Introduction
This is the Tecno Camon 30 Pro 5G and I’ve had it for about a week now. There is so much new stuff, I don’t know where to start. Okay, I guess we’re starting with what’s in the design.
Design
The phone’s design is also new. We have a circular camera module with what looks like three cameras and then next to the camera module is a red dot and the dual flash. That red dot is called the breathing light and it has a couple of different functions. When charging, when there’s an incoming call, when using a countdown timer when taking a picture, and also when recording video, the breathing light turns on. So it’s not just there for aesthetics, it’s also functional.
Color Options and Build Quality
I got my unit in black, I think there are two other colors, the white one looks the prettiest, well yeah I got sent black. Black is cool, it’s simple, it’s minimal, the rare has this marble patterned look and it’s also matte. Well, most of it is. So overall I think it looks okay. I mean even when I posted the unboxing, everyone seemed to really like the black color. I don’t think I saw any negative comments about the design. The only thing I’m not really a fan of is the case that it comes with. I would have preferred if it was transparent because now it covers the whole design, so I don’t think I would be using it.
Connectivity and Storage
Another thing Techno probably thought we wouldn’t be using is the headphone jack, because it’s gone. Something else that is gone is expandable storage. So yeah you can’t use an SD card on here. The tray at the bottom is just for your SIM cards. But then again I feel like most people wouldn’t care because this phone comes with half a terabyte of storage. So it kind of makes up for it.
Audio and Biometrics
So those are some of the things that they’ve removed, but things like the in-display fingerprint sensor, the stereo speakers were retained. But as you’ve probably seen from the packaging or even from the phone itself, these stereo speakers are Dolby Atmos tuned. And as you probably guessed, they sound awesome. At the top you notice something new, an IR blaster. So now with your Camon, you can control about 15 different types of home appliances. I use it to control my TV when I can’t find the remote.
Display
The Camon 30 Pro 5G has a 6.78-inch 1080p AMOLED display. That isn’t new. It’s refresh rate though goes up to 144Hz. That is new. If you watch a ton of phone reviews, then you probably hear 120Hz a bunch of times. Because that’s the typical max refresh rate most mid-range phones and even flagships have. So to see something higher here on the Camon is pretty cool. Out of the box it’s set to 120Hz, so you would have to manually change that to 144Hz. Now on the other hand, if you’re someone who doesn’t watch a ton of phone reviews and you’re probably wondering what a refresh rate is, it’s basically how smooth your display is. So the higher the refresh rate, the smoother the display is.
Now it might be hard to tell the difference between last year’s 120Hz display and this year’s 144Hz. But it is different. And now. This Camon is also brighter. It goes up to 1300 nits of peak brightness. So under direct sunlight, your phone would definitely be readable. The display no doubt is very solid. It’s high resolution, it’s AMOLED, it’s super fluid, it’s bright, and thanks to the smaller bezels and hole punch cutouts, the display looks great.
Software and User Interface
This is running on HiOS version 14 based on Android 14. Just like with XOS 14, the overall look of the UI is the same, but with some new features. One of them being color, which lets you choose the color of the UI elements on your phone, perhaps to match your wallpaper. You also get new wallpapers or you can use AI. You type in a prompt, you pick a style and it would generate a wallpaper. Under the always-on display setting there’s this new style called cute pet. There are about five different pets to choose from. I kind of like the parrot.
Camera Performance
Arguably, the headline new feature would be the cameras or at least the main camera. Earlier, I said it looks like it has three cameras on the rear, and technically, it does. There’s a 50MP main sensor, a 50MP ultrawide sensor, and a 2MP depth sensor. What’s cool about the main camera is that it’s a Sony IMX890 sensor. I don’t know if you know this, but a ton of flagships use Sony sensors. The S24 Ultra, the iPhone 15 Pros, they all use Sony sensors. Now although the IMX890 isn’t the sensor being used by flagships today, it still kind of gives you a close to flagship experience.
Video Recording
Let me know what you think though. The photos impressed me, it did, but so did the video. The 30 Pro 5G can shoot up to 4k 60fps on both the rear and selfie camera. I’m someone who has always prioritized video quality over video resolution, but with this phone, you get both. I would say 4K 30fps is the sweet spot. Because you get 4K but you also get stabilisation. Safe to say video quality is just as impressive.
Battery Life and Charging
The 30 Pro 5G has a big battery and fast charging. It has a 5000 mAh battery which unless you’re trying to kill this phone should last you the entire day. You can expect 7 hours of screen time, you could even go up to 8 or 9 on lighter days.