Huawei P30 Unboxing and First Impressions

The past days' hype has been focused on the more premium sibling of the Huawei P30. But why is it still considered a beast when it comes to specs for its price?

6.1-inch big screen, 149.1 x 71.36 mm compact body

A few days ago, we've written 5 reasons why you should consider the Huawei P30. We have highlighted there the key strengths of this machine. 

Compared with the Pro version, Huawei P30 also has a triple rear camera setup along with a single selfie shooter. Both are packed with 8GB RAM, 2.6GHz 64-bit Kirin 980 octa-core processor with Dual-NPU, and Mali-G76 MP10 with GPU Turbo 2.0.

It may be more affordable than the Pro version, but by the looks of it, Huawei P30 is something you should consider when it comes to flagship smartphone.

Let's take a closer look of it! 

Unboxing/Accessories

Unboxed!

The Huawei P30's box can easily be mistaken with the pro's since they have the similar box size and design. 

Inside are the Huawei P30 unit, USB-A to USB-C cable, 22.5W SuperCharge USB wall charger, earphones with mic, TPU jelly case, and SIM ejector tool.

Huawei P30 has pre-installed screen protector.

Build Quality/Design

3D glass back!

The Huawei P30 is made of premium sandwiched glass and metal design and IP53 water splash resistance. It's easily one of the most well made phones at this price point. We just wish that it is also IP68 grade just like the Pro version. It has no mention of glass protection as well.

Its design is a bit fingerprint magnet so we recommend putting on the FREE case provided if you haven't bought any of the available stylish cases for the P30.

Mic on top, no IR blaster though

Speaker, USB-C, mic, and 3.5mm port below

SIM tray left

Power button, volume rocker right

Huawei loaned us the aurora green variants which looks stunning. It is also available in black and breathing crystal that are also both gorgeous colors.

Lovin' the aurora green hue!

As expected it has a camera hump on the back, but it is smaller compared with other phones and doesn't have sharp edges.

In front, Huawei P30 features a 6.1-inch 2.5D curved OLED screen with FHD+ 2340 x 1080 resolution at 422 ppi. It has a tiny dewdrop notch which is evidently smaller compared with the other phones' notch.

It measures 149.1 x 71.36 x 7.57 mm and only weighs 165 g. 

On top, you can find the microphone with no IR blaster. Below are the single grille speaker, USB-C port, and 3.5mm headphone jack (yay!) which is missing on the Pro version. 

It has 3.5mm head phone jack, yay!

Meanwhile, the dual SIM hybrid port is on the left. As usual, one the right are the volume rocker and power button, which has a red indicator prompting the user that it is the main switch of the handset.

The P30 has a good grip and can be used with one hand since it has a very handy size. 

Initial Findings

Over 300K of score

1. The P30's design is simply stunning. It's very handy size was able to pull off a premium design, thanks to the sandwiched metal and glass, "glasstal"? (lol). It has a sharp display comparable to the Pro version and has nice color accuracy.

2. Powering the handset are the Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10 with GPU Turbo 2.0, 8GB RAM, and 128GB of storage. It is packed with 3,650mAh with 22.5W SuperCharge. The P30 does not support a reverse wireless charging though.

It is considered a beast according to AnTuTu with a score of 308,655 and 9,956 multi-core score with Geekbench!

3. Just like with the P30 Pro, Huawei added the slightly improved EMUI 9.1 skin based on Android 9.0 Pie OS on the Huawei P30. It improved the gesture based mode and new themes.

As we've mentioned with the P30 Pro's impressions, the EMUI 9.1 still has the no app drawer or with app drawer option. It is still have few bloats and great AI assisted optimizations. EMUI is one of the speediest skins we ever tested.

Triple Leica cam!

4. The Huawei P30 Pro now features a triple camera system. It is composed of the 40MP f/1.8 RYYB sensor + 16MP f/2.2 ultra wide-angle sensor + 8MP f/2.4 3x zoom sensor paired w/ 4D predictive focus, AIS, color temperature sensor, and dual-tone LED flash.

Huawei said that its 40MP main camera is an improved version of the 40MP cameras found on the P20 Pro and Mate 20 Pro.

32MP selfie cam

For the selfie shooter, it features a single, 32MP f/2.0 with AI HDR. It is one of the biggest selfie camera found on phones today.

Compared with the P30 Pro, this smartphone is only capable of up to 30x zoom. It also features an AI-assisted handheld Super Night Mode shots even on wide or zoom.

In our first few video shots, Huawei P30 has a better stabilization close to the Pro version's.

Related: Huawei P30: First Camera Samples

5. The P30 now features the innovative In-Display scanner security feature. It is fast just like the face unlock tech that works well even under dim light. It doesn't have an IR blaster anymore though.

Huawei P30 Specs

Display: 6.1-inch 2.5D curved OLED screen w/ FHD+ 2340 x 1080 resolution at 422 ppi

CPU: 2.6GHz 64-bit Kirin 980 octa-core processor w/ Dual-NPU

GPU: Mali-G76 MP10 w/ GPU Turbo 2.0

RAM: 8GB LPDDR4x

ROM: 128GB expandable via NM card slot up to 256GB

Back Camera: 40MP f/1.8 RYYB sensor + 16MP f/2.2 ultra wide-angle sensor + 8MP f/2.4 3x zoom sensor paired w/ 4D predictive focus, AIS, color temperature sensor, and dual-tone LED flash

Selfie Camera: 32MP f/2.0 w/ AI HDR

Battery: 3,650mAh w/ 22.5W SuperCharge

OS: Android 9.0 Pie w/ EMUI 9.1

Connectivity: WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), 4G LTE Cat 21, Bluetooth 5 BLE, aptX HD, OTG, NFC, GPS (L1 + L5 dual-band), A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo (E1 + E5a dual-band), QZZS (L1 + L5 dual-band), dual SIM (hybrid)

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic, pressure

Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, IP53 water splash resistance, 384K/32-bit HiFi DAC, USB Type-C, loudspeaker, 3.5mm headphone jack slot, Colors: breathing crystal, black, aurora

Dimensions: 149.1 x 71.36 x 7.57 mm

Weight: 165 g

Price: PHP 36,990

As of the moment

The Huawei P30 is a promising, more affordable flagship handset. It is safe to say, for now, that if you can't shell out a huge 50K bucks, maybe the P30 can give you the flagship satisfaction that you need.

It could also be the one for those in need of a high-end phone with compact design and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

BUT, we'll reserve our final judgment on the final, full review!

For our full review: Huawei P30 Review - Sometimes less is more!