Nokia X30 review

Android One, v12

The Nokia X30 runs Android 12 in its Android One flavor - stock Android, if you will, though it's still a notch behind the latest version of the OS. As part of the 'Play the long game' ethos, the X30 carries a promise for 3 years of OS updates and security patches, so you should be set for the foreseeable future.

Regardless of the number on the tin (so long as it's reasonably recent, which is the case here), Android One looks familiar. With the 12 version, you're getting the oversized bubble-like quick toggles, the Privacy dashboard, precise/approximate location setting and the green dot to alert you that the microphone or camera is active. The settings menu has been reworked to monochrome, so if you're used to the color-coded settings of before, you'll need to unlearn them.

Notification shade • Quick toggles • Privacy dashboard • Permissions • Settings

The fundamentals aren't really changed, and everything is straightforward and functional.

Lockscreen • Discover • Homescreen • Folder view • App drawer • Recent apps (is 'Clear all' new?)

What we're used to calling the power button on the right can be set up to launch the Google Assistant from any screen or from standby. Mind you, some older Nokias (the G21 comes to mind) had a dedicated Assistant key on the left, and that's not the case here.

For those cases when you actually want to power off the phone (which has admittedly been getting increasingly harder to figure out between manufacturers recently), there's a tutorial explaining the different ways.

Google Assistant • Google Assistant • Google Assistant • Power off options

The under-display fingerprint reader is the go-to method for unlocking the phone, and it works alright, though we did encounter occasions where it just wouldn't unlock - more often than what we'd consider 'the norm'. Basic camera-based face unlock is available too.

Biometrics and security

Google's apps handle all the major functionality on the phone. The Photos app is your gallery, Gmail is your email client, Google's Calendar is there for your calendar needs.

There's an FM radio receiver on the X30 with a simple app with RDS but no station memory feature or recording capability. You need some sort of USB-C headphones to serve as the antenna, though, and none are provided in the box.

Google Photos • Gmail • Calendar • Files • FM radio

Performance and benchmarks

The Nokia X30 is powered by the Snapdragon 695 chipset - a midrange Qualcomm chip with 5G capability, manufactured on a 6nm process. Its octa-core CPU has a 2+6 configuration (2x2.2 GHz Kryo 660 Gold & 6x1.7 GHz Kryo 660 Silver), while the GPU is labeled Adreno 619. That's the same SoC you'd find in the lesser Nokia G60, and it's essentially the beefiest silicon on a Nokia phone at present.

Two memory versions are available - the already decently well-specced 6GB/128GB base model and the more generous 8GB/256GB option (as reviewed). Compare that to the G60 which maxes out at 6GB/128GB.

In benchmarks, the X30 posted the numbers you'd expect from an SD695 smartphone across the board - all the similarly equipped models are within very tight margins. However, Snapdragon 778 alternatives are notably more powerful, and Dimensity 900 phones also have an edge. The Pixel 6a, meanwhile, is in a different league.

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  1047
• Realme GT Neo3
  968
• Poco X4 GT
  917
• Poco X4 GT
  917
• Nothing Phone (1)
  820
• Honor 70
  819
• Realme 9 5G Speed Edition
  795
• Xiaomi 12 Lite
  785
• Huawei nova 10 Pro
  783
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  771
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  743
• vivo X80 Lite
  716
• vivo V25
  716
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  688
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  687
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  670
• Nokia G60
  668
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  666
• Nokia X30
  663
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  662
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  603
• OnePlus Nord N300 5G
  596
• Nokia G21
  311

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Realme GT Neo3
  4079
• Poco X4 GT
  3719
• Poco X4 GT
  3719
• Nothing Phone (1)
  3024
• Xiaomi 12 Lite
  2943
• Honor 70
  2925
• Google Pixel 6a
  2876
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  2801
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  2796
• Huawei nova 10 Pro
  2794
• Realme 9 5G Speed Edition
  2753
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  2063
• vivo X80 Lite
  2023
• vivo V25
  2023
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  1996
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  1964
• Nokia X30
  1920
• Nokia G60
  1908
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  1908
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  1906
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  1891
• OnePlus Nord N300 5G
  1780
• Nokia G21
  1193

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• Realme GT Neo3
  819348
• Poco X4 GT
  747871
• Poco X4 GT
  747871
• Google Pixel 6a
  712092
• Nothing Phone (1)
  592789
• Honor 70
  559300
• Xiaomi 12 Lite
  528905
• Huawei nova 10 Pro
  528847
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  506432
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  504424
• vivo X80 Lite
  461428
• vivo V25
  461428
• Nokia X30
  403732
• Nokia G60
  402664
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  396008
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  387218
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  384646
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  380818
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  379313
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  376819
• OnePlus Nord N300 5G
  335440
• Nokia G21
  171299

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  47
• Realme GT Neo3
  42
• Poco X4 GT
  38
• Poco X4 GT
  38
• Nothing Phone (1)
  23
• Honor 70
  20
• Xiaomi 12 Lite
  19
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  19
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  18
• OnePlus Nord N300 5G
  18
• Huawei nova 10 Pro
  16
• vivo X80 Lite
  16
• vivo V25
  16
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  15
• Nokia X30
  12
• Nokia G60
  12
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  12
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  12
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  12
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  11
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  11
• Nokia G21
  6

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  29
• Realme GT Neo3
  27
• Poco X4 GT
  26
• Poco X4 GT
  26
• Nothing Phone (1)
  15
• Honor 70
  14
• Huawei nova 10 Pro
  13
• Xiaomi 12 Lite
  13
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  13
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  13
• vivo X80 Lite
  11
• vivo V25
  11
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  10
• Nokia X30
  7.9
• Nokia G60
  7.8
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  7.8
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  7.8
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  7.8
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  7.8
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  7.8
• OnePlus Nord N300 5G
  2.6
• Nokia G21
  1.9

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Realme GT Neo3
  43
• Google Pixel 6a
  39
• Poco X4 GT
  38
• Poco X4 GT
  38
• Nothing Phone (1)
  23
• Honor 70
  20
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  20
• Xiaomi 12 Lite
  19
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  19
• OnePlus Nord N300 5G
  18
• Huawei nova 10 Pro
  16
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  15
• vivo X80 Lite
  15
• vivo V25
  15
• Nokia X30
  12
• Nokia G60
  12
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  12
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  12
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  12
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  12
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  11
• Nokia G21
  5.6

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  32
• Realme GT Neo3
  28
• Poco X4 GT
  24
• Poco X4 GT
  24
• Nothing Phone (1)
  16
• Honor 70
  15
• Xiaomi 12 Lite
  15
• Huawei nova 10 Pro
  14
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  14
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  14
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  10
• vivo X80 Lite
  10
• vivo V25
  10
• Nokia X30
  8.2
• Nokia G60
  8.2
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  8.2
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  8.2
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  8.2
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  8.1
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  8.1
• OnePlus Nord N300 5G
  5.8
• Nokia G21
  1.8

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Realme GT Neo3
  53
• Google Pixel 6a
  51
• Poco X4 GT
  46
• Poco X4 GT
  46
• Nothing Phone (1)
  33
• Honor 70
  29
• Xiaomi 12 Lite
  29
• Realme 9 5G Speed Edition
  28
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  28
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  28
• Huawei nova 10 Pro
  23
• OnePlus Nord N300 5G
  23
• vivo X80 Lite
  21
• vivo V25
  21
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  19
• Nokia X30
  17
• Nokia G60
  17
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  17
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  17
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  17
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  16
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  16
• Nokia G21
  8.9

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  66
• Realme GT Neo3
  60
• Poco X4 GT
  52
• Poco X4 GT
  52
• Nothing Phone (1)
  37
• Honor 70
  35
• Huawei nova 10 Pro
  33
• Xiaomi 12 Lite
  33
• Realme 9 5G Speed Edition
  33
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  33
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  33
• vivo X80 Lite
  26
• vivo V25
  26
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  23
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  21
• Nokia X30
  20
• Nokia G60
  20
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  20
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  20
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  20
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  19
• OnePlus Nord N300 5G
  15
• Nokia G21
  5.2

3DMark SSE ES 3.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  8808
• Honor 70
  5189
• Realme 9 5G Speed Edition
  5030
• Nothing Phone (1)
  5016
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  5015
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  5010
• Xiaomi 12 Lite
  4969
• vivo X80 Lite
  3879
• vivo V25
  3879
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  3631
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  2941
• Nokia X30
  2937
• Nokia G60
  2935
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  2921
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  2921
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  2899
• OnePlus Nord N300 5G
  2616
• Nokia G21
  962

3DMark SSE Vulkan 1.0 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 12 Lite
  4610
• Honor 70
  4469
• Nothing Phone (1)
  4336
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  4274
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  4231
• Realme 9 5G Speed Edition
  3989
• vivo X80 Lite
  3734
• vivo V25
  3734
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  3570
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  2751
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  2747
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  2747
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  2746
• Nokia X30
  2743
• OnePlus Nord N300 5G
  2585
• Nokia G21
  930

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel 6a
  6066
• Realme GT Neo3
  5428
• Poco X4 GT
  4301
• Poco X4 GT
  4301
• Nothing Phone (1)
  2921
• Honor 70
  2658
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  2491
• Xiaomi 12 Lite
  2483
• Huawei nova 10 Pro
  2481
• Realme 9 5G Speed Edition
  2476
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  2470
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  2292
• vivo X80 Lite
  2173
• vivo V25
  2173
• OnePlus Nord N300 5G
  1314
• Oppo Reno7 Lite 5G
  1217
• Nokia X30
  1214
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  1213
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  1211
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  1211
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  1201
• Nokia G21
  403

In summary, the Snapdragon 695 inside the Nokia X30 is a little too modest for its asking price and consequently not quite up to the competition's level. From a performance standpoint, much better deals can be found elsewhere.

The flip side of that coin is that the Nokia is remarkably stable under sustained load. Whether it was the CPU throttling test or the 3DMark Wildlife stress test, the X30 showed essentially no drop in performance.

CPU throttling test • 3DMark Wildlife stress test