Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G review: A solid budget 5G phone for masses

Name: Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G
Item: Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G
Author: Shweta Ganjoo

The Narzo 30 Pro 5G is a solid performer, especially at its price point.

By: SHWETA GANJOO
| Updated on: Aug 21 2022, 22:18 IST

Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G (Shweta Ganjoo/HT Tech)

5G smartphones are slowly gaining popularity in India. What was earlier restricted to premium-budget smartphones is now being touted as a distinguishing feature in budget smartphones even though 5G connectivity is far from being available in the country right now. Amid this changing scenario, both Realme and Motorola have emerged as the front runners for offering budget 5G phones. Realme, in particular, has an impressive array of budget 5G offerings in India. One of the noteworthy phones offered by the company is the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G.

The Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G is the successor to the company's Narzo 20 Pro smartphone. And it comes with an impressive array of features that makes it a worthy successor to the phone. The Narzo 30 Pro 5G packs a 120Hz display, a 48MP triple rear camera setup, a 5,000mAh battery and MediaTek Dimensity 800U SoC in its core. To top it off, it starts at INR 16,999 for the 6GB+128GB variant, which makes the Narzo 30 Pro 5G one of the cheapest 5G phones available in India right now. The other variant that comes with 8GB+128GB specifications is priced at INR 19,999 in the country.

To sum it up, the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G offers a powerful feature set at a pocket-friendly price tag. The real question, however, is if it performs just as well. We will try to answer that and more in the review below. So, stay tuned...

Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G: Design

Let's talk about the design first.

The Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G measures 162.2x75.1x9.1mm and weighs 194g. Despite its weight, the Narzo 30 Pro 5G doesn't feel heavy to hold at all. In fact, it is evenly distributed in its long-ish body, which makes it comfortable to use. It also provides a better grip which helps in avoiding any occasional slips.

Coming to the design, the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G comes with a plastic body with what Realme describes as the ‘blade finish'. In turn, what you get is a Silver coloured back with a vertically stacked rear camera setup towards the left side on the top with the Narzo logo at the bottom on the same side. At the bottom, you get a 3.5mm jack, a charging port and a single front-firing speaker, while on the left side you get the volume rocker with the power button-cum-fingerprint sensor being on the right side.

Overall, the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G has a comfortable design. However, it lacks any wow factor and thus fails to impress.

image caption — Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G (Shweta Ganjoo/HT Tech)

Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G: Display

Coming to the display, the Narzo 30 Pro 5G features a 6.5-inch Full HD+ display with a screen refresh rate of 120Hz and a peak brightness of 600 nits. In terms of the design, it comes with thin bezels on the sides and on the top and a slightly thick chin. And it has a punch-hole design that is stacked towards the top left corner of the display.

In usage, the Narzo 30 Pro features a great display with vibrant colours and an ample amount of brightness, which makes watching videos, particularly movies loaded with graphics and animation, a delight. The screen is readable even in the sunlight. And it helps that it has a 120Hz display, which makes playing games (occasionally) a smooth sail.

Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G: Camera

Coming to the camera, the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G, as mentioned before, offers a triple rear camera setup consisting of a 48MP primary lens, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens and a 2MP macro sensor. At the front, the phone sports a 16MP selfie shooter.

Specifications aside, the Narzo 30 Pro 5G features a good camera system if not an exceptional one. During the day, it captures crisp and clear images with good details from both the primary and secondary ultra-wide-angle sensors. It captures the shadows well with the right degree of contrast. However, the colours are a bit saturated -- nothing the phone's algorithm can't fix using a single tap. The macro sensor manages to snap some clear pics in the bright daylight.

At night, clarity in the images captured using the secondary sensor and the macro sensors goes for a toss with visible noise in the images. However, the primary sensor manages to capture some decent images with clarity with Night Mode on and off.

Coming to the selfie camera, the Narzo 30 Pro 5G manages to capture some decent images in the daylight even if the details aren't as sharp. As usual, the colours are a bit saturated. But the overall image quality is good. This is also true for the images captured in indoor light. However, at night, clarity takes a nosedive with visible noise, unless of course there is ample light in the background.

Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G: Performance

Now, let's talk about the performance.

The Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 800U 5G processor that is coupled with either 6GB of RAM or 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage space. Specs aside, Narzo 30 Pro 5G is a decent performer and it handles anything that you throw at it with ease. Whether you are multitasking at work or playing games, it handles everything effortlessly. The fingerprint sensor and face recognition functionalities unlock the phone in a blink of an eye every time.

On the software front, the Narzo 30 Pro 5G ships with Android 10, which is a bit of a bummer because most phones these days ship with Android 11. However, the software is clean and easy to use, which makes up for the lack of Android 11 somewhat. However, the Realme UI is full of bloatware. It has apps like Soloop and ORoaming that you haven't ever heard of and probably don't need. Thankfully, you can delete most of these apps.

Coming to sound, the Narzo 30 Pro 5G, as mentioned earlier, comes with a single front-firing speaker and support for Dolby Atmos. This makes the sound loud yet balanced even when playing music on high volumes.

Lastly, the battery. The Narzo 30 Pro 5G comes with a 5,000mAh battery with support for a 30W charger. In my time with the phone, it lasted for a little over a day on the weekdays when I spent my time answering endless messages and emails, surfing the social media for close to two hours and watching series on Disney+ Hotstar and Netflix for two to three hours. On the weekends, when I try to stay away from my phone as much as possible, it lasted for a bit longer. As far as charging is concerned, it took me around an hour and a half to charge the phone completely.

Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G: Conclusion

Now the most important question: should you buy the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G or not?

In a nutshell: Yes.

The Narzo 30 Pro 5G is a fine smartphone. It is also one of the cheapest 5G phones in the market right now. It has a comfortable design with a great display, long battery life and a decent camera. It's true that some parts of the camera performance could have been better and the design is a bit bland but overall, the Narzo 30 Pro 5G is a solid performer, especially at its price point.

Rating

4 out of 5

Price

INR 16,999/-

Product Name

Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G

Brand Name

Realme

Pros