The HUAWEI Pura 90s Pro Max is so good that it makes me a little sad

I used to love HUAWEI smartphones. It has been a long seven years since the HUAWEI ban in the US and the resulting loss of Google services. Since then, the brand has gone from 9%-10% down to a less than 2% global market share.

Yet while HUAWEI’s status has diminished in the West, it hasn’t stopped creating elite-tier smart devices, and every time I use one, I am reminded of what we’re missing out on.

Though the company’s smartwatches, true wireless earbuds, and laptops are still easy to recommend to anyone (and we do regularly), its Android-based products are a little trickier, which brings me to the HUAWEI Pura 90s Pro Max (€1149 at Huawei), which I have been using for a few weeks. Is it worth getting, despite the lack of official Google Apps support and pretty much non-existent availability in the US? Let’s find out.

Let’s start by noting that this is a bona fide flagship, just like previous P/Pura-series phones. It has a retail price that stands with the best of the best, starting at €1,149 (about $1,330 USD). It’s also built as such, and I felt it from the very first time I pulled it out of the box.

The aluminum frame extends to the sides of the device, offering a premium feel, and is sandwiched by high-quality Kunlun Glass. It has clicky buttons that don’t jiggle one bit. Overall, the build quality is up there with the best, and it feels like everything was engineered to perfection, with the precision of a master watchmaker.

One thing that stands out (both literally and figuratively) is the camera bump. Boy, that thing is huge. It may be justified, though, as camera quality is one of the main highlights of the HUAWEI Pura 90s Pro Max (we will talk about this later).

Not only does this phone feel expertly crafted, but it also looks gorgeously fun. I got the Orange Ocean model, which features an orange-to-blue gradient that got me positive comments wherever I pulled it out. The Blaze Purple model also looks very fun, and if you’re more traditional, HUAWEI also offers the Brush Gold and Graphite Black models.

In terms of design and build quality, this is definitely up there with the market champions. The real question is whether that’s enough to earn a spot in your pocket, all while draining your bank account.

Let’s address the elephant in the room right away. The “HUAWEI ban” meant that no US company could work with certain Chinese brands, including, of course, HUAWEI. Guess what: Google is an American company. This means that while Android is open-source and can be used by anyone, the same can’t be said for Google Services.

Unlike in China where the Pura 90s Pro Max runs on its own HarmonyOS platform, in global markets it runs on Android-based EMUI 16. That means even though the launcher and general UI will be familiar, the HUAWEI Pura 90s Pro Max lacks native Google apps, access to the Google Play Store, Google Wallet support, and more. There is a way to use them unofficially (GBox is my go-to), but not everything works, and it can be confusing to anyone who isn’t tech-savvy.

Sure, I was able to use Chrome, YouTube, Gmail, and the Google Play Store this way, but I don’t mind tweaking things a bit. At the end of the day, the general consumer will find this at least annoying. Having to find workarounds for what we would otherwise consider basic features isn’t ideal, especially if you’ll deal with this daily.

It doesn’t help that HUAWEI doesn’t make much of the experience very intuitive. The phone is flooded with bloatware, offering a bunch of apps I had never heard of (you can see them above, and I deleted about half of them). A handful of these are HUAWEI’s solution for the lack of Google Services, though. Petal Search replaces Google Search, HUAWEI Wallet covers contactless payments, Celia is the brand’s own digital assistant, and the AppGallery is the platform’s app store. There is also a native browser, a Gallery app, a music player, a video app, and so on.

Many of these are actually really good, but others won’t even work in the USA, such as the browser. This means you have to use a third-party browser, no matter what, at least here in the States. Luckily, the AppGallery covers most needs, and most of these limitations are exclusive to American users.

If you can look past the software or find workarounds, there really isn’t much else to complain about. The Kirin 9030S and 12GB of RAM keep this thing running flawlessly; not once did I encounter a slowdown.

On the screen side, we’re looking at a gorgeous LTPO OLED panel measuring a substantial 6.9 inches. The 120Hz refresh rate was smooth as butter, too.

While not the thinnest around, it comes with a large 6,000mAh battery (5,500mAh in Europe). Based on my usage, the phone estimates that a full charge will last me over 42 hours. Switching to Performance Mode lowers it to 40 hours, and Power Saving Mode gives me a whopping 55 hours of juice. And when it finally dies, it can charge at 100W wired or 80W wirelessly. I was never hunting for outlets, and I never saw the battery drop below 40%, no matter what I did with it.

If there is one area where HUAWEI has always stood out, it is camera quality. Actually, before the Google conundrum, the consensus was that HUAWEI flagships rivaled (and often beat) the best smartphone cameras.

Well, it turns out they are still making great cameras. Overall, the shots I got out of the HUAWEI Pura 90s Pro Max were nothing short of awesome. Exposure is always on spot, colors pop vibrantly, definition is sharp, and performance in darker environments is great. Oh, and aside from the main 50MP and 40MP ultrawide shooters, there is a 200MP telephoto camera with 4x optical zoom (up to 100x digital zoom).

Want some proof? I got some samples for you! These are completely unedited, so you’ll get to see how images look straight out of the camera.

Let’s start with some outdoor, daylight photos. This is usually “easy mode” for cameras, and most modern smartphone shooters can capture these images perfectly. Of course, the HUAWEI Pura 90s Pro Max is no exception. Images are exposed very well, and the dynamic range is great both in the shadows and highlights. Nothing is blown out. Color representation is also outstanding. Hues are vibrant without stepping into overprocessed territory.

Whether bright and sunny or cloudy, images look amazing, with no noise to be found.

Nighttime photography is where camera phones really get tested. Thankfully, the HUAWEI Pura 90s Pro Max didn’t disappoint. These images look great, overall. Exposure is handled beautifully. And just like in daylight photos, the colors are rendered outstandingly.

Of course, the NYC lights help, so noise reduction works well most of the time, and there is still enough detail and generally good dynamic range, with balanced highlights and shadows.

However, you will notice some slight underperformance, depending on how dark the scene is. For example, in the images of Chinatown in San Francisco (the first two photos), you can see that some areas look a bit too smooth or blurry. For example, the Bruce Lee mural is a bit too smooth. The third image, with the barista, also shows overall loss of detail, especially when you zoom in. Details in the shadow suffered in the Minskoff Theatre image, as well.

The good news is that most of the shots were executed amazingly. The fact that I can only really complain about a few of these shots says a lot about this camera phone’s low-light performance. And, really, the only issues show up once you zoom in.

I am kind of obsessed with macro photography, so I had to include some sample photos. The phone does this by leveraging the 200MP periscope lens, optimizing stability with OIS, and using AI processing to piece it all together. I must say, I really enjoyed it. The results were spot on.

As expected, exposure and color calibration were spot on. Detail is also outstanding. Zoom in on these, and you will notice very interesting textures, and you can even see individual pieces of powdered sugar! Images look crisp and clean.

Also, look at those water droplets! I have spent way too much money buying dedicated macro lenses. It’s impressive how well phones can replicate these shots these days.

The periscope 4x lens lets you get really close to subjects. As a result, candid shots are much easier, and it looks much less weird than using a huge zoom lens on a dedicated camera.

I just love the quality of these. The optical lens produces natural bokeh (blurry background), making these look like they were captured with a serious mirrorless camera. The detail and quality are impressive, as is the color reproduction.

I used the zoom feature whenever I could. It just makes images look so special.

The image on the left is a portrait mode shot, while the one on the right is a selfie. I am not going to say I was totally blown away, but these are good. They have what it takes to make a good photo. Exposure is good, detail is still there, and colors are nice. There is a bit of beautifying done by the software, but I like that it doesn’t look obvious. You can still see the skin’s texture, and nothing looks strikingly artificial.

I am a bit of an experimental photographer, so I was excited to see there was a Light Painting Mode. You know, those photos that capture car headlights as moving lines? Well, I haven’t quite seen a phone get these shots right just yet, and since this camera phone was awesome elsewhere, I had high hopes.

Nope! They were bad. Literally none of them came out right. I am only showing you the two best ones (I know…).

Let’s start with the good. The hardware is amazing, with a fun, high-end design that will turn heads. The general performance, display, battery life, and general hardware are absolutely remarkable. The camera quality is stunning (save for Light Painting Mode, but that is common in the industry). I don’t even mind the huge camera bump if it means the shots are this good.

Unfortunately, it’s hard for me to recommend a HUAWEI Pura 90s Pro Max, considering its software issues. This truly makes me sad, because, like every other HUAWEI thing I test, I kinda love it. In the modern world, living without Google Services is too much to ask for, no matter how awesome a phone is.

Sure, more techy users can do just fine with some workarounds. I used all the Google applications I needed. That said, the process is less than intuitive, and dealing with these tricks all the time creates friction, something I would rather not live with daily. Also, that’s the best-case scenario; this will be a nightmare for anyone who wants things to “just work” without tinkering. Which, I mean, seems like a fair thing to ask for when a phone costs about $1,330.

The caveats are at least a little easier to swallow in Europe, where HUAWEI’s devices are officially available with full support and warranties. However, you’re still going to have to be less reliant on Google apps and services, or at least feel really comfortable using workarounds to access them.

If you can work within those boundaries, the Pura 90s Pro Max is worth a look. For everyone else, it’s a reminder that in another timeline Google and Samsung would have a serious competitor on their hands.