When new phones go on sale, they rarely encounter “sweep-up” rushes.
Huawei has experienced it twice: a Mate60 Pro last year and a Pura70 Ultra last week.
Ai Faner also immediately divided his forces into two groups and went to Guangzhou and Shenzhen to catch up with the first launch experience.
There is no doubt that the newly upgraded Pura, which has joined the “Pioneer Project”, is another phenomenal mobile phone. While it was sold out online and offline in seconds, it also attracted overwhelming controversy: Why use a triangle module? Why are there so many versions? Why dare to release a “Barbie Fan”?
The biggest points of contention focus on:
Why does Pura70 Ultra, which has no outstanding parameters on paper, dare to sell it for 10,000 yuan?
Basic skills of Huawei design: CMF
In the past few days when our editorial department took turns to experience the Pura70 Ultra, more than one partner said, “Pura is the first imaging flagship that makes me want to use it as my main camera for a long time.”
This feeling is not groundless. It is fundamentally derived from Huawei’s years of accumulation in mobile phone CMF design.
CMF, the abbreviation of “Color-Material-Surface Treatment”, is the core element in product production and design. The “personality” of mobile phones of various brands is often reflected in this.
Huawei P series has always had its own unique understanding of color selection:
- Aurora gradient color for P20
- Sky Mirror for P30
- P40 frost mist
- Three seasonal colors of early spring in P50
- P60 rococo white
Pura70 Ultra makes a bolder attempt on this basis.
Take the main color chanson green as an example. On the back of this phone, there are green patterned plain leather, green glass, green metal lens protection ring, red main camera lens decorative ring, and gold metal “label”.
Although it has 3 materials and 5 colors, it does not look cluttered when put together.
The plain leather back panels of “Starburst Black”, “Starburst White”, “Mocha Brown” and “Chanson Green” are respectively matched with slightly different colors of metal edging (middle frame, lens module), making the two materials Blend together due to the unity of hues.
When the red main camera lens decorative ring is exposed, it breaks the color balance on the back a bit, but the lifting module is closed most of the time, not to mention that it is a lifting lens for others to see, so of course it needs a more prominent color.
In short, what is conspicuous is not obtrusive, and what is obtrusive is not conspicuous.
For a long time, I had reservations about the plain leather material. I always thought it was old-fashioned and not wear-resistant.
But the plain leather on the Pura70 Ultra has become one of the highlights of its overall design.
Ultra’s lens module is large, multi-layered, and complex in shape. If a traditional glossy glass backplate is used, there will be too many visual highlights, and the back cover may look messy. All bright spots are equivalent to no bright spots.
The frosted back panel is a good choice, but the weight of the whole machine cannot be effectively controlled. From this point of view, plain leather seems to be the best choice.
Plain leather is a major issue in Huawei’s backplane design.
The plain leather material used by Ultra has both skin-friendly touch and design quality. Its “starburst pattern” design language is a freeze-frame image of the starlight from the night sky beside the Seine reflected on the water and refracting the dazzling starlight.
Here, Huawei has mastered good proportions and layers, and Pura70 Ultra has become a master of previous generations of product design.
The texture of the metal frame and plain leather back panel is the static talent of Pura70 Ultra. It is a stepping stone for users to see the new machine for the first time and continue to learn about new products.
And when you pick up Pura70 Ultra in person, you will feel Huawei’s accumulated experience in creating an excellent hand feel.
Even though Ultra weighs about 230g, its hand feel is better than other imaging flagships that are lighter than it.
“Full scale” is the biggest feeling when picking up Pura70 Ultra. This does not mean that the Ultra is heavy enough, but that the entire machine is very compact, and the transition between the “screen-middle frame-back cover” is very smooth, and there is no sense of disconnection when your fingers slide over it.
With its large R-angle processing, narrow bezels of equal width on all four sides, and the use of 3D glass, the P70 Ultra creates the best frontal look and feel in Huawei’s history, and also brings a very fitting feel.
A compact and comfortable machine can, firstly, get rid of the “cheap” looseness and improve the texture of the whole machine. Secondly, it can fit the hand shape of most people, indirectly reducing weight by making it easy to hold.
This is also the reason why we came to the conclusion of “completely beating other flagships”.
In 2016, the eight-curved screen adopted by Honor’s first generation Magic had already brought the concept of “equal depth, forward and reverse eight curves” to the market. This “advanced” fit and feel left a deep impression on the market at that time. Although manufacturers have tried over the years, they have not been able to create “that kind of taste”, nor have they been able to keep up with the iteration of mobile phones with a design that fits the feel of the hand.
Xiaomi Mi 14 Pro/Ultra is the first one to come out of the “straight curve dilemma” of the screen. Lei Jun once said that for this full-depth micro-curved screen, 50,000 pieces of glass were used, and the cost was 18 times higher.
On the basis of the deep four-curved screen like Huawei’s Pura70 Ultra, it also incorporates the Mate60 Pro’s narrow bezels and middle frame of equal width on all four sides, which truly integrates the front, middle and back of the phone in terms of feel.
This almost means that the flagship curved screen design will soon withdraw from the stage of history; the deep four-curved screen is already the future of mainstream flagships.
Breakthrough point, design power demonstrated
In the protracted exposure process of the Pura 70 series, the triangular camera module area was “not a suspense”.
This is not a suspense, but the triangle has already appeared in various leaked pictures. Everyone has known that Huawei will design this way for a long time.
It is suspenseful because it is difficult to make breakthroughs in the design of the camera module area that is either square or round. The triangle is too bold and the unbalanced triangle lines challenge most people’s aesthetic perception. This is also what many people think about when they see the exposure rendering. The source of the “weird” feeling when I pictured it.
But the answer is that Huawei uses large arc fillet processing to give the triangle a “soft feeling”, as well as the size and arrangement of the three lenses to form a horizontal sense of symmetry, eliminate the imbalance of the triangle itself, and break the current ” The design logic of “either square or round” brings “triangle” to the core design concept of smart mobile terminals for the first time.
At the same time, Pura70 Ultra retains the triangular outline, echoing the spirit of the “forward-looking” Pura series.
Of course, it is essentially a triangle, so it is normal that many people cannot accept this design.
But from my perspective, Huawei has exceeded my expectations in terms of breakthrough design, highlighting personality and taking into account public aesthetics.
The triangle also improves the user experience to a certain extent.
When held with one hand, the circular module in the center often leaves no place for the index finger, but Huawei insists on placing the module on the left side. When held with the right hand, the index finger has a lot of room to move, and the finger will not touch the lens. , so that every time before taking a photo, I have to go through the embarrassing process of “breathing – wiping the lens with the corner of my clothes – turning on the camera again”.
I thought this was another “right-handed patent”, once again falling behind the “left-handed people”, but in fact, not only will the lens not be dirty when used with the left hand, the triangular design just provides a point of contact for the index finger and middle finger.
The centered design that breaks the symmetrical balance not only eliminates the dilemma, but also allows all users to have both.
The triangular design also once again strengthens the symbolic language of the Pura series.
The square-circle module + three-camera arrangement of the P60 has become a creative source for many netizens as soon as it was exposed, and even a P60 exclusive mobile phone case was derived from this.
Pura70 Ultra still continues this symbol, and the updated shape of the lens module further strengthens the “cute” impression. The polar bear phone case appeared earlier than the P70 series was released.
Although it is somewhat contrary to the “high-end” brand tone, this unique symbol of the Pura70 series has strengthened people’s impression and recognition of this new machine, and can also reach more groups.
For those users who find the triangle obtrusive, these whimsical “second creations” may become an opportunity for them to more easily accept Pura’s new design.
Brand temperament and fashion
Good CMF is the foundation, and design personalization is a bonus. In addition to the “form” efforts, we can continue to look for Huawei’s shaping of the “look” of Pura70 Ultra.
Huawei’s brand positioning for the P series has always been to “lead the new trend of technological aesthetics”, which means fashion first.
The upgraded Pura series emphasizes breakthroughs, changes and forging ahead, which means it is more fashionable than before.
After picking up this Pura70 Ultra and focusing on the details, it is not difficult to find that Pura70 Ultra’s efforts in “fashion sense” are systematic and effective.
First of all, the golden metal XMAGE label is the design finishing touch that kills three birds with one stone.
The first is to give Ultra a unique design that differentiates it from the other three series.
After all, only Ultra has hard capabilities and black technologies such as 1-inch outsole and super-concentrated retractable camera.
The second is to make XMAGE, Huawei’s own imaging brand, more prominent.
Since the Mate50 series ended its cooperation with Leica and used its own imaging, XMAGE has been the subject of much attention from all walks of life: Huawei, which has lost Leica, still has imaging? Isn’t the self-developed XMAGE just a replica? What does Huawei have without photography?
Facts have proved that after the efforts of three generations of models, XMAGE did not rush to the market, but gradually stood on its own and became its own school. In particular, the 5cm macro of Pura70 Ultra once again broke the limits of mobile photography.
The third is to highlight a piece of “label” design, which is a common method of fashion design. Many trendy and affordable luxury brands will make some prominent labels somewhere on the clothes, which not only increases the recognition, but also breaks through the latitude of graphic design.
The prominent label of Pura70 Ultra naturally adds fashion elements.
Returning to the back panel that complements the label, the plain leather embossing on it is not the first time Huawei has used it. It has been successfully used on the No. 12 color of Nova 12 Ultra, and the No. 12 color of Nova 12 Ultra is the main fashion selling point.
Both are fashionable, the style of nova is younger and more trendy, while Pura70 Ultra uses the “high-end embroidery embossing” process on the basis of continuous design to depict fashion in a more subtle and Old Money style.
For example, starburst black and mocha brown are a bit retro in fashion, but they don’t look earthy and are very “old money style”.
Pura 70’s entire collection features stylish elements, including accessories.
Among the official accessories, the Yunduo plain leather protective case and printed magnetic protective case clearly use the design elements of luxury bags:
BV cloud bag and BV green:
And the presbyopic style of LV/Fendi/Dior:
This design style is not Bawangchaji’s crude appropriation of Dior or Gucci designs. It is not similar in form, but similar in spirit. It wants a fashionable feeling.
This is similar in appearance, and it can be seen that it is the same thing, but there is no visual impact, and there is some contempt in the heart. In short, it is plagiarism.
This is a spiritual resemblance. Even though they look completely different, you can still see the familiar solemnity, domineering and intimidating power from the two.
Therefore, from the three levels of basic skills, breakthrough design and fashion sense, the Pura 70 series, especially the Ultra, has fulfilled what I said a few days ago that it is an upgrade in fashion sense and design compared to the P series.
At the end of 2020, Mate 40 Pro was released. In addition to the visually unchanged design with 88° curvature, the new Halo lens module not only completes the Halo ring on Mate 30, but also makes “Star Halo” officially enter the Mate family language. continues to this day.
The “Jingxiao” on Mate 60 Pro+ further highlights the central position of the star ring.
At the end of 2023, Huawei’s first ear-clip headset, FreeClip, was launched. The unique wearing method is eye-catching, and the bold colors also allow this headset to break through its own “tool attributes”. While suitable for long-term wear, it has also become a A “cyber earring” for the new era.
In February of this year, Huawei’s small foldable Pocket 2, known as “fashionable production”, was released, with a “double-ring pearl” exterior screen design, a new color scheme of “Tahiti Gray”, and a co-branded art customized version.
Of course, accessories that focus on design, fashion, and youthfulness are also indispensable.
Last week, the new lipstick earphones FreeBuds Lipstick 2 were launched together with the P70 series. Its design is inspired by “water droplets”. The earphones have a bold shape design and a lipstick charging compartment customized for women. Outside, it all shows its uniqueness.
Huawei has gradually become a fashion company through bold and advanced designs.
When rivals and competing products are competing for hardware, parameters and benchmark scores, Huawei seems to have an extra weapon. It has withdrawn half of its body from the endless involution of performance competition and turned fashion and design into a Huawei A new selling point for the product.
Therefore, behind the breakthrough of the Pura series is actually Huawei’s accumulation and changes in its forward path in recent years.
Compared with the previous generation P60 Art, this time the Pura70 Ultra is also the highest in the series and has also achieved an iterative price increase.
Of course, there are configuration enhancements: such as increased memory, upgraded main camera, etc. But in my opinion, Huawei’s brand power, technology and configuration upgrades are part of the factors supporting the Pura70 Ultra’s starting price of 10,000 yuan.
The design makes the most of this phone’s convincing “premium price”.
Judging from the current sold-out status and expected sales volume, Huawei Pura70 Ultra reasonably stands on the same product value line as Samsung S4 Ultra and Apple 15 Pro. In comparison with the same price, it sells for 10,000 yuan, which also looks more convincing here.
The premise is that you have no interest in things like running scores.
