Huawei P30 Review.

Huawei P30 display.

Like the P20 Pro, Huawei is once again using an OLED panel for the P30 display, with a Full HD+ resolution. But there are no curved display edges like on the P30 Pro. The notch has become narrower, while the speaker is recessed between the housing frame and the display edge, similar to the Galaxy S10. With the pre-release device we tested, colors and contrast look rich and the display has great viewing angles too.

Huawei P30 Review. What you need to know.

To make that decision, you first need to know how the two phones differ and that’s pretty simple, really. The first thing to say is that both are Android smartphones running the latest version of Huawei’s Android 9 Pie-based OS – EMUI 9.1 – both are available in the same range of two-tone colours, both have the same level of performance, and both have three cameras at the rear and one facing forwards, all with Leica-branded optics.

That’s not to say the P30 doesn’t have other pros though. As the smaller model of the two in the series, it has a more natural fit in the hand – the smaller battery capacity means it’s simply not as thick and chunky – but we found it harder to type on this smaller handset with the default keyboard setup.

The P30’s screen resolution is the same as the Pro, too, but as it’s squeezed into a smaller scale it’s actually got a higher pixel density and looks great as a result. There’s less vibrancy from the panel than last year’s P20 Pro, but that’s down to tuning – and we prefer the colourful but altogether more natural OLED look here.

These are two fundamentally different phones, however. For a start, the Huawei P30 has a smaller screen, at 6.1in versus 6.5in, although the resolution is the same across both. It lacks the 5x optical telephoto lens of the P30 Pro, it isn’t as water-resistant, doesn’t have curved screen edges and the battery is smaller (3,450mAh versus 4,200mAh). The more basic phone also doesn’t have wireless charging or reverse wireless charging.

Huawei P30 Review.