/p>\n
Having the necessary apps present is one part of the consideration, but do they all work as expected, equivalent to those on the Google Play Store? While we can\u2019t vouch for all apps, we\u2019ve tested some and can confirm that the DBS\/POSB apps and Singpass work just fine. Other apps that aren\u2019t on the AppGallery but can be downloaded via GBox, such as Amex SG, work too. Your mileage will definitely vary here, including how often these apps are updated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The phone runs on EMUI 16<\/b>, which is a major upgrade since this version of Huawei\u2019s OS is built on Android 16 AOSP<\/u> (Android Open Source Project), marking a long-awaited change from older EMUI versions that were built on Android 12.\u00a0<\/p>\n\nFinally, we get 5G with the Pura 90s series.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Additionally, 5G<\/b> is finally back on the menu for Huawei phones sold outside of China, with the Pura 90s devices being able to connect to 5G networks, as seen in the above photo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So are the caveats too many? It really depends. If you\u2019re someone who cannot get by without tapping your phone to pay for items, it might be a dealbreaker. But if you can use QR codes for payment, or even tap a physical card (the horror<\/i>), then the pain of not having Google Pay is heavily mitigated.<\/p>\n
Aside from that, most apps are supported either via AppGallery or GBox, so it\u2019s unlikely that consumers will face too many issues in getting apps of their choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Celia\u00a0AI assist<\/h2>\n\n
<\/p>\n
\n
You can start booking a grab without even needing to open the app yourself.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
Celia can change some hardware settings.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
One key point to highlight is Huawei\u2019s Celia<\/b> AI assistant. There have been some upgrades to it, with the ability to use the voice assistant to call a Grab car directly from any screen without opening the app. Aside from that, it\u2019s even able to change some<\/i> hardware-level settings like the phone\u2019s brightness simply by voice command, which even Google Gemini can\u2019t do.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
It does get a little contradictory sometimes, as evidenced by the phone first telling me that Celia turned on automatic brightness (it hasn\u2019t), then telling me Celia cannot turn on automatic brightness after.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There\u2019s certainly still work to be done here, but an improvement is an improvement, no matter how small.\u00a0<\/p>\n