Huawei P30 review

12 April 2019


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  • Shui8
  • KZ8
  • 15 Apr 2019

Nick Tagataka, 15 Apr 2019All right, here's the thing. I recently pre-ordered and got... moreGreat explanation.

    • S
    • Shui8
    • KZ8
    • 15 Apr 2019

    nick, 15 Apr 2019Main camera in the P30 has older IMX600 sensor, P30 Pro has... moreBoth P30 & P30 Pro using new Sony IMX650, both are RYYB sensor. IMX600 using RGB sensor. The only difference are Pro version has OIS.

      • n
      • nick
      • pWY
      • 15 Apr 2019

      Improved gallery? Downgraded gallery! It has useless AI stuff, yet you can't even change the order of your folders! Or how do they look. Or how the app starts. Or anything! They reduced customization options to ZERO.

        • n
        • nick
        • pWY
        • 15 Apr 2019

        Main camera in the P30 has older IMX600 sensor, P30 Pro has newer IMX650.

          All right, here's the thing. I recently pre-ordered and got P30 Pro in my hand, but was let down by its display sharpness. I'm pretty sure it's due to the different pentile matrix that P30 Pro's display uses, but compared to my S10's AMOLED display it almost looked like it only had HD resolution. This is something I should've checked carefully before making a purchasing decision, and I found it unacceptable so immediately returned it, swapped it out with the regular P30 and got some cash refund along with a few pre-order gifts.
          So I've been using P30 for a while now and I gotta say that this easily beats S10 in three major areas:

          1. Camera. S10's still camera performance has been disappointing for me. Colors are very nicely rendered but sometimes HDR goes overboard, introducing weird halo around highlights and flattening the whole scene in a really unpleasant way. Details are muddled up even at base ISO, and as for the low light performance, just forget about it - it's bad. Sure, P30 has a tendency to use warmer WB which can desaturate the sky, and there's a slight color inconsistency across all three lenses. But at least doesn't come with the issues I stated above, and the low light performance is exceptional especially when using Night Mode, which is miles ahead of Samsung's useless Bright Night.

          2. Battery life and charging. I can achieve roughly 5-6 hours of SoT on my S10, whereas on P30 it's usually around 8 hours with the same usage pattern. Don't get me wrong, S10 doesn't perform poorly in this regard, but it just pales in comparison with P30's amazing battery life. A charging speed is also a lot faster on Huawei as well, but this has been always the case since Mate 9.

          3. Performance. To be fair One UI from Samsung is a bit more intuitive and user friendly compared to EMUI, which means menus are better organised and UI designs are more consistent across the stock apps on One UI. But EMUI is the clear winner when it comes to performance. On Samsung's UI there's a noticeable delay after the touch input and have to wait 0.5 to 1 second for the action to be completed, while on EMUI everything is done instantaneously... you can tell that there's something wrong with One UI when Samsung's own browser feels more responsive on EMUI. So, great job, Huawei.

          Is P30 overall a better phone though? Not at all. S10 packs a sharper, brighter display, substantially better speaker(s), a better microphone, a more secure FPS(albeit slower), fast wireless charging, reverse wireless charging, higher IP rating and a better DAC. But it's also over twice as expensive as P30, and so I can confidently say that P30 is a worthy choice for anybody who is looking for a decent flagship but doesn't want to pay over a grand for a phone.

            • e
            • exhale
            • SvB
            • 15 Apr 2019

            Anonymous, 14 Apr 2019no it doesnt. the p30's kirin 980 is faster and has better ... moreWhat drugs are you on? Since when is Kirin 980 faster than the SD855 or the Exynos 9820 in gaming? Jesus you Huawei shills are as annoying as the bubonic plague.

              • M
              • Maria
              • 61D
              • 15 Apr 2019

              Why should I buy this P30 when there is P30 Pro? Of course, the price is different but that is worth enough.

                Shanti Dope, 15 Apr 2019When we talk about the phones by themselves in general, I c... moreTrue. If the price for P30 Pro and Xperia 1 is the same, Huawei is in trouble.

                  vrvly, 14 Apr 2019Cannot forget phones are not just about cameras, other sens... moreWhen we talk about the phones by themselves in general, I can guarantee that the Xperia 1 defeats the P30 Pro by a tiny margin.
                  The P30 Pro only beats the Xperia 1 by a margin in camera and battery life, but the rest is better on the Xperia 1:

                  -4K HDR 21:9 OLED
                  -Dolby Atmos speaker
                  -near stock Android (and Sony is usually better on updates)
                  -SD855 (Kirin 980 can't even completely dominate the SD845)
                  -Hi-Res audio support
                  -4K HDR movie recording
                  -real 960fps super slow motion in 1080p
                  -Eye AF

                  Now we will wait for the Mate 30 Pro, but also for the next Xperia flagship, which could be even better than the Xperia 1.

                    Anonymous, 14 Apr 2019Galaxy S10+, Xperia 1 and Iphone Xs use the Isocell 1/3.4" ... moreI doubt that Sony will use an ISOCELL sensor when they could produce enough sensors of the same variant but better overall quality.
                    As far as I know, the only Samsung hardware inside the iPhone is the display, so I do think all of its cameras are Sony IMX's.
                    If you say that a telephoto and ultrawide lens will use the same sensor, and it will mean that the telephoto will have to be twice the thickness of the ultrawide one, then does that thing apply on the Xperia 1?
                    I bet they could've kept the same 1/2.3" sensor size for the main camera but lowered the resolution to 12MP, added the OIS module, as well as include a larger lens for even better image quality.

                      Just wondering whether someone have tested P30 against Mate 20 Pro? Got sick of curved screen, inferior speakers and barely working in-screen fingerprint sensor.

                        vrvly, 14 Apr 2019Cannot forget phones are not just about cameras, other sens... moreYes, this is exactly what Huawei completely forgot. Sure the P30 series have a brilliant camera setup and quality, arguably the best at the moment. But I can't justify such a high price tag just for this. Take Pixel 3 for comparison which always is referred as "it's just about the camera phone". But it reality it is certainly not. I admit that even P30 has a better camera system now but everything else, overall phone experience is much much better on Pixel 3. Apart form still top tier (not versatile as P30 of course) Pixel 3 camera, it has outstanding speakers, much better microphone and earpiece, better haptic engine, a way better silky smooth always updated OS where everything works as it should. I want these things on P30 Pro at least and I'll buy it even for the start RRP price.

                          • J
                          • Jerele
                          • J%6
                          • 15 Apr 2019

                          Mate 20 or P30??? Help me please!

                            Shanti Dope, 14 Apr 2019192MP is crazy, heck even 60MP is quite a bit much already ... moreCannot forget phones are not just about cameras, other sensors and functions, battery size, advertising, they hardly can take Huawei on. If you also consider mate30pro will bring something new again, it won't be easy to survive just on the camera alone, even if they were the best.

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                              • Anonymous
                              • LQu
                              • 14 Apr 2019

                              Shanti Dope, 14 Apr 2019Okay, maybe 1/2.55" is too much for a telephoto lens, but I... moreGalaxy S10+, Xperia 1 and Iphone Xs use the Isocell 1/3.4" 12MP behind 52mm.
                              Not sure if they all have same sensor or just different with same specs.

                              To keep wide and tele modules same size, the would have to use bit wider lenses for tele. Maybe 48mm or less, I do not know the calculation.

                              I saw a scheme one that show if tele and wide had same sensor size, the tele module would be twive the thickness.

                              Size:

                              1/2.3" = 29mm2
                              1/2.55" = 24mm2
                              1/3" = 17mm2
                              1/3.4" = 13,4mm2

                                Anonymous, 13 Apr 20191/2.6" is too big for 52mm. They need to use a sensor size... moreOkay, maybe 1/2.55" is too much for a telephoto lens, but I wouldn't trust a telephoto lens that's 1/3" or smaller
                                I mean, the amount of light that those cameras could capture are so poor, that manufacturers disable them in low light
                                Good thing that Huawei's 5x telephoto lens actually works in low light scenarios, so I hope that Sony utilizes something similar to that idea

                                  Anonymous, 13 Apr 2019I was told it os 1/1.5" not 1/1.8" .... Then that'd be even better!
                                  If that's true, then it finally might be the true successor to the Nokia Lumia 1020, which has a similar-sized sensor

                                    vrvly, 13 Apr 2019How I wish I could take hi end images on tele lens, well wi... more192MP is crazy, heck even 60MP is quite a bit much already for smartphones, but hey, as long as they work well
                                    I do trust Xperia cameras more than ever now, after they actually proved to us that they can compete at the top, with the XZ2 phones and XZ3 doing really good in low light

                                    Xperia 1's camera setup could be better than most other phones with similar hardware that it's using (maybe even beating the Pixel 3, Galaxy S10, LG G8, and iPhone XS) but I have no hopes of it defeating the P30 Pro, which, despite being too artificial at times, is vastly superior in sheer hardware
                                    Once the Xperia with the 1/1.5" sensor comes out, it will be game over to Huawei if the Alpha team manages to make out the best of that hardware

                                      Anonymous, 13 Apr 2019"On the upside headphones did less damage to the stereo qua... moreAnd yet, there are people who would say that 3.5mm headphone jack is an outdated technology. -_-

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                                        • Krasimir
                                        • mc9
                                        • 14 Apr 2019

                                        Anonymous, 13 Apr 2019One important thing about Gsmarena Review that they Do Not ... moreYes, the mising section.

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