Huawei has released its latest flagship with the Pura 90s Pro Max, and it's already making a splash. That's the phone that Huawei fans have been asking for: a large, gorgeous screen, a capable camera, a long battery life that won't disappoint. It does have some odd features, though.

Some of the oddball features, such as the removal of the in-display fingerprint scanner and the elimination of last year's zoom periscope lens may cause some of the faithful to scratch their head. Then is the Pura 90s Pro Max still worth the money? Let's break it down.

An In-Depth Review on Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max

The Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max is designed for users who demand the highest possible photo quality without any compromise. It is powered by the Kirin 9030S processor, features a huge 200MP telephoto, has a flawless 120Hz LTPO OLED display and rugged IP68/IP69 water resistance. It's design, display, performance, cameras, battery life, price in Bangladesh and overall value to photography lovers and general flagship buyers has been reviewed.

Box Content

This is what you get inside the Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max box:

• Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max Smartphone
• 100W Charger
• USB Type-C cable
• SIM ejector tool
• Silicone case
• User manual

Huawei's approach here is: straightforward and practical. The box contains Pura 90s Pro Max, 100W fast charger, USB-C charging cable and clear protective case to keep the product looking new from the first use. It's a thoughtful package, you won't need to purchase a phone charger or case separately, so you'll be using your phone to its fullest potential right out of the box.

Design & Build Quality

The Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max is as good as the real flagship. This is a large phone, 164mm tall, 77.1mm wide and 8.1mm thick, weighing 230.5 grams. That's on the heavier side but doesn't seem so bulky and feels premium the instant you pick it up.

Huawei has opted for a glass front and back, with an aluminum frame sandwiched between. It's a classic flagship combination and it's evident in how the phone feels in the hand, being cool to the touch, structurally sound and well-balanced on top of being big. The Pura series' signature feature is undoubtedly the large camera module on the back, which isn't always a desirable trait, but it certainly makes the phone stand out.

The colors you can choose from are Blush Gold, Orange Ocean, Blaze Purple, and Graphite Black. From bold to subtle, there's a shade to match your style here.

This phone really excels in durability. It has an IP68/IP69 rating, making it completely dust-proof and waterproof up to 2 meters for 30 minutes and is capable of resisting high-pressure water jets. That's more difficult than what most flagships can provide and you'll have peace of mind if you spill, if the rain comes or if you drop your water in the water.

Overall design is good and impressive, a phone that looks good, survives daily use and will stand out in a crowd.

Display

Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max has a large 6.9-inch LTPO OLED screen, which is indeed among the best aspects of this phone. The resolution is 1308x2880 pixels with a 460 ppi, so the text and photos appear crisp, sharp and full of detail.

LTPO tech dynamically changes the refresh rate on the display based on the task you're performing, which will help preserve battery life without compromising on smoothness. Speaking of which, if you are coming from a 60Hz phone, you will immediately notice the difference when scrolling, swiping or playing games when the refresh rate is 120Hz.

With a small and inconspicuous punch hole cutout home to the front camera, this screen-to-body ratio is impressive, coming in at a remarkable 90.7%. This allows you to enjoy a near bezel-less, modern and clean viewing experience.

HDR support also equates to improved highlights and darker shadows for HDR viewing, resulting in a much more vibrant and authentic movie and television experience. Not only that, the display is covered with Huawei's own Kunlun Glass, which brings enhanced scratch resistance and durability, a good guarantee for daily use.

Overall, it's a system for those who value images, whether it be watching shows, taking in photos, or simply having a fantastic viewing everyday.

Camera

Pura 90s Pro Max's triple rear camera setup is designed to take on nearly any shooting scenario. The highlight of the show is the 50MP primary camera with a variable f1.4-4.0 shutter. It is backed by a 200MP telephoto camera (f2.6) and a 40MP ultra-wide camera (f2.2). They range from broad shots to close-ups.

It's equipped with both autofocus and OIS (optical image stabilization) for clear focused images, even with shaky hands. That's rounded off with an LED flash and images results at a chunky 8192 x 6144 pixels with more than enough detail for cropping or printing later.

If you're more of a hands-on shooter you'll be provided exposure compensation and ISO control, which allows you to make adjustments to brightness and the amount of light your sensor can see. There's also continuous shooting mode for action shots and HDR mode to balance out tricky lighting. Auto flash, face detection and touch to focus ensure that it is easy and convenient to take photos casually.

On the paper side Zoom is pretty amazing with up to 100x digital zoom which is useful to get a closer look at the far distant, again, though as with most phones, the quality will drop-off as you zoom in more.

Daylight Photo:

This camera system is more at home in the daylight. Colors appear true to life, details remain sharp and HDR mode is really good in the sky brightening up while retaining shadows. From landscapes to street or portrait shots, daylight images are clean and shareable, straight out of the camera.

Low-light Photo:

The variable aperture is what comes in handy at night. A wider aperture (f/1.4) allows more light in, but doesn't create too much grain in the photos. The low-light shots are quite good, with good colour balance, although as always very dark ones can make fine details a little blurry. For everyday night use, dinners, city walks/indoor use it does a great job.

A single 13MP ultra-wide camera is also used to capture selfies, which also supports 4K and 1080p at 30fps, and the numbers are quite decent, making the selfie pictures genuinely likeable.

Video recording covers 4K (3840x2160) and Full HD (1920x1080), both capped at 30fps. Though not touting the "60fps/120fps" gimmick some competitors claim, it's smooth and reliable for all your day-to-day clips, vlogs, and social media posts.

Performance & Software

The Pura 90s Pro Max is powered by the Kirin 9030S 5nm processor, which is also used by the Huawei Nova 10T.The Kirin 9030S (5nm) processor is the powerhouse behind the Pura 90s Pro Max, also found in the Huawei Nova 10T. It's an octa-core processor comprising one 2.7GHz Taishan “big” core for heavy workloads, three 2.15GHz Taishan “mid” cores for everyday multitasking and four 1.62GHz Taishan “little” cores for lighter background tasks that consume less battery. The Maleoon 935F GPU is used for graphics, while the entire chip is based on 64-bit architecture.

This system does not look and feel clunky in normal operation. From switching apps to browsing social media, streaming videos and casual gaming, all feel snappy with little hesitation. It's not trying to beat the latest Snapdragon or Dimensity, but for everyday usage, multitasking, and casual gaming, it's not slow and is quite capable.

On the software side, the handset is powered by its in-house EMUI v16 operating system, which is based on Android. This is a decent improvement over the earlier iterations of EMUI as it is based on a newer version of Android, giving it improved app support, smoother animation and a more modern look. There are also a number of customization options available, allowing you to adjust the appearance and skin to suit.

The first and foremost thing to know is there is no built in Google Mobile Services, which means there is no preinstalled app such as Gmail, Google Map or Play Store. For tech-savvy users there are workarounds, but if you are an avid user of Google's ecosystem every day, it's a serious consideration.

Overall, there's no glitz and glam, it's smooth and reliable enough for normal use, but what really makes a difference for many purchasers is the lack of Google here, and how EMUI is designed to operate without it.

Battery & Charger

One of the best features of the Pura 90s Pro Max is its battery life. Equipped with a generous 6000mAh Li-Polymer battery, it will easily power most users through an entire day of intensive use, from streaming to playing games, taking photos, and scrolling without stopping.

It features 100W wired fast charging to fill up the battery to almost full in less than an hour. For those that want to avoid the cable, there's also 80W wireless charging, which is extremely fast for wireless charging, and on par with many phones' wired charging, in case you want to skip the cable.

Then there is the 18W reverse charging, which enables you to charge another device such as earbuds or another phone if you're in a pinch, which is a great additional travel or emergency feature.

As you would expect on the newest flagship, the battery is non-removable and charging is via the USB Type-C connector. Interestingly, it's USB Type-C 2.0, which results in lower wired data transfer speeds than some of the other devices on the market, which are implementing newer USB standard speeds.

Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max Price in Bangladesh

The Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max is being sold only in 12GB + 512GB storage variant for BDT 155,000 taka in Bangladesh. This is an unofficial import price, actual price may differ somewhat according to the retailer and market conditions.

Display quality and battery performance make it a top-tier camera phone and at this price point, it's at par with other high-quality models on the local market.

Final Word

The Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max is a device created with photography passion in mind and Huawei devotees. It really packs a punch with its camera setup, screen and battery life, while also sporting a rugged, quality design. However, the lack of Google services and a mid-range chipset and fingerprint sensor also take it away from being a one-size-fits-all. Cameras and durability are great things to look for, so here's what you're giving away.