Fancy a Huawei? The top-tier camera phone Pura 80 Pro dropped by several thousands, but it has a few catches

Huawei holds a unique position in the European market today – phones with first-class hardware, but with significant software compromises. The Pura 80 Pro has now dropped to 23,999 CZK with code ALZADNY20, which brings it to a realistic price point and for the first time makes it a reasonable decision for someone truly looking for a top-tier camera.

Quick summary:
✅ Makes sense if you love mobile photography and want one of the best cameras on the market.
⚠️ Consider that the phone lacks Google services and 5G – Gemini, Google Wallet, and other services are missing here.
💡 For 23,999 CZK, it’s a reasonable path to a Huawei camera with a 1″ main sensor and variable aperture.

The main reason to buy it

The main sensor has 50 Mpx, a 1″ sensor, and a variable aperture of f/1.6–4.0 – hardware you practically won’t see at this price point from other brands. The mechanically adjustable aperture allows for controlling depth of field directly at the lens level, similar to full-frame cameras. Additionally, there’s a 48Mpx telephoto lens with 4× optical zoom and a 40Mpx wide-angle lens. For photographers and generally people who take photos with their phone every day, this is one of the most capable systems on the market.

The rest of the hardware is also luxurious – a 6.8″ LTPO OLED display with an adaptive 120 Hz refresh rate and brightness up to 3,000 nits, a 5,170 mAh battery with 100W wired and 80W wireless charging (full charge in about 40 minutes). The body has IP68 protection, Kunlun Glass 2 resistant to drops, stereo speakers with LDAC support for Hi-Res audio.

What you must accept

Here, one must be honest. The phone does not officially have Google services – Google Play, Gmail, Maps, Wallet, or Gemini are not pre-installed. Workarounds exist (for example, via MicroG), but they require technical knowledge, and not everything works perfectly. Google Wallet for mobile payments cannot be made to work at all.

The second limitation is the absence of a 5G network – the phone only runs on 4G LTE, which is more than sufficient for everyday use in the Czech Republic, but it’s a detail worth mentioning. The Kirin 9020 processor is snappy in daily use, but in benchmarks, it lags behind the latest flagships from Qualcomm. For demanding games like Genshin Impact, you’ll still need to reduce graphic settings.

Verdict

The Huawei Pura 80 Pro for 23,999 CZK is a specialized phone for people who take photos. If you need a fully functional Google ecosystem, you should opt for a different phone. However, if you are looking for a flagship with a truly exceptional camera for a reasonable price and are willing to accept software compromises, the Pura 80 Pro will offer hardware that you won’t find elsewhere at this price today.

Would you buy a phone without Google services for an exceptional camera, or is the Android ecosystem a priority for you?