Huawei P30 Lite review

Design

Our Huawei P30 collection is finally complete now that the Lite has joined the regular and Pro model. Quite different models those three, but on the outside, it's hard to tell them apart. Can you?

The Huawei P30 series

Indeed, the P30 phones share a similar design language - a dual-glass body, edge-to-edge display with a dewdrop-like notch, dazzling paint job, and a vertically-oriented tri-eyed camera deck.

The Huawei P30 series

Enough teasing though, the regular P30 is on the left, the Pro is in the middle, and the Lite is on the right. It's a pretty family picture though, isn't it?

We are glad Huawei is sticking to its captivating color options even though lately these gained massive momentum and even the cheapest of the Chinese phones are already offering such eye-catchy paint jobs.

And while on the outside the family resemblance is obvious, the Lite has some differences you can feel once you pick it up in your hand.

For starters, the Lite's frame is made of plastic. It's shiny, it's glossy, and Huawei matched its paint with the main theme of the gradient back. But it may be more prone to scratches than if it were a metal one.

Huawei P30 Lite

Then there is the screen. It looks as large as the one on the P30 and with the same tiny notch, but there is actually a minor difference in the size - the Lite has a 6.15" panel while the P30 has a 6.1". It's fine if you can see the difference in size, but in real life, you may be able to tell them apart as the Lite has an LCD screen, while the P30 uses an OLED.

The cutout at the top houses the 24MP selfie shooter, while above it is a very thin earpiece grille. And around the left corner of that grille is a green notification LED.

The back of the P30 Lite can be stunning, and even mesmerizing if you will, when you have it in the signature Peacock Blue option.

Or if you don't want such a pretentious paint job, the uniform Pearl White or Midnight Black are excellent alternatives, too.

The triple camera is on the back and is humping quite a bit. First at its top is the 2MP depth sensor, followed by the 8MP ultra-wide-angle snapper, and the final camera is the 48MP primary. The LED flash is outside, below this camera deck.

And speaking of the back, the glass panel is curved towards the longer sides, while the whole thing has a subtle 2.5D finish. This is quite a common trend, but while it may be hurting the grip a bit, it boosts the looks and the illusion of an even slimmer profile.

The Huawei P30 Lite has no ingress protection whatsoever. But it can brag with standards connectors - there is a USB-C port at the bottom, and a 3.5mm audio jack, while its hybrid SIM slot supports a regular microSD card.

Huawei P30 Lite

The Huawei P30 Lite measures 152.9 x 72.7 x 7.4 mm, which is about 4mm taller than the regular P30. It weighs 159 g, 6g less than the P30.

Handling the P30 Lite is what you'd expect from a dual-glass design. It can be slippery, but it's not as slippery as some other more demanding lookers. If this bothers you, then a case is always an option, Huawei may be even bundling one with the Lite in your market.

There is only one thing we found concerning about the build - there is a tiny gap between the frame and the rear glass, which may accumulate some dust particles over time. We can't be sure as we had the phone for a week, but it's a valid concern and we've expressed it so you can take it into consideration.