5G is the next big thing, and we have started witnessing more and more devices implementing this newer technology at prices like never before. The Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G, with its Mediatek Dimensity 800U chipset, brings in 5G along with immense performance potential. With a triple rear camera setup and a 120Hz hole-punch display, is it a champion that other companies will find hard to compete with? Let’s find out in our full review of the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G.
Design and Display – Top Notch, without a notch
The Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G has a plastic unibody design, with a matte finish. After seeing a series of glossy devices from Realme, the matte feels really refreshing, and also adds up for a fine grip too. The device is very comfortable to hold in hand and the weight distribution is well balanced. The edges are slightly curved, which helps to fit the phone well in your palm. The back also has a slight gradient, that creates good effects at different angles.
Coming to the display, all we could say at our first glance was, ‘Wow, that looks smooth’ as it’s a 120Hz panel this time. The 6.5-inch IPS panel is a Full HD+ display which is very sharp. The colors look very natural and the saturation levels are well-tuned. While consuming media from YouTube, Netflix, and other streaming platforms, the panel gives out rich colors accounting for an enjoyable experience. When you take the device outdoors, the screen is slightly reflective but the text remains readable. The display on the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. This should protect it from regular scratches, but then it’s always a good habit to use a screen protector.
The display is one of the key factors of the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G which impressed us. With the higher refresh rate and the actual color output, it just doesn’t look that this is a sub 20K device. It’s very nice to see a head-on competition amongst brands, and Realme has raised the bars quite a bit high with the Narzo 30 Pro.
Performance – Woossshhhhh!
The Mediatek Dimensity 800U is a chipset that we have already seen on the likes of Realme X7, which is priced a little premium over the Narzo 30 Pro. The chipset is very capable of driving the 120Hz display, and it doesn’t break a sweat at all. We tested the Narzo 30 Pro for over a week, and here’s how it went.
Regular tasks like social media applications, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram open really fast. The animations also look so cool, and at times it feels like you are just about to touch the screen, and the app is already open. The higher refresh rate definitely gives a richer experience and is the first thing one would notice on starting to use the device. The memory management is great as well, and the Narzo 30 Pro easily keeps over 7-8 applications running in the background without any reloading issues.
We took the Dimensity 800U for a ride once again on the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G by running heavy games like PUBG Mobile Korean. The default settings are Smooth+Ultra which gives you 40fps gameplay. In maps like Erangel, the game remains very smooth with a constant frame rate between 35-40fps. In the Sanhok-Bootcamp test, there are slight frame drops during landing, but it eventually gets back to 40 as the game progresses.
Overall, the performance of the Realme Narzo 30 Pro is really very good. Daily tasks and even gaming, the device does a fantastic job in both scenarios. It’s good to see budget devices getting better and better!
Realme UI – Give it a try!
The Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G runs on Realme UI 1.0 based on Android 10, with the Realme UI 2.0 update scheduled very soon. Although Realme UI is a heavily skinned version of Android, it is feature-packed and most importantly is very responsive. The added advantages of having a system-wide dark mode, biometric lock for apps, dual space, and many such features which one still can’t find on stock android, take notes Google!
There are a few bloatware applications installed, which can be easily uninstalled with a single click. When it comes to recommendations or ads, there were none to count on the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G. The UI is polished and the animations look so good on the 120Hz display that one will surely enjoy. Realme UI is very matured, and it can feel a little confusing for someone to directly start with, but within a day, any normal person can get used to it and enjoy it.
Cameras – Straight on Point!
The Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G uses a triple camera setup to its back. The primary sensor is a 48MP shooter with an aperture of f/1.8 along with the secondary 8MP ultra-wide lens and the third 2MP macro shooter. The results were good. Here, have a look.
The 48MP primary camera is great when it comes to retaining colors in daylight conditions. It is very quick to focus and locks onto the subject without going for a hunt. The amount of details preserved is also good when you zoom into captured images. There’s also a portrait mode, that blurs the background for an added bokeh effect. The edge detection is pretty good, and here are some samples from the primary camera.
The secondary wide-angle lens gives you a wider view, which comes really handy in landscape shots in certain scenarios. The colors on this lens are very similar to that of the primary sensor. There’s a slight fish eye effect towards the edge of the images, but the actual photos look very good. The macro shooter is also a fun little lens to play with and gets the job done in close-up shots.
CHECK CAMERA SAMPLES: Click here.
At night, the primary sensor struggles a bit and there are quite a few grains introduced in the images. The provided night mode fixes this to an extent and gives you much brighter images with lesser noise. The low light performance isn’t any worse, and the images are good enough for posting on social media.
For videos, the rear camera can shoot all the way up to 4K. There’s no OIS, and videos are stabilized using EIS instead. The videos shot with the primary sensor have a very good dynamic range, even when there’s a bright source of light in the background. The focusing is also quick, and the color reproduction looks natural. The quality of the videos themselves was great, and there are options to shoot at lower resolutions as well.
For selfies, the 16MP front camera is housed by the hole-punch display. This sensor takes really good selfies, and these are very sharp. The dynamic range is again impressive, and the images have a lot of detail in them. The portrait mode gives you the background blur, and the edge detection is fine. Videos from the front camera are called at 1080p only. These can come out shaky at times if you decide to walk while shooting, but the overall video quality is pretty good.
The cameras on the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G have great potential. The primary and the wide-angle lens give you great results for images. The selfie camera is again something selfie lovers will enjoy. Apart from low light performance, there’s nothing to point at with cameras on this one.
Battery Life – Long but quick!
The 5000mAh battery on the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G easily takes you through an entire day of usage of any kind. Regular tasks like social media browsing and media consumption will drain just over half of the battery in a day. Our usage included a couple of hours of video streaming, lots of social media interaction on Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp, a few calls, and an hour of gaming. With this usage, the Realme Narzo 30 Pro easily ends with over 20% juice left.
The screen on time for the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G was consistently between 6-7 hours on each day for the entire week we tested the device. For charging, there’s a 30W Dart Charger included in the box. The provided adapter charges the 5000mAh battery from 0% to 100% in just 70 minutes. That’s pretty quick for a battery of this capacity!
Verdict
The Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G has a good design with its matte finish. The display is impressive and the higher refresh rate is something that we enjoyed. The performance is great for both regular tasks and even gaming. Given its 5G capabilities, the device surely safeguards you with the upcoming network upgrade keeping you ready. With an impressive set of cameras and a long-lasting battery that charges quickly, the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G is one the best device one can buy at the price of Rs. 16,999/-.
It faces very low competition as of now, where other competitors lack a few features here and there. The Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G however, makes for a complete package and will be on top of our recommendation list for devices under 20K, until we get a new capable competitor.
