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Samsung has been unleashing a salvo of smartphones in segments more affordable than the flagship category. First there were a bunch of devices in its lower end Galaxy M series and now there are several new phones in the Galaxy A series, more recently the A30, A50 and A70.
The A30 is a nice looking phone that one might easily think is glass-backed. We happened to see a grey-black version which had nice swirls of light racing through it because of the way it was made. In fact, Samsung says it is a combination of glass and plastic which it’s given a nice new name to — 3D Glastic. The phone is a 6.4-inch screen device which is decently nice to hold.
On the front, the Full-HD display is nice enough too as it’s AMOLED and has good contrasts and viewing angles. Samsung calls this display an ‘Infinity-U’ based on the fact that the notch is a small U-shaped one. I may be getting accustomed to all manner of notches because I didn’t really notice it there from the start and it didn’t get a chance to bother me. What did keep catching my eye however is the thicker bezel below or the chin as reviewers are fond of calling it. Somehow the lack of symmetry intrudes into one’s field of vision, though this may be largely subjective.
Setting up is usual Samsung style. I appreciate that the company lets you adjust the screen for your own comfort before the setup process. All manufacturers don’t actually do that. Part of the setup includes the fingerprint sensor at the back. It was. very quick to register my prints but a tiny fraction slower than others that use the same method, though not enough to be a bother and certainly not as slow as some in-display sensors.
Essentials in place
The A30 is essentially an average phone. It uses an Exynos 7904 processor with 4GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB storage plus microSD card slot. Its battery is not bad at all at 4,000mAh. The phone works on Android 9 and Samsung’s OneUI. It’s smooth enough for everyday tasks though not a blazingly fast or snappy phone. Avid gamers should probably explore another smartphone, however. I also don’t believe loading the device with a huge number of apps and data will help it, so it’s best to keep it well-managed and clean, off-loading any apps one doesn’t use.
The A30, belonging to a category I see as pre-flagships, and the problem with hat is that this particular device is far removed from a flagship. In fact, it’s beginning to look like it’s overlapping with its Galaxy M series. The competition in this segment is also quite intense so that even buying an older phone such as the Poco F1 for a fraction more would likely make more sense because of the latter‘ s top notch specs. Other options are also rolling in as we speak.
Price: ₹16,990
Pros: Premium looking, great combo of glass and plastic, comfortable and light despite large battery, good bright screen
Cons: Too much pushing to install suggested apps, not exactly snappy performance, though it can do the job for basic tasks, average camera
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