Samsung Galaxy M30

The Samsung Galaxy M30 sports a massive 6.4″ Super AMOLED display with a full-HD+ resolution (1080×2340 pixels). It runs on Android v8.1 (Oreo) operating system and is powered by an Octa-core Exynos 7904 processor.

The phone features a tri-camera (13MP + 5MP + 5MP) setup on the back and a 16MP selfie camera on the front. There are two storage variants – 4GB RAM/64GB internal memory and 6GB RAM/128GB internal memory. While the price of the base model (4GB RAM/64GB) is around Rs.14,900, the price of the higher storage variant model (6GB RAM/128GB) is around Rs 17,900.

As for colours, Samsung is offering two gradient colour variants for the phone – Gradation Black and Gradation Blue.

The phone has a slim (8.5mm) and sleek design, and although it has a plastic body, the glossy finish imparts a premium look-and-feel factor to it. The curved edges ensure that the phone fits well into the hand without digging into your palms. On the right side, you will find the power and volume buttons, and on the left lies the dual-SIM tray with a dedicated microSD card slot. As for the 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C port, and the speaker grille, they are placed at the bottom. An oval-shaped Fingerprint Sensor lies on the rear panel. Honestly, the positioning of the sensor isn’t optimal as it’s too high. The vertical tri-camera setup sits on the top right corner of the back panel with an LED flash located right below.

The biggest selling point of the Galaxy M30 is its 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with a full-HD+ resolution (1080×2340 pixels). The screen is basically bezel-less, except for the small notch on the top (just as seen in the Galaxy M20) and the thin, but noticeable bottom bezel. The top bezel houses the selfie cam along with a flash. The display offers excellent viewing angles, and the images/videos/text look very crisp and vibrant. While the colours are sharp and bright, it will not cause much discomfort. The phone comes with a variety of display settings like Basic, Adaptive Display, AMOLED Cinema, AMOLED Photo. There’s also a Blue-Light Filter toggle. All in all, the Super AMOLED screen delivers a pleasant multimedia experience.

The phone uses an octa-core Samsung Exynos 7904 processor with two ARM Cortex-A73 cores running at 1.8GHz and six Cortex A-53 cores running at 1.6GHz. This is paired with 4GB RAM/64GB and 6GB RAM/128GB storage variants. In both cases, the internal memory is expandable up to 512GB via a microSD card. Since the Galaxy M30 and Galaxy M20 use the same processor, the performance is more or less the same. You will experience no lags whatsoever while performing day-to-day tasks (calling, texting, listening to music, video streaming, etc.) on the phone. Multitasking is also a breeze. However, the phone does display signs of stuttering and lagging while playing heavy games like PUBG.

The Fingerprint Sensor is intuitive and quick to respond. There’s also Face Recognition feature, (although not the fastest), that does a fairly decent job in most lighting conditions.

Overall, the phone delivers good performance.

As we mentioned earlier, Galaxy M30 proudly flaunts a triple camera setup with a 13MP primary camera (f/1.9 aperture), a 5-megapixel depth sensor (f/2.2 aperture), and a 5-megapixel ultrawide-angle camera with a 123-degree field of view. For selfies, you get a 16MP sensor (f/2.0 aperture).

The phone’s camera comes with a lot of options like Panorama, Pro, Beauty, Live Focus, Smart Beauty, and Continuous Shot modes. With Pro mode, you can tweak the exposure, ISO, and white balance before clicking photos. Whereas, the Live Focus mode uses the depth sensor and allows you to control the level of background blur. There are also AR stickers and many beautification filters.

Daylight shots look sharp with the right amount of details. The camera focus and exposure are great. While the ultra-wide-angle sensor is useful to capture a wider group of subjects, it lacks AutoFocus feature and is hence, best only for Landscape shots. When it comes to low-light shots, the camera performance is average. The images captured display a lot of noise and look grainy. We wouldn’t recommend using the ultra-wide lens for low-light shots.

As for the front cam, the 16MP snapper does produce impressive results. The images look sharp with accurate colours and subtle detailing, but that’s again true only for well-lit settings. In low-light environments, the front camera also struggles like the rear camera setup.

The Galaxy M30 comes with excellent battery backup. The 5000mAh battery coupled with fast-charging feature makes it a steal deal. For normal-to-medium usage, the battery can stretch through an entire day smoothly, without requiring to be plugged in. Even if you engage in extensive browsing, or video streaming, or gaming, the battery will sustain for at least half a day.

As for connectivity, the phone comes with a host of options including Wi-Fi 802.11, a/ac/b/g/n/n 5GHz, Wi-Fi Direct, Mobile Hotspot, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS with A-GPS and Glonass, USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm jack, and 2G/3G/4G support. It has sensors like Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Accelerometer, Compass, and Gyroscope.

On the whole, Samsung Galaxy M30 appears to be an excellent choice for a mid-range smartphone. After all, it is among the very few phones that offer the Super AMOLED display coupled with fantastic battery life. The cameras also deliver decent performance. If you are not into high-end gaming, you will love this phone.