During the presentation of the Huawei P30 series, the show was stolen by the Huawei P30 Pro, mainly because of its cameras. However, the Huawei P30 is also a very interesting smartphone, with many advantages and a friendlier price tag.
Huawei P30
Price € 749,-Colors Grey, Blue, Purple Blue
OS Android 9.0 (EMUI 9)
Screen 6.1 inch OLED (2340 x 1080)
Processor 2.3GHz octa-core (Kirin980)
RAM 8GB
Storage 128GB
Battery 3,650mAh
Camera 40, 16.8 megapixels (rear), 32 megapixels (front)
Connectivity 4G (LTE), Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi, GPS, NFC
Format 14.9 x 7.1 x 0.8cm
Weight 165 grams
Other fingerprint scanner behind screen, dualsim, 3.5 mm jack
Website //consumer.huawei.com 7 Score 70
- Pros
- Camera
- Format
- Performance
- Negatives
- emui
- NM memory card instead of micro SD
Can I still safely choose Huawei?
Huawei has been under heavy fire lately. For example, there are (as yet unsubstantiated) American accusations of espionage and the Chinese company is facing a trade ban, which means that it is no longer allowed to do business with companies based in the US. This can have major consequences for the support of the Huawei P30: in that case it will probably no longer receive Android updates, but may receive security updates. In this review, we do not include the developments in the assessment. Nevertheless, it is recommended to check the current state of affairs before making a (possible) purchase.
The Huawei P30 is not as exaggerated as the P30 Pro when you look at the cameras, specifications and display, for example. The regular P30 will therefore always remain in the shadow of its bigger brother, while the Huawei P30 is actually not much less and deserves quite a bit more attention. In addition, the price is of course a lot more favorable and there is a 3.5 mm connection for the music lover and gamer, which is unfortunately becoming increasingly rare in this price range. Because the P30 is still not cheap, with a suggested retail price of 750 euros. It can be expected that a significant price drop will start, especially after the tumult around the Huawei brand. At the time of writing, the P30 is already available for around 550 euros.
No zoom, but night vision goggles
The camera of the Huawei P30 Pro steals the show, recently it came out as the best in the comparison test. The regular P30 is not much inferior to that. Unfortunately, the periscopic zoom lens is missing, so you cannot zoom in 10x optically or even up to 50x digitally. The three lenses on the back do offer a wide-angle lens and a zoom lens that zooms in up to 5x. That's still fine.
The technology that Huawei uses to record things in dark conditions has remained, and that makes the camera of the P30 still unprecedentedly good. Even in locations where you can't see anything yourself, the P30's camera is still able to capture its surroundings with a click. You can also use the night mode for photos where hardly any noise can be seen, even in the middle of the night. You can even photograph the starry sky. Something that other smartphones are not even close to achieving.
Build quality
If you look at the design of the smartphone, it is unmistakably Huawei. The glass colored back stands out positively. We got to test the aurora version, which is so beautiful that you hardly dare to place it in a case. Still, it is recommended, glass smartphones are vulnerable, fingerprint-sensitive and, moreover, the Huawei P30 is not waterproof. In contrast to the more luxurious Pro version, there are no curved screen edges on the side and the screen - and therefore the device size - is a lot more compact. The Huawei P30 has a Full-HD 6.1-inch OLED screen. Huawei has opted for a drop-shaped screen notch and an elongated aspect ratio of 19.5 by 9. The OLED panel is fine in terms of color reproduction and brightness. There is also a fingerprint scanner behind the screen, which works well.
Specifications
Like almost all Huawei smartphones, the Huawei P30 runs on its own Kirin processor. Together with the Pro version, the P30 has the fastest Kirin980. So there is nothing to complain about the performance. Sometimes there is a delay, which seems to have more to do with Huawei's EMUI Android variant, than with the chipset.
The Huawei P30 comes with 128 or 256GB of storage. That is more than enough, but if you need more, you can expand this with a memory card. It is very unfortunate that you cannot place a standard micro-SD memory card, but Huawei's own nm memory cards. They therefore have their own format and are more expensive.
Battery life
The battery life of the Huawei P30 is okay. On paper, the smartphone has a battery capacity of 3650 mAh. That is not remarkably large, but the device works reasonably energy-efficiently, so that a battery life of one and a half to two days is perfectly possible. Depending on how intensively you use the device, of course.
Of course, the apps you use and how long you have the screen on have a major influence on the battery life. But so is the software: EMUI. This Android shell from Huawei is very drastic and unfortunately it has no positive effect on the stability of Android. You can also exercise little control over keeping background processes active and the bootloader is closed for tinkerers. Especially in view of a possible ban from Google, an open bootloader is crucial for those who want to manually install the latest Android version on the device.
Another disadvantage of EMUI is that many unnecessary apps are pre-installed. Of course you can expect the necessary Huawei apps and services. But advertisements such as the Booking.com and Facebook app are not allowed on a device in this price range. The Top Apps folder, which only aims to advertise (often unnecessary) apps, takes the cake in a negative way.
Alternatives to the Huawei P30
You choose the Huawei P30 if you are looking for a very good camera smartphone, without having to go extremely deep into your pocket. You have access to a handy, powerful smartphone, with a great screen and battery life. Music lovers can also breathe a sigh of relief: the headphones can simply be connected. Other things are missing, such as wireless charging and a waterproof housing. The EMUI software is also still a serious concern for Huawei smartphones.
In terms of camera, you can hardly get better in this price range. Samsung's Galaxy S10 comes close. But the software and possible lack of trust in Huawei could be reasons to look at other smartphones. In those cases, for example, the Asus Zenfone 6 or OnePlus 7 are alternatives with similar price tags.
Conclusion
The Huawei P30 is a smartphone that will always remain in the shadow of the Pro version. Yet with the regular P30 you still get the great night camera for a lower price. The design and the modest size are nice, but on the software side there is still a lot to criticize about Huawei.
