A lot has happened in 2022 — at least from my perspective as a fan of both tech and K-Pop.

2022 was a crucial moment in K-Pop. Not only did we see some of the best group debut lineups, songs, choreographies, collaborations, and performances, the K-Pop industry itself has toned-down their COVID-19 restrictions and limitations between idols and fans.

As borders slowly opened, live events, international fanmeets, region-specific concerts and world tours have also started.

TXT: ACT LOVE SICK World Tour in Manila

Now this feels like there’s a subtle connection between 2022 Huawei and 2022 K-Pop — they both came back stronger than ever. IDK ’bout you, but, the resurrection of the Huawei Mate 50 Pro shocked me upon knowing it was already “dead.” To my surprise, they came back on track with another flagship in town.

But you know what’s more shocking? The Mate 50 Pro offers an excellent set of cameras — a 1x lens with an Ultra-Aperture system, an even wider Ultra-Wide camera, and lastly, a 64MP periscope telephoto lens that every concert-goer would love to have.

Not only does it focus optically as far as 3.5x, it can also capture clearer shots way further 10x through Huawei’s smart AI algorithm. Now, these lenses will give any K-Pop fan the utmost flexibility in capturing concert moments with their beloved group(s) alongside their ultimate bias(es).

Okay, enough of the nerdy talk. This 2023, I’ll bombard you with plenty of ITZY, ENHYPEN, and Stray Kids photos — shot on the Huawei Mate 50 Pro.

Disclaimer: Photos were resized for faster loading and preview. Watermarks were also applied to avoid unjust ownership claims.

ITZY (있지) – ‘CHECKMATE’

ITZY started the year for Filo MIDZYs with a bang! Comprised of Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna, JYP Entertainment’s second currently active girl group alongside their 선배 (sunbae) / senior labelmate TWICE + 후배 (hoobae) / juniors NMIXX has finally reached the shores of Manila.

They held a 2-day concert inside the SM Mall of Asia (MoA) Arena last January 14-15, 2023. To make it more special, the first leg of the tour started here.

Just for context, here’s how the Mate 50 Pro captured the stage from the General Admission (GA) section of the arena.

1x wide

It’s show time! Finally time to use the periscope zoom lens.

For some intro, here are some solo performances starting with Ryujin…

1x Wide

followed by Yuna, Lia, Yeji…

…and lastly, Chaeryeong.

Now onto the best part: ITZY as a group in one frame!

⚠️ Spoiler alert: there will be A LOT ⚠️

Finally! A closer and clearer view (at least in Mate 50 Pro’s eyes)

Just creating a separate section to my all-time fave ITZY track ✨ WANNABE✨

It won’t be a complete ITZY experience without seeing one of the best debut songs 🤩 DALLA DALLA 🤩

👑 Just QUEEN tingz with their legendary crown poses 👑

Ending this section with the very heartfelt encore stage for the crown girls 😭

Stray Kids (스트레이키즈) – ‘Stay With Bench’ Fanmeet

Stray Kids (shortened as SKZ) is also under JYP Entertainment. They are the juniors of TWICE and seniors to ITZY and NMIXX.

They are an 8-member boy group starting with Bang Chan, followed by Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and lastly, I.N as the 막내 (maknae) / youngest member.

And as we’re talking, here’s I.N in his natural, goofy state.

Had to compile in a .GIF (jeef, not geef nor G-I-F) format because he looked like he enjoyed the banging-loud guessing game A LOT

I never had any control over what my friend wanted to capture so don’t blame me if your faves aren’t here (I am a Seungmin stan and he’s also not here) but hey, here’s Felix with a li’l bit of Han and Hyunjin.

Saving the best for last: my friend’s not-so-obvious obsession with Lee Know

These direct eye contacts are already killing me. How much more if you stan him hard?

~ I hope you reached this part and survived ~

ENHYPEN (엔하이픈) – ‘MANIFESTO’

Also known as “ENHA“, the group is composed of Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Niki.

Having massive popularity in the Philippines, the 7-member boy group under HYBE and BELIFT LABEL performed for three days straight in Manila.

It was also held inside SM MoA Arena but with a massive difference from ITZY’s views earlier.

Here’s the Lower Box section PoV…

and a VIP perspective closer to the stage.

Admittedly, even if I know all of them (and my current biases are Jungwon and Jay), I am not a full-on ENGENE, more like just a Polaroid Love and FEVER enjoyer 🤧.

I apologize if I don’t have anything to say other than appreciating these beautiful photos…

alongside these beautiful boys…

with beautiful side profiles and pointed AF noses.

This further makes me realize that life is, indeed, ~ u n f a i r ~

Reliving the experience

I never went to any concerts posted here but it felt like I was there because of how clear these photos are. What more if you’re like my friend who attended all of these but still has a severe sepanx (separation anxiety) with her long list of biases?

Thankfully, Huawei has revolutionized their current camera system with the Mate 50 Pro. You get the flexibility of not just one or two lenses, but three lenses all at once.

Ultra-Wide

Tap the UWA mode so you can capture the whole vibe of the concert. Switch to 1x to focus on the lightstick and banner while the singing crowd is in utmost blur. Finally, zoom in further 3.5x until it reaches your eyes’ (and heart’s) content just to see your bias/es as close as possible. Bonus would be its ultra-wide angle front-facing camera for those memorable concert selfies.

And not only because it has the best hardware, its XMAGE imaging made these concert moments feel closer to the eyes and heart.

SEE ALSO: HONOR Magic4 Pro: My Best Concert Companion

Very special thanks to my friend Dyan Carelle for reliving these K-Pop concert experiences with us through the eyes of the Huawei Mate 50 Pro