Huawei Pura X View first impressions: Its unusual shape is what stands out

Huawei’s Pura X View is one of the more unusual phones to come out of China this year. Unlike the book-style Pura X foldable that came before it, the Pura X View is a regular slab phone, but with a noticeably wider screen than what most of us are used to. The phone has only launched in China for now, but we had the chance to see it up close and get a feel for it in hand.

The difference is noticeable almost immediately. The Pura X View uses a 6.39-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1320 x 2232 pixels and an aspect ratio of around 16:9.5. Its proportions make the phone look smaller than you might expect from a 6.39-inch device, while the extra horizontal space gives the display a more spacious feel.

The panel also comes with a 120Hz refresh rate, 2,160Hz PWM dimming and a claimed peak brightness of up to 6,500 nits. Huawei has kept the bezels slim at just 1.05mm on all four sides, which is particularly noticeable when looking at the phone up close.

Despite its unusual proportions, the Pura X View felt more comfortable to hold than I expected. It measures just 6.68mm thick and weighs 201g, with the shorter body helping offset some of that extra width. You can still feel the difference compared with a typical smartphone, though, especially when reaching across the display with one thumb.

On the back, the phone gets a 200MP, f/1.8 RYYB main camera with OIS, joined by a 50MP, f/2.6 periscope telephoto camera with an 88mm equivalent focal length and OIS, and an 8MP, f/2.2 ultrawide macro camera. Up front, there’s a 50MP, f/2.4 selfie camera housed in a punch-hole cutout.

Under the hood, the Pura X View runs on Huawei’s Kirin 9030S chipset, paired with 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. It runs HarmonyOS 7, while other features include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and BeiDou satellite messaging, which allows users to send messages via satellite when a regular mobile network isn’t available.

Another highlight is the battery. Despite its slim 6.68mm body, Huawei has managed to fit a sizeable 7,000mAh silicon-carbon battery inside. It supports 66W wired and 50W wireless charging, along with wired and wireless reverse charging.

In China, the Huawei Pura X View starts at CNY5,999 (~RM3,540) for the 256GB model, while the 512GB and 1TB variants are priced at CNY6,999 (~RM4,130) and CNY8,499 (~RM5,010) respectively. There’s currently no word on whether the device will make its way to Malaysia.

Whether the wider format works better for everyday use remains to be seen. But from a design and in-hand perspective, I like that Huawei is trying something different. It still feels like a familiar slab smartphone, just with proportions that make it immediately stand out.

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