realme Narzo 30A Review; The Latest Entry-level Challenger to Beat?

INTRODUCTION:

Quality mobile gaming on a budget -- this is what the realme Narzo 30, which was recently launched in the local market, promises. Does this smartphone further cement realme’s thrust in providing back-for-the-buck smartphones, making it the newest entry-level challenger to beat? Read on to find out.

realme Narzo 30A Review; The Latest Entry-level Challenger to Beat?

Get yours via Lazada at https://bit.ly/realmenarzo30a.


PHYSICAL:

The realme narzo 30A looks a lot similar to its sibling, the realme Narzo 20 which was released last year. It has the same square camera module at the back and a fingerprint sensor near it. What makes the realme narzo 30A distinguishable from the Narzo 20, with their rear covers concerned -- is its diagonal stripes detail offering a nice texture that makes it fingerprint- and smudges-proof. There’s also a very prominent narzo branding at the back of the phone.

Laser Black

The overall build of the smartphone screams polycarbonate which isn’t exactly a bad thing considering that the realme narzo 30A falls under the entry-level tag. Nonetheless, the mentioned patterned design is an indicator of an added effort to make the smartphone more appealing to the eyes, something that is lacking in the department of budget devices.

HD+ Display

Upfront, this device flaunts a 6.5-inch Mini-drop fullscreen with an 88.7% screen-to-body ratio. The "Mini-drop" refers to the dated waterdrop camera notch of the realme narzo 30A which houses its selfie camera with the front speakers near to it.

Narzo 30A and Narzo 20

On the right cheek of the realme narzo 30A is where the power and volume buttons are located, while on the opposite side, there's the tray for two nano-SIM cards and a MicroSD card to expand storage up to 256GB. At the bottom, you can see the smartphone's USB Type-C port, main microphone, loudspeaker, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The display quality of the realme narzo 30A is fairly impressive. It gives off just the right color accuracy and its screen is bright enough to allow you to watch videos outdoors. Text and icons do not appear as eye strain too.

Take note, though, that this smartphone only supports HD resolution, which is 1600 x 720 pixels, so while you can watch your favorite Netflix shows without fuss, don't expect the quality to be at par with smartphones that are more advanced.

Retail Package

The realme narzo 30A has a big battery so that explains the chunky feel it has when you grip it but this is a minor problem since for sure, you’ll get used to its sizable body over time.

realme Narzo 30A Unboxing and Hands-on

The retail box of the realme narzo 30A veers away from the familiar realme yellow. What we got instead is a blue box, which has the usual contents namely the USB-C charger, power adapter, a SIM card ejector tool, and the usual paperwork. Sadly, there’s no standard clear case included.

See Also - realme Buds Air 2 Neo Review; A Strong Competitor


SOFTWARE:

Out of the box, the realme narzo 30A comes with realmeUI 1.0 based on Android 10. Before you comment on this, hold your horses as realme said that an Android 11 with realme UI 2.0 update is on its way and will likely be deployed for this smartphone in Q3 of this year.

The UI is clean and easy to navigate through in general. Testing the device on a day-to-day basis switching heavily on various apps went on like a breeze. This capability of the realme narzo 30A to multitask can be attributed to its Helio G85 Gaming Processor. Don't expect too much though as you also have to consider that its RAM and storage combination available locally is at 4GB/64GB.


PERFORMANCE:

Running alongside the Helio G85 processor of the realme narzo 30A is a Mali-G52 GPU. With our experience using the device as our main driver for a couple of weeks, we can confidently vouch that realme did a good job in making the narzo 30A deliver what it’s designed for - quality budget mobile gaming.

We were able to play the most popular games including the likes of Call of Duty Mobile, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang set to the middle level of gaming settings without frame drops and lags. For those who are avid players of Genshin Impact, however, we suggest using the lowest to medium available gaming setting for an optimal gaming experience.

Here’s a summary of how the realme narzo 30A performed on benchmark tests:

• Antutu - 216,033
• Geekbench Single-Core - 362
• Geekbench Multi-Core - 1,285
• Geekbench Compute - 1,179
• PC Mark Work Performance - 12,268
• PC Mark Work Performance 2.0 - 8,931
• 3D Mark Wild Life - 702
• 3D Mark Wild Life Stress Test - 711
• 3D Mark Sling Shot - 1,841
• 3D Mark Sling Shot Extreme - 1,415

CAMERA:

The rear square camera module of the realme narzo 30A houses its two shooters: a 13-megapixel f/2.2 main sensor and a 2-megapixel f/2.4 lens for B&W portrait. Its front camera comes in the form of an 8-megapixel sensor.

13MP Dual-Rear Cameras

The realme narzo 30A can be on the list of entry-level smartphones with the best cameras. Photos taken in well-lit environments showcase natural-looking colors with just the right amount of saturation and sharpness. The night shots we took, as expected, show some weakness in some aspects like sharpness and color reproduction, but we have tested other budget smartphones that took night photos that are way worse than that of the realme narzo 30A. Sadly, it has no ultrawide lens or a dedicated macro camera.

8MP Selfie Camera

Selfies are surprisingly good, too. Just remember to take a photo where there's good lighting and you can expect the realme narzo 30A to deliver.

Videos, on the other hand, are not a strength for the realme narzo 30A. Clips appear shaky and there's an evident lack of clarity, but then again, let's keep in mind that this is a sub-P7k gaming-centered device.

Here are the sample photos we took using the realme narzo 30A:

Buildings

Playground

Night, Normal

Night, Night Mode

Selfie

Night, Selfie

Also Read - realme Watch S Pro Review: Your Next Smart Fitness Buddy


BATTERY:

The main caveat about the realme narzo 30A's battery we have to point out is its slow charging. A 30-minute charge will only get you as far as 15 percent of battery life and 33 percent for 1 hour. It took us more than two hours to finally get a hundred percent. We get that the realme narzo 30A has a huge battery of 6,000mAh, but still, we find the charging time a bit too long of waiting.

To be fair, the realme narzo 30A also took long before it required a power source. It lasted us two days with moderate to heavy usage which is a really impressive feat, especially for an entry-level gaming device.


FINAL WORDS:

realme Narzo 30A

So, should you buy the realme narzo 30A? If you’re a casual gamer looking to find an affordable yet capable device to level up your rank in the most popular MOBA games, the answer is yes. Take our word for it when we say that this new offering from realme is a steal for its price. The realme narzo 30A is available exclusively via Lazada for Php6,490.

How much is the realme narzo 30A price in the Philippines?

• The realme narzo 30A price in the Philippines is Php6,490.
• Get yours via Lazada at https://bit.ly/realmenarzo30a.

When will be the realme narzo 30A available in the Philippines?

• The realme narzo 30A is now available in the Philippines since March 25, 2021.

realme narzo 30A Specs Philippines:

• Dual SIM, dual standby, supports 4G/LTE connectivity
• 6.5-inch IPS HD+ (1600 x 720) capacitive touchscreen display, 20:9 aspect ratio
• Dimensions: 164.5mm x 75.9mm x 9.8mm
• Weight: 208 grams
• Realme UI 1.0 based on Android 10, Confirmed Update to Realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11
• 2GHz octa-core CPU, 1GHz ARM Mali-G52 GPU, MediaTek Helio G85 12nm chipset
• 4GB RAM
• 64GB storage, expandable up to 256GB via MicroSD card, uses dedicated slot
• 13MP f/2.2 PDAF + 2MP f/2.4 B/W dual rear cameras, 1080p video recording at 60fps
• 8MP f/2.0 front camera
• WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
• Bluetooth v5.0
• USB Type-C with OTG function
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo
• Multimedia Player
• FM Radio
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Sensors: fingerprint (rear-mounted), light, proximity, accelerometer,
• Battery: 6,000mAh Li-Po non-removable; supports 18W fast charging, supports reverse charging
• Colors: Laser Black, Laser Blue
• Price: Php6,490