Nokia X30 5G Review : Midrange Smartphone Is Too Expensive | Tech reviews
The Nokia X30 is a smartphone priced in the mid-range, but does it fit there? We have tested it extensively and let you know whether the device is worth the price.
This is the Nokia X30 review
It is the turn of the Nokia X30 for this review. It is a mid-range smartphone with a price tag from 519 euros . This makes it comparable to, among others, the Nothing Phone (1) , Oppo Reno 8 and the Motorola Edge 30 Fusion . We look at whether this phone is worth the price, how you like it during daily use and whether it is recommended.
Solid housing
After one look at the X30, it is clear from which manufacturer it comes. And that’s not only due to the large Nokia logo on the back. The design is almost the same as the G60 that we recently tested.
For example, the camera island and the flat sides seem identical, but this device consists of higher quality materials. Except for the plastic back, the device feels solid with matte aluminum edges with shiny accents.
On the right side you will find the on and off button and the volume controls. These are quite stiff compared to other smartphones. That is a bit awkward at first, but luckily you get used to it quickly. At the bottom of the smartphone you will find a speaker that – despite the fact that it offers mono sound – produces loud and clear sound. The entire housing is IP67 dust and waterproof.
Sustainability comes first
The remarkable thing about the housing is that it partly consists of recycled material. The sides are made of 100 percent recycled aluminum and the back consists of 65 percent recycled raw materials.
Nokia uses the ‘sustainability stamp’ extensively on their packaging and website, but compared to competitors like Nothing or Fairphone , the Finnish manufacturer does not use excessively much recycled material. The more recycled raw materials, the better of course, but in this case it seems more like a sales pitch. If you buy a Nokia X30, about twenty trees will also be planted, so to speak, good for nature conservation.
Screen does what it’s supposed to do
Take the X30 in your hand, and you’ll be greeted by a colorful 6.43-inch AMOLED screen. With a resolution of 2400 by 1080 pixels, it’s not the sharpest on the market, but colors look fine. It is still readable in direct sunlight. Below the display you will find the optical fingerprint scanner and the selfie camera in a hole.
The screen has a refresh rate of up to 90Hz. That simply means that it shows more frames per second, making animations look smoother and the smartphone feels faster. In practice, the difference is noticeable, but less noticeable than with a display with a 120Hz frequency. Yet we see more often that smartphone manufacturers choose the middle way for this price segment.
It is important that a smartphone can take a beating and luckily the display of the X30 is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus; one of the strongest materials we usually encounter on premium smartphones.
Budget segment hardware
The hardware of the X30 is simply quite disappointing. The Nokia is equipped with a Snapdragon 695 processor. This chip is mainly found in budget and devices for the middle segment. Among other things, the own Nokia G60 is equipped with it and it costs almost 200 euros less.
The chip performs well for everyday tasks, but hiccups sometimes occur during use. 5G is also present, so that you are completely ready for the future.
This more expensive Nokia is available in two versions in which the amount of working and storage memory differ. The most expensive variant with 265GB of storage has 8GB of RAM. With the entry-level 128GB storage, you get 6GB of RAM.
Bright Color Cameras
On the Nokia X30 you will find three sensors: a main and ultra-wide angle camera on the back and a front camera for selfies and video calls. The main sensor has a resolution of 50 megapixels, which is more than enough to take a clear picture. With the wide-angle camera, you can capture more of the environment in one image. However, the resolution is considerably less, namely 13 megapixels.
By means of HDR, modern smartphones ensure optimally exposed photos. So is this Nokia X30 and it does it very well. Photos with a dark foreground and bright background are very well post-processed by the phone. However, photos taken with the ultra wide-angle lens have a higher saturation and therefore more color.
The smartphone does need time to apply the HDR technique, so that photos are moved faster. With the built-in optical image stabilization, Nokia wants to counteract blurred photos and videos. Overall, the X30 doesn’t make the sharpest, but they look colorful and contain a nice contrast.
The selfie camera has a resolution of 16 megapixels and is surprisingly sharp. Furthermore, you can film with all cameras in full HD quality and there are several creative photo modes available in the camera app. Think of a portrait mode or night mode.
Bare and well-arranged software
Software can make or break a smartphone and fortunately the former is the case with the X30. The Nokia is in fact part of the Android One program; a software shell with few pre-installed applications and virtually no visual adjustments to Android. This ensures that the X30 is clear and easy to use.
The X30 runs on Android 12 and with that you get a lot of nice functionalities. For example, you can personalize a lot of settings. If you change the background of your home screen, icons will adapt to those colors. Your digital privacy is also better protected, because apps have less access to your personal data and files.
Android 12 is the second latest version of Google’s operating system. The most recent version – Android 13 – is not yet available on the Nokia at the time of release, but that update is coming. In the future we will see Android 13, 14 and 15 for the device. In addition, you will receive a monthly security update for three years.
Battery for a whole day
A smartphone is of no use if it has to be plugged in every once in a while. Fortunately, the battery life with the X30 is fine. The Nokia owes this to its battery of 4200 mAh. This is an average battery capacity for the size of this smartphone, but you will probably not be short of anything. With average use, you can easily get through your day.
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You charge the smartphone with a maximum of 33 Watt. Nokia still calls this Fast Charging, but in the meantime there are smartphones that charge a lot faster for the same price. Think of the Poco F4 and the OnePlus Nord 2 that charge up to 67 Watts. In practice, it means that the X30 takes an hour to charge from 0 to 50 percent.
Conclusion Nokia X30 review
The Nokia X30 is not a bad phone. It feels sturdy, has a clear screen that is well protected and contains well-arranged software. It also has excellent camera performance and lasts a day on a single battery charge.
However, the price segment in which Nokia presents the X30 5G is very strange. You can also find the same specifications in smartphones of 350 euros. So the sustainability aspect is something you have to pay a lot for, but in our view they simply price themselves out of the market with such hardware.
We certainly recommend that you look further at comparable smartphones with a lower price tag or phones with more bang for buck for the Nokia X30 price.