Review of smartphones Honor 30 and Honor 30S with advantages and disadvantages

In less than two months, the Chinese brand Honor has updated its collection of "achievements" from the world of wireless networks. Recently, Honor's creed has changed significantly, because the new items scream “Surprise and shock!”. The new smartphones Honor 30 and Honor 30S, released in mid-April, also have something to interest whimsical users.

From this review you will learn:

• Which smartphone should gamers choose? And what lovers of photography and social. networks?
• Why does a high price mean nothing for Honor products?
• How does Honor 30 and Honor 30S work without Google services support?
• Why is the Honor 30 the future of mid-range smartphones?

Appearance and ergonomics

The Honor 30 and 30S models do not visually differ from each other, except for details that can only be noticed when comparing numbers.This applies to dimensions, since the version of Honor 30S overtook its brother by only 2 millimeters in height - 162.3 x 75 x 8.6 mm. With the naked eye, you can see that the size of the smartphone allows it to fit comfortably in your hand. The form does not look exaggeratedly wide or long. The difference in weight was 5 (not very noticeable in practice) grams.

During assembly, both gadgets received materials of unequal quality. The case and front side of the Honor 30 is made of tempered glass. It is durable and non-marking, which is why it is more often chosen by middlemarket and luxury brands. Framed glass frames made of aluminum. With the Honor 30S, things are quite different. The back panel is probably made of strong plastic, but due to the gloss it can easily be mistaken for glass. The side faces were also changed to plastic ones. This despite the fact that the difference in price was $100!

The main camera is represented by an elongated rectangular block of 4 sensors and a flash. It should be noted right away that the decision of the developers did not bring any novelty or aesthetics to the design. The cameras occupy a third of the body, and the rough forms immediately catch the eye. The same trend was shown on the display. The front camera in Honor 30(S) is a globular cutout in the upper left corner, which is more like a peephole.

The brand did not hesitate to take away the impressive “chin” on the display from the budget, but this only applies to the 30S model.

How is it with unlocking? In 30S, the fingerprint was moved to the side face, and in the Honor 30 smartphone, unlocking is done through the display (optical fingerprint). The latter also boasts the presence of NFC, that is, payment using the phone.

Colors and accessories

The contents of Honor boxes did not undergo any special changes even during the crisis:

• Network adapter;
• Clip for sim slot;
• USB cable (Type C 2.0);
• Talon and certificates;
• Transparent silicone case.

The surest way to find out which model likes more is to look at the color variations. For example, Honor 30S has 4 basic colors: blue, green, mysterious gradient and black. The latter color was warmly received by buyers, who were surprised by the richness and external high cost of the smartphone. In general, the decision is more than successful.

And here's what they called similar colors in Honor 30: titanium silver, emerald green, midnight black, Icelandic frost and neon purple. Perception immediately changes, doesn't it?

Characteristics

Screen

Moving closer and closer to the characteristics of the two devices, it becomes absolutely clear that with these new products the Chinese brand tried to please two categories of the population at once. The screen diagonal is the same - 6.5 inches. However, the same bezel at the bottom of the 30S screen spoils the impression a bit, although you can get used to it over time.

The screen resolution in both models is maximum - 1800 x 2400 pixels. The density is 403 and 405 ppi, respectively, the difference is insignificant. The image quality is exemplary. Bright palette, good visibility in sunny weather.

The Honor 30 smartphone, unlike its counterpart, was treated with a special oleophobic coating against microcracks and greasy marks, this was done taking into account the fact that the OLED matrix is ​​quite fragile. What can not be said about the IPS built into the 30S. It is better known to users for its color reproduction and durability.

Operating system and Google Services

The total refusal of the brand to support Google took place at the end of March this year. Smartphones Honor 30/30S became the second attempt to switch to their own system. It is impossible to say for sure whether these were nit-picking, or users actually encountered failures of Chinese phones, however, new items from the inside have undergone such changes:

• Obviously, it is impossible to link the programs you use to a Google account;
• The phone already has a factory calculator, calendar and Honor mail;
• All applications that require linking to a Google account and further payment through the wallet do not work (Netflix, Uber, most well-known games), but you can download the Chinese platform, which also has many interesting applications of different categories;
• Google cloud not working;
• All English-speaking social media networks are working properly (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram);
• Missing QWERTY keyboard and user dictionary.

Users who are not interested in games and have their own transport will definitely not notice the changes (whether they buy a phone without Google support is another question). And it was possible to achieve such minimal restrictions by working on one of the Android 10.0 OS updates. The fact that the phone will not be able to arrive in the CIS countries and Europe without certification finally dispels the panic. So it was with the smartphone Honor 9X. Therefore, do not worry, in the store, certainly no one will sell 200 grams of useless plastic.

Performance and memory

The biggest differences were found when comparing the Honor 30 and Honor 30S processors. So the first smartphone turned out to be more of a gaming option (Kirin 985 5G), while the second received last year's chipset and took the position of “a phone for everything at once” (Kirin 820 5G).

Please note that both phones support 5G connectivity!

The processors are based on the 7nm process technology. However, only the Kirin 985 has integrated graphics, which means no additional memory card is required. There are 8 cores in total, and in both chips they are divided into 3 clusters. The maximum clock speed of Cortex-A76 (2.58 GHz) and Cortex-A76 (2.36 GHz) respectively.Phones don't get stuck with a lot of open apps, but only Honor 30 is suitable for heavy 3D games.

RAM - 8 GB, that is, no more than 10 complex applications. The user chooses additional memory upon purchase, it is either 128 or 256 GB.

According to the developers, the energy efficiency of Kirin processors has surpassed Snapdragon chips by 1.5 times.

Testing

Honor 30 results:

• Antutu v8 - 411.593 points (better than 98% of smartphones).

Honor 30S results:

• Antutu v8 - 373.768 (better than 93% of smartphones).

autonomy

The brand endowed the novelties with 4000 mAh Li-Po non-removable batteries. In the case of the Honor 30, the capacity is enough for the whole day, since the OLED matrix, even with large dimensions, consumes little energy, which cannot be said about the Honor 30S. Probably, with active use, and even more so with the gameplay, the phone will work autonomously for no more than a day.

In this case, the developers have added a 40-volt Quick Charge option to both gadgets. However, the Honor 30 version also comes with a 5-volt "reverse charge" option. In simple terms, the time to replenish energy will be reduced to 70% in 30 minutes.

Camera

The finest hour of Honor 30S has come! Whatever users say, the brand did a good job on the camera, because it is several times better than that of the Honor 30 model.

The first sensor received 64 megapixels with f/1.8 aperture. Good performance for both night and day shooting. When photographing landscapes, the colors do not fade, and with the extended screen option (26mm), the image will turn out to be no worse than the finished picture. In Honor 30, everything is almost identical, only the lens is 40 megapixels, not 64.

The rest of the sensors are also almost the same.The second lens is 8 MP, f/2.4 (not suitable for night photos and videos). The only difference is the 80mm zoom on the Honor 30S and the 125mm zoom on the Honor 30.

The third and fourth lenses are 8 megapixels (for shooting widescreen videos) and 2 megapixels (for adjusting the exposure and depth of the frame). Also, the “manual frame adjustment” function has recently gained popularity, so users can use the following modes:

• Portrait;
• 3:4;
• Square;
• Individual construction of focus and light.

Interesting to know! The quality of video recording in Honor 30 is 2 times better than in 30S (2160 x 60fpsvs2160 x 30fps).

The front camera in Honor 30 turned out to be better - 32 megapixels. Against 16 MP in Honor 30S. The light throughput is not enough to take a good photo in the dark. However, selfie cameras for the most part are not focused on this.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Big screen;
• Convenient shape and dimensions;
• The presence of NFC and a slot for a memory card;
• High-quality color reproduction;
• Expensive materials (Honor 30);
• Quick charge function;
• Silicone case as a gift;
• Beautiful colors;
• 5G networks.
• Powerful processor;
• High camera performance + features.

• No support for Google services;
• Marked materials (Honor 30S);
• Fragile matrix.

Outcome

Concluding this review, it is worth finally revealing the main secret. As you can see, the Honor 30 ($380) surpasses its brother in many ways. The advantages were manifested in the screen area, matrix, performance and autonomy. However, the price for a smartphone is $100 (7,000 rubles) cheaper than the Honor 30S ($420).

Sounds unfair? In any case, the 30S is a versatile version with a good camera and processor, which means it will suit absolutely everyone.Whereas the Honor 30 is the choice of gamers and people who need heavy apps at their fingertips.