Huawei Mate 90 Pro Max Takes Mobile Photography to Another Level With a Modular Camera

Huawei has officially launched the new Mate 90 Pro Max in China, and while the phone itself comes with an impressive camera setup, Huawei has introduced something even more interesting alongside it: a detachable camera module designed to give smartphone photography a much more traditional camera experience.

The flagship comes with a 6.9-inch dual-layer LTPO OLED display with a 1 – 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and a peak brightness of up to 12,000 nits. Under the hood is Huawei’s Kirin 9050-series chipset, paired with HarmonyOS 7. The phone also packs a massive 6,800mAh battery, with support for 100W wired and 50W wireless charging.

But photography is clearly where Huawei wants the Mate 90 Pro Max to stand out.

200MP Telephoto Camera

The phone features a 50MP RYYB main camera with a continuously variable aperture ranging from f/1.4 to f/4.0, optical image stabilization, and an 18-stop dynamic range. It is joined by a 40MP ultrawide camera and an enormous 200MP RYYB periscope telephoto camera with optical stabilization. Huawei claims up to 4x optical zoom, 8x optical-quality zoom and up to 100x digital zoom, while the telephoto camera can also be used for macro photography.

The phone also brings Huawei’s third-generation Red Maple color imaging technology and XMAGE imaging features designed to improve skin tones, dynamic range and computational photography.

Meet the XMAGE Z10 Modular Camera

Rather than simply adding another lens to the smartphone’s existing camera system, the Z10 is essentially a dedicated camera module that attaches to the back of the phone. It features a 1-inch image sensor and a 24–240mm equivalent focal range, giving it a continuous 10x optical zoom. The module also features a maximum aperture ranging from f/2.0 to f/4.5. That gives the Mate 90 Pro Max a setup that starts to resemble a compact or bridge camera rather than a conventional smartphone.

Huawei says the Z10 is designed for everything from portraits and architecture to landscapes, while also offering its own camera-style imaging and controls. It can essentially turn the phone into a more capable mobile photography setup without requiring users to carry a separate camera.

There is an important catch, though. The XMAGE Z10’s photography and video functions require the Mate 90 Pro Max Collector’s Edition. Huawei’s official product page specifically identifies the Collector’s Edition as the compatible model.

Huawei is also selling the Z10 as part of a dedicated bundle with the 16GB/1TB Mate 90 Pro Max Collector’s Edition. In China, that package is priced at ¥19,499, while the Collector’s Edition itself starts at ¥10,999 for 16GB/512GB. The standard Mate 90 Pro Max starts at ¥9,499.

Huawei also lists a tripod adapter ring among the accessories for the Mate 90 series, which makes sense for users who want to take the Z10’s camera capabilities beyond casual handheld photography.

A Smartphone That Wants to Be a Camera

The Mate 90 Pro Max is already an ambitious flagship on its own, but the Z10 modular camera makes Huawei’s approach particularly interesting. Instead of simply chasing bigger megapixel numbers or adding another built-in lens, Huawei is effectively giving users the option to transform the smartphone into a more camera-like system.

Whether this becomes a new direction for smartphone photography remains to be seen, but the Mate 90 Pro Max and XMAGE Z10 certainly make the line between smartphone and dedicated camera a lot less clear.