What is PLDT doing about its recent internet service issues? (2024)

Once a family, now a separate entity. Four years have already passed ever since the two brands took different pathsyet fate made them meet again at the crossroads.

This 2024, HUAWEI and HONOR both offer flagship smartphones for those who truly desire photography in a pocket.

While the Magic6 Pro was announced as early as January, its former parent company unveiled the newly (re)branded “Pura” 70 series in China four months after — five if you will count its Southeast Asia and Europe launch.

The Magic of Pura

Our camera shootouts would feel incomplete without including a side-by-side comparison of each smartphone’s camera hardware.

Strikingly familiar are the 50-megapixel main (wide) camera of both phones. And upon further inspection, they both share the OmniVision OV50H 1/1.3-inch sensor.

However, there’s a catch. HUAWEI’s Pura 70 Pro aperture closes as narrow as f/4.0 whereas the Magic6 Pro is on the slightly wider f/2.0 opening.

Moreover, the ultra-wide cameras of both phones have the same f/2.2 aperture but the Pura 70 Pro has a smaller 12.5-megapixel sensor while the HONOR still rocks 50-megapixels.

Last but not the least, there’s quite a gap between the zoom cameras of the two. The highlight of the Magic6 Pro is none other than its 180-megapixel sensor. Despite only having an optical zoom of 2.5x, HONOR still markets it a “periscope telephoto”.

Meanwhile, the Pura 70 Pro is equipped with a smaller 48-megapixel shooter but includes a farther 3.5x optical zoom. Both phones don’t exceed the f/2.0 lens diaphragm.

Flipping the front, the Pura 70 Pro has a singe punch-hole cutout that houses its 13-megapixel selfie shooter while the Magic6 Pro still packs a 50-megapixel camera with an additional ToF 3D sensor for biometrics.

Purely Magical

Now that their camera specifics have been discussed, it’s the right time to see the real deal and view each other’s output side-by-side for a fair and square comparison.

Samples are divided in different sections based on what focal length or mode they were shot in.

Disclaimer: Photos were all taken using Auto Mode with AI scene detection turned on (otherwise stated). These images were collaged, resized, and labeled for faster loading and better preview. No color correction, cropping, nor any other type of photo manipulation were applied.

Wide (1x)

On paper, both are equipped with the same 50-megapixel sensor minus the slightest disparities in their variable aperture — but how similar or different are they in real-life performance?

W1

W2

W3

W4

W5

Ultra-Wide Angle (UWA)

While HUAWEI did not disclose the actual Field of View (FoV) of Pura 70 Pro’s ultra-wide camera, it looks closer to HONOR Magic6 Pro’s 122-degree lens.
But which is which?

U1

U2

U3

U4

Zoom

Different megapixel count, different optical zoom focal lengths. But does that make of a huge difference?

*For the closest side-by-side results, we’ve decided to maximize the 180-megapixel sensor of the Magic6 Pro and align its 2.5x optical zoom to Pura 70 Pro’s 3.5x optical zoom.

Z1

Z2

Z3

Z4

Z5

Portraits and Selfies

One thing that makes or breaks a smartphone’s camera performance is when one cannot deliver a clean portrait shot with messy cutouts and artificial-looking bokeh. Worst of all? Whitewashing the subject.

Although selfies are still based on one’s taste, the same sentiment can be said in front camera beautification techniques.

P1 | Outdoor

P2 | Indoor

P3 |Low-Light

P4| Regular Selfie

P5| Wide-Angle Selfie

Night Mode

Knowing Chinese smartphone manufacturers, photos taken with Night Mode are often based on their AI algorithms and other software-based post-processing.

N1 | 1x Wide

N2 | 1x Wide

N3 | 1x Wide

N4 | 1x Wide

N5 | Ultra-Wide

N6 | Zoom

N7 | Zoom

N8 | Zoom

N9 | Zoom

Low-Light

Different from shots taken with Night Mode, Low-Light shots were taken in normal mode without the added slower shutter speed slash AI image stacking.

L1 | Ultra-Wide

L2| 1x Wide

L3 | 1x Wide

L4 | 2x Zoom

L5 | 5x Zoom

BONUS

Lights! Camera! Action!? Snapshot!?

HONOR is confident with their Falcon Camera System with fast shutter speeds. Its AI Algorithm even detects action in presence even before you hit the shutter.

On the other hand, HUAWEI offers the same thing with their Ultra Speed Snapshot Function. However, it’s a more user-based approach as the user needs to switch to Snapshot mode and manually press the capture button.

B1 | AI / Auto

B2 | Manual Shutter

Tiny But Mighty

While both phones possess macro modes, HUAWEI has branded their telephoto camera as “Ultra Lighting Macro Telephoto Camera”. Does it bring a heaven on earth macro output, though?

B3 | Regular Macro

B4 | Telephoto Macro

Farther Than Ever

Going over the limits, I also tried taking photos past the 10x digitally-cropped zoom mark just to see how each performs even at farther perspectives.

B5 | 10x Zoom

B6 | 10x Zoom

B7 | 30x Zoom

Results

Already have your picks? If you’ve seen a consistent pattern, congratulations! Here are the shootout results:

Photo A — HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro

Photo B — HONOR Magic6 Pro

Conclusion

Photos taken on the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro are richer in saturation and stronger in contrast. It also leans more into the warmer side of the spectrum. In most scenarios, it looks more favorable, contrary to the more “natural-looking” output of the HONOR Magic6 Pro.

However, there are some cases where HONOR yielded better results — specifically in Photos W2 / W4 / Z1 / Z5 / L3 / L5 / N7 / N8.

But in terms of overall camera performance, the Pura 70 Pro has the edge. It delivers a photo output that’s closer to what my naked eyes see upon hitting the shutter release.

Despite the high ranks and praises that the HONOR Magic6 Pro has received — especially its DxOMark gold score and also topping the overall smartphone camera ranking, this head-to-head camera smackdown simply proves that lab tests nor any other simulated assessment simply aren’t everything.

If we are basing it on real-life samples, the Magic6 Pro lacks something that its Pura counterpart continuously delivers.

Its ultra-wide cameras obviously have that undesirable tint and cast. At first, I thought it was just a smudge issue but after thoroughly wiping the whole camera bump, the results were the same.

Also, despite its bigger 180-megapixel periscope telephoto shooter, it doesn’t nearly give the upper hand when it comes to zoomed shots.

Even way past its 10x hybrid zoom, the 48-megapixel zoom camera of the Pura 70 Pro delivered better results all because HUAWEI has better AI camera algorithms courtesy of their in-house XMAGE Imaging Tech. The last three bonus shots are testaments to my claim (Photos B5 / B6 / B7).

This, once again, proves that having a higher megapixel count doesn’t equate to better-looking photos. That large pixel count is and will only be helpful if you are the type of user who always zooms in at the littlest details and crops when you see a desirable subject to share online.

Then again, photos taken through its massive periscope telephoto were binned into a lower-megapixel output. That process alone could have produced a better-looking zoomed shot — but I digress.

Bells and Whistles

When we talk about the extra camera feats that both phones possess, HUAWEI still beats HONOR to the punch.

Other than its Night Mode capabilities that deliver better saturation, contrast, and overall clarity, the Pura 70 Pro also delivers macro shots that the Magic6 Pro cannot totally beat.

The fact that the telephoto camera of the Pura 70 Pro also doubles as a macro camera is a big feat for those who are into macro photography. This not only avoids the pesky shadows and awkward closeness when using the ultra-wide camera, the reliance on the telephoto delivers better and shallower Depth-of-Field (DoF) with creamier bokeh all around.

Lastly, portraits and selfies may be preferential, but it’s evident how HONOR tried to wash down skin tones just to say the subject looks pale — like most East Asians prefer.

But this isn’t me saying the HONOR Magic6 Pro is an underwhelming smartphone for taking photographs. In fact, Rodneil, the team’s Managing Editor, took it out to a basketball open practice and shot astounding photos of the players mostly in action. That’s all thanks to the Falcon Camera System that HONOR is confident in.

SEE: I took the Magic6 Pro to a basketball open practice

At the end of the day, the consumer has the final decision to decide which smartphone best suits their smartphone-tography needs.

But if I were to choose, the crown simply goes to the HUAWEI Pura 70 Pro with the overall camera flexibility, accuracy, and consistency — Google Mobile Services notwithstanding.