Tecno Camon 30 Premier review

Competition

The Tecno Camon 30 Premier is an excellent upper-mid-range all-rounder. Yes, that's a mouthful, but it's indeed a phone that punches above the standard mid-range class and covers all bases in terms of performance, battery life, display, charging speed and, most certainly, camera quality.

Despite Tecno's relatively low popularity (compared to other brands), the Camon 30 Premier gives many of its competitors a run for their money. Unfortunately, we are left guessing the device's exact price as Tecno hasn't revealed it just yet. After some digging and considering the Camon 20 Premier's launch price last year, we made an educated guess that the handset will cost around INR 35,000 (€400) or maybe more. Either way, this would be a competitive price, given the handset's capabilities. And here's why.

The Camon 30 Pro will likely slot in between Samsung's Galaxy A55 and the Galaxy S23 FE, price-wise. And yet, the 30 Premier makes a compelling reason not to get either Samsung. The device has an energy-efficient LTPO OLED panel, solid battery life (a lot better than the S23 FE), faster charging, and arguably better camera experience overall, offers 512GB storage by default and outperforms the A55 with its Dimensity 8200 SoC. The only reason not to get the Camon 30 Premier is the lack of clarity when it comes to software support. Tecno hasn't publicly committed to software support for a certain duration, while the Samsungs will remain up-do-date for years to come.

Samsung Galaxy A55 • Samsung Galaxy S23 FE • Xiaomi 13T

Another hard-to-beat competitor is the Xiaomi 13T. It has the same chipset and perhaps a slightly better display but falls short in the battery department; it's slower to charge and doesn't have the same camera prowess. Software support remains an advantage, though, as Xiaomi promises 4 years of full software support.

The recently released vivo V30 Pro is another alternative worth mentioning. Interestingly, the two devices are very similar - the same chipset powers both, offers roughly the same battery endurance, charges equally fast, has very similar displays and features a slim and lightweight design. Still, the Camon 30 Premier pulls ahead with a slightly better camera experience and further zoom reach. Perhaps the deciding factor would be the price, but we suspect the Camon 30 Premier will undercut the V30 Pro.

vivo V30 Pro • Realme 12 Pro+ • Nothing Phone (2)

Realme's 12 Pro+ is another similarly priced contender, but we need to see a compelling reason why you'd choose this one over the Camon 30 Premier. The latter is objectively better in most aspects if not all, so instead, we recommend looking into Nothing's Phone (2) - а flagship from last year. Despite being a year-old phone, the Phone (2) has a more powerful chipset, longer battery life, better display, LTPO at that, and better software support for the coming years. The unorthodox design is a bonus but falls short in the camera department. Even if you make a case for the Phone (2)'s camera processing being better, the exceptional selfie and telephoto cameras the Camon offers are hard to overlook.

Verdict

Aside from some nuanced issues, the Camon 30 Premier is a good example of a "jack of all trades". The device will likely be positioned around competitors that offer less for the asking price. Tecno's solution has excellent performance, long battery life, fast charging, energy-efficient LTPO panel and near-flawless camera experience. It also has one of the loudest loudspeakers around, adds an IR blaster, and delivers 512GB internal storage by default. All of this is packaged in a nice, lightweight chassis with a premium feel.

We only wished the display was brighter in auto mode and that Tecno committed to some kind of extended software support, as this is becoming the norm in the industry.

All in all, the Camon 30 Premier gets our approval and the small shortcomings are not enough to ruin the excellent score we gave. The value package speaks for itself.

Pros

• Thin, light, standout design with premium feel.
• Energy-efficient 120Hz LTPO OLED.
• Exceptional camera performance all-around, including selfies and videos.
• Solid battery life and fast charging.
• One of the loudest speakers around
• Potent chipset.
• 12GB/512GB memory by default, IR blaster.

Cons

• Small issues with focusing on the main and telephoto cameras.
• Display could be brighter.