PLDT Home

Breaking News

realme Narzo 30A Review: A Performer Budget Gaming Smartphone


It's official, the new realme Narzo 30A is launched in the Philippines via Livestream on the official realme Facebook page, it's the latest budget smartphone designed for mobile gamers.

realme Narzo 30A

The Narzo 30A is the latest realme budget smartphone under the narzo series, it features a better CPU compared to its previous version narzo 20A (not released in the Philippines), so here is our hands-on review.

realme narzo 30A Specs

Android 10, realme UI
6.5-inch IPS LCD display, 1600 x 720 resolution, at 270 PPI
20:9 ratio, Peak brightness: 570nits(Sunlight Mode)
2GHz MediaTek Helio G85 octa-core processor
Arm Mali-G52 MC2 GPU
4GB RAM / 64GB internal storage
Expandable via microSD
13MP, f/2.2, wide, 2MP, f/2.4 B/W rear cameras, LED flash
8MP, f/2.0 selfie camera
Rear-mounted fingerprint Scanner
Dual SIM, Dual Standby
HSPA+, 4G LTE
FM radio
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
Bluetooth 5.0
GPS, GLONASS, BDS
USB Type-C
6,000mAh battery, 18W fast charger
Colors: Laser Black, Laser Blue
205g

Design and Built
The narzo 30A comes in two colors Laser Black, and Laser Blue, and the latter is our review unit, it has a nice calming blue color.

realme Narzo 30A

Being a realme product the narzo 30A sports a new back cover design, a diagonal stripes design that is reminiscent of motion and shows off the freestyle, placed just below the fingerprint sensor and the narzo branding, the new visual design has a nice feel to touch.

realme Narzo 30A

The camera system at the back looks like it has a quad camera, but looking at it closely only the two holes have a camera lens, and the other one houses the LED light the other one is a dummy but nonetheless, it does still look nice.

realme Narzo 30A

Upfront is a nice 6.5-inch (16.5cm) HD+ (720 x 1600 pixels), 20:9 ratio mini-drop display with the selfie camera placed at the center top notch.

It has a plastic body with nice built it's not a unibody design and from the look of it the back cover can be opened but we don't recommend it because not only it will void the warranty but you might even damage some internal parts of the phone.

realme Narzo 30A

The power button and volume rocker are located on the right side, and the SIM slot is on the left side, which supports a triple-slot, so that means it supports two nano-SIM on different telco since it's sold openline and one microSD card for extra storage.

At the bottom are the usual ports, with the 3.5mm headphone jack, microphone, USB Type-C port, and loudspeaker, It's good to see the type-C port on this budget phone, finally realme is moving away from using the outdated micro-USB port on thier new devices.

Display
The narzo 30A features a 6.5-inch (16.5cm) HD+ mini-drop display with an 88.7% screen-to-body ratio, there's no mention of glass protection, but there is a pre-installed screen protector for an extra layer of protection against scratches. Bezels are visible but not that thick except at the bottom part.

realme Narzo 30A

It has a 20:9 ratio which is excellent for landscape gaming and watching videos on YouTube and Netflix. The IPS LCD panel is nothing special, the colors is good but slightly saturated. Brightness is more than adequate, with 570nits(Sunlight Mode) and it can be used even outdoors.

The viewing angle is good, and it supports dark mode systems-wide, and Eye Comfort. Overall the narzo 30A display offers a very good viewing experience for its price.

Performance
For processing power the narzo 30A is equipped with a MediaTek Helio G85 gaming processor with up to 2.0GHz clock speed, paired with ARM Mali-G52 GPU, it comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB internal storage.

realme Narzo 30A

On AnTuTu the narzo 30A got 200843 scores, and on GeekBench it scores 349 on Single-Core and 1298 on multi-core.

In terms of gaming, this smartphone can handle most of the games you want to play. We test popular games such as Call of Duty Mobile, Asphalt 9, and Genshin Impact. It can easily handle casual games such as Golf Rival, Stumble Guys, and alike without any issues.

realme Narzo 30A

Playing Call of Duty runs great on default settings, the controls are responsive and the gameplay is smooth. Graphics can be changed to medium settings, and frame rate at high settings and still got a smooth gameplay experience.

realme Narzo 30A

On Genshin Impact, the game runs well with noticeable hiccups on cut scenes, still, the gameplay is enjoyable.

realme Narzo 30A

Everybody loves racing games, and playing asphalt 9 is great on this phone, it can handle high graphics settings and the gameplay is awesome.

realme has Game Space with Game Engine that improves gaming performance through custom optimization it Intelligently allocates system resources, and it also restricts network access of background apps for a smoother gaming experience.

For daily use, the narzo 30A can handle multitasking, and apps launch quickly it can be used as a device for an online school, with its dual SIM that supports a 4G LTE connection, and dual WiFi, an internet connection is always available.

The speakers, are not that really great and it lacks depth, still, it's good for notifications and alarms since it's loud enough that can fill the room when the volume is set to high. To enjoy playing games or watching videos, it's better to use wired earphones or use Bluetooth TWS for better audio quality.

The downside of this device is it only has 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage that can easily be fill-up given that today's games require large storage. Good thing it supports a micoSD card that can be used as alternative storage to other files, photos, videos, and downloads.

"Given its price point, the realme narzo 30A is truly a budget gaming smartphone that can smoothly run popular online games with great playtime experience."


As for the fingerprint reader, it works very fast and accurately, it just works well in unlocking the phone.

Cameras
The narzo 30A only comes with a dual-camera setup at back, it's encased on a square case with a 13-megapixel wide sensor, and a 2-megapixel black and white camera with LED flash, and the other one is a dummy camera hole. Up front, it sports an 8-megapixel selfie camera placed on the notch.

It looks like the main camera is a downgrade compared to the narzo 20A which has a triple camera at the back. Still, narzo 30A can capture good pictures in daylight where there is a lot of light.

Pictures taken using good lighting have good details and color reproduction and dynamic range not sharp but good enough to share on social media accounts, sadly pictures taken in dim places suffer from pixel distortion. The main camera is also capable of video recording up to 1080p quality.

While the selfie camera can take decent selfies and it can be enhanced using the AI beauty mode to get closer to natural skin tones.

Sadly given the current situation, we're unable to fully test the camera of the realme narzo 30A since General Community Quarantine is still enforced on our location.

Battery
This smartphone is packed is a massive 6000mAh battery, according to realme the narzo 30A is capable of 46 days of standby mode, 52 hours of call time, 27 hours of video streaming, 114 hours of music playback, and more than 10 hours of game time.

realme Narzo 30A

On the PC benchmark test, the battery got a score of 17 hours and 57 minutes. On a full charge using the narzo 30A as the main device, the battery lasted for the whole day, and by the end of the day, it still has 5% battery power which is still good for around 6 hours of music playback, and around 80 minutes of Viber time.

In terms of charging, the package includes an 18W 9V/2A charger, it takes less than 3 hours to fully charge the battery using the supplied Type-C cable, which is not bad considering the huge battery capacity. The adapter features overload protection and Battery fuse protection. Not only that with its massive battery, you can use it to charge other devices since it supports reverse charging on its type-C port.

PROS
Nice design
Good quality
Good performance
Massive battery capacity
Fast Charging
Type-C port

CONS

Plastic body
Camera could be better
Limited RAM and storage

Verdict
This sub-10k smartphone offers great performance for gaming and with its mega battery expect a longer playtime with the realme narzo 30A. It has a nice built and refreshing color and design. With the upcoming update to Android 11 with realme IU 2.0, we can expect to get improved performance and added features.

The realme narzo 30A is exclusively available on Lazada with a 4GB + 64GB storage variant and is priced at ₱6,490.
-
Subscribe to our social media channels FacebookInstagramTiktokTwitter, and YouTube. to receive the latest news and updates. 

No comments