Tecno Camon 30 Pro review

HIOS 14 on top of Android 14

Just like the rest of recently released Tecno devices, the Camon 30 Pro runs on the latest HIOS 14 custom overlay with Android 14 underneath. Tecno is promising 2 major software updates (to Android 16) and 3 years of security patches for the entire Camon 30 series.

This version of HiOS 14 is exactly the same one we saw on the Tecno Pova 6 Pro and the Tecno Camon 30 Premier. It's very similar to HiOS 13 but has a better implementation of the so-called Dynamic Port 2.0 - Tecno's own version of Apple's Dynamic Island. It gives contextual info as well as quick and easy ways to interact with certain system apps.

HIOS 14

In general, the system felt snappy and responsive, so no complaints when it comes to performance.

Benchmark performance

The Tecno Camon 30 Pro has the same SoC as its Camon 30 Premier sibling - the Dimensity 8200 Ultimate SoC, based on the 4nm manufacturing process. The Ultimate part remains a mystery as the specs of the Tecno-marketed Dimensity 8200 Ultimate appear to be identical to the initially announced Dimensity 8200.

Anyway, the SoC is supposed to be a direct successor to the Dimensity 8100, but the specs sheet suggests it's an entirely new chip. Instead of a 4+4 core configuration, the 8200 adopts a more modern 1+3+4 combo. The main core clocked at 3.1 GHz is still Cortex-A78, though, while the second cluster of 3x Cortex-A78 cores is clocked at 3.0 GHz. The energy-efficient cluster of 4x Cortex-A55 cores is ticking at 2.0 GHz.

The GPU remains unchanged from the previous generation, though, as it's still the Mali-G610 MC6.

Regarding memory, the Camon 30 Pro comes in two flavors - 12GB/256GB and 12GB/512GB. Both options are quite generous for this price segment.

Tecno does not reveal the type of storage used but our benchmark numbers suggest the storage is either very fast UFS 2.2 or a slower UFS 3.1. Our review unit is the 512GB model, so your results may differ if you have the 256GB version at hand.

Now let's dive into the benchmarks.

The Dimensity 8200 SoC is a powerful mid-range solution that often overtakes its rivals. The chip helps the Camon 30 Pro maintain a comfortable lead in some scenarios over most of the similarly priced competitors.

Sustained performance

It's no surprise that the Camon 30 Pro had a similar behavior to the Camon 30 Premier, since they both share the same design and hardware. So, just like its sibling, the 30 Pro struggles to maintain near-maximum CPU clock speeds, and we observed moderate throttling from time to time, which isn't ideal.

CPU and GPU throttle tests

The GPU stability turned out to be pretty good, though, as the handset maintained 91% stability throughout the whole 3DMark Wild Life stress test.