The Honor 30 Pro+ is a great phone if we judge it by its performance, camera and specs. However, as Huawei is banned from using technology from US companies, this smartphone comes without access to the Google Play Store and relies on Huawei’s own solution, the App Gallery. The lack of Google services and Play Store is the only downside of this otherwise great phone -- and surely the reason why the Honor P30 Pro+ is practically unavailable in western markets.
Design & Display
The Honor 30 Pro+ has a gorgeous, modern design. On its glass back, the Honor 30 Pro+ has an enormous camera bump, housing its four cameras and the logo of the company in quite the big letters. On the front, its 6.57-inch OLED display houses a dual-camera selfie system. The silver color of our unit has a soft violet gradient which looks and feels premium and stylish. The display edges are curved, and the aluminium frame exhibits a beautiful violet tint.
The display comes with a 90Hz, high refresh rate for smoother scrolling and animations which makes it a pleasure to use. You can also switch to the regular, 60Hz display refresh rate to conserve battery life, but I, personally, prefer the smooth scrolling experience, as the effect on the battery is not enormous. The Honor 30 Pro+ also has a customizable Always-On display, a good feature to have.
Camera & Audio
The Honor 30 Pro+ features a quad-camera system with a 50MP main sensor. Additionally, the phone has an 8MP periscope telephoto lens, a 16MP ultra-wide camera, and a 2MP depth sensor. Photos taken with the Honor 30 Pro+ turn out gorgeous, with realistic colors, not too saturated and with good detail. The smartphone can zoom in 50 times, but at maximum zoom level, a lot of detail is lost.
The Honor 30 Pro+ takes awesome photos both in daylight and indoors. The AI of the phone quickly recognizes the scenes you’re taking photos of and automatically adjusts the settings, which is quite useful.
The phone also has dedicated Night and Macro modes. The Portrait mode manages to deliver great colors and to blur the background quite nicely, and the macro doesn’t disappoint either. The Night mode pulls enough details and produces great images with realistic colors.
< Night mode ONNight mode OFF >
Selfies with the Honor 30 Pro+ appear a bit washed out in bright lighting conditions, but I wouldn’t complain about their quality.
The smartphone can shoot 4K video at 60 fps with quick autofocus and good color accuracy, so no complaints in this department as well.
Audio
The phone's stereo speakers are loud enough for comfortable listening to music or watching videos, even in a noisy environment. I had to even lower the volume in some instances because it was too loud, and having a loud speaker is generally a good thing. Sound is clear and the bass is clean and powerful.
Software & Performance
The Honor 30 Pro+ comes with Android 10 and Magic UI 3. The smartphone’s Kirin 990 5G processor is very capable of delivering a stutter-free, smooth performance. It effortlessly loads games and does great with demanding gaming. Overall, the phone feels snappy and responsive.
It has both a fingerprint sensor built-in under the OLED display and a face unlock feature. Both work very quickly. The face unlock does a great job even in low-lit situations.
Here, unfortunately, comes my biggest concern with the Honor 30 Pro+ : the lack of Google apps and the Google Play Store. You can watch YouTube in the web browser, but that’s not quite the same thing as having the actual YouTube app. Additionally, popular apps like Instagram or Facebook Messenger are still unavailable in the App Gallery, Huawei’s alternative app store. This may not be a problem in China, where Google services are unavailable, but for other regions of the world, this could be a big con.
Battery life
With a 4,000mAh battery, the Honor 30 Pro+ has enough power to last a day with moderate use, and even two days if you’re a light user. The phone also features reverse wireless charging, for you to save a friend in need. The Honor 30 Pro+ supports up to 40W fast charging and 27W fast wireless charging. Although the phone charges its big battery cell pretty quickly, it doesn’t get too hot when charging.
Pros
Quad camera system delivers great, realistic photos
90Hz refresh rate for smooth experience
Snappy performance
Very fast fingerprint sensor and face unlock
Great speakers
Cons
No access to Google Play Store or Google Services
Curved edges result in some accidental touches here and there
Izzy, a tech enthusiast and a key part of the PhoneArena team, specializes in delivering the latest mobile tech news and finding the best tech deals. Her interests extend to cybersecurity, phone design innovations, and camera capabilities. Outside her professional life, Izzy, a literature master's degree holder, enjoys reading, painting, and learning languages. She's also a personal growth advocate, believing in the power of experience and gratitude. Whether it's walking her Chihuahua or singing her heart out, Izzy embraces life with passion and curiosity.
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