Huawei Enjoy 70X Premium: Kirin 8000 power, big battery and satellite tricks, but how premium is it?

While all eyes are on the upcoming Mate 80 series, Huawei has quietly refreshed its affordable lineup in China with the new Huawei Enjoy 70X Premium. At first glance it looks almost identical to the regular Enjoy 70X launched earlier this year, but under the familiar shell Huawei has made a few targeted upgrades, most notably a new chipset, more storage headroom and fresh colorways aimed at users who want something a little more polished without crossing into true flagship pricing.

The headline change is the move to an octa-core Kirin 8000 chipset, paired with 8 GB of RAM and either 256 GB or 512 GB of internal storage.

That is a generous amount of space for photos, apps and offline media in this price band, and the Kirin 8000 should comfortably handle everyday social media, streaming and casual gaming. Huawei also leans on one of its signature tricks here: support for satellite communication, allowing users to send text or even image messages when they are off the grid and have no traditional network signal, a genuinely useful safety and convenience feature for hikers, travelers and people living in patchy coverage areas.

On the front, the Enjoy 70X Premium keeps the large 6.78-inch AMOLED curved display with Full HD+ resolution and a smooth 120 Hz refresh rate. The panel has a pill-shaped cutout at the top that houses an 8 MP selfie camera, and the fingerprint scanner is integrated under the display for a modern look. The combination of a tall screen, thin bezels and curved sides gives the phone a more expensive aesthetic than its price suggests, even though the overall design language remains close to the original model.

The camera system stays simple: a 50 MP main rear camera is joined by a 2 MP depth sensor, with the 8 MP unit up front for selfies and video calls. This is clearly not a photography powerhouse, but the large main sensor should still deliver decent daylight shots and respectable portrait mode performance, with the depth unit helping separate subject from background. Nighttime photography will likely be more limited, yet for a device positioned in this segment the camera setup focuses on reliability rather than experimental extras.

Endurance is one of the phone’s biggest selling points. Inside sits a 6,100 mAh battery, larger than what many competitors offer, paired with 40 W wired charging. That combination should easily get most users through a full day of heavy use or even two days of lighter messaging and browsing before reaching for the charger. Out of the box the Enjoy 70X Premium runs HarmonyOS 4.2, bringing Huawei’s latest interface refinements, systemwide animations and deep integration with the company’s broader ecosystem of wearables, tablets and laptops.

Connectivity and everyday features are well covered: you get Bluetooth 5.1 for wireless audio and accessories, NFC support for contactless payments and quick pairing, as well as dual-band Wi-Fi for stable home and office connections. Huawei offers the device in three finishes – Obsidian Black, Sand Gold and Starry Blue – giving buyers a choice between understated, luxurious or more playful looks.

Pricing in China positions the Enjoy 70X Premium firmly in the upper mid-range. The 8 GB / 256 GB configuration is listed at CNY 1,899 (around $265), while the 8 GB / 512 GB option costs CNY 2,199 (roughly $310). Sales are handled through Huawei’s Vmall online store for the Chinese market, and there is no word yet on wider international availability.

But is this device truly ‘premium’? That is where opinions are already splitting. On paper, the Kirin 8000, 120 Hz AMOLED display, big battery and satellite messaging are impressive for the money, yet the stripped-back dual rear camera, lack of headline-grabbing charging speeds and overall familiarity of the design make some users feel the ‘Premium’ label is more marketing than revolution. For those who care about battery life, screen quality and Huawei’s ecosystem above all else, the Enjoy 70X Premium looks like a solid, well-rounded upgrade to the original 70X. For others expecting a dramatic leap toward flagship territory, this may still feel like a nicely polished mid-ranger wearing a slightly ambitious name.