Samsung Galaxy A30: Features | Specifications | Pricing

Where to buy

Samsung's strategy for its mid-range and budget phones used to rely on having serious brand distinction. At the premium end sat the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note phones. In the middle, you'd find Galaxy A phones, and at the budget end, Galaxy J phones.

In 2019, Samsung has simplified its branding, bringing its budget and mid-range phones under the Galaxy A umbrella. The Galaxy A30 sits just under the mid-range space with a specification set that's a little more appealing than the entry level Galaxy A20, although you might not realise it at first glance.

Design

• 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display
• Notched display

• Read more about the Samsung Galaxy A30's design

  Like the rest of the Galaxy A series 2019 handsets, the Galaxy A30 features an AMOLED display measuring in at 6.4 inches on the diagonal. That's unusual in two respects. First, most budget phones tend to use smaller screens to keep costs down. Second, it's an arena where LCD tends to rule the roost. AMOLED displays are typically brighter and more vibrant with lower power consumption.

  Where the lower-end Galaxy A20 has an AMOLED with a disappointing 1,560 x 720 resolution, the extra money you lay down for the Galaxy A30 scores you a much more pleasing 2340 x 1080 resolution display. That should mean clearer and sharper text as well as more engaging video content to watch.

  The Samsung Galaxy A30 uses a "teardrop" style notch on its front display – officially Samsung refers to this as the "Infinity-U" display, but it's a feature we've seen on a number of budget handsets already.

  Whether you like notches is very much a matter of personal preference, but the Galaxy A30 definitely stands out for its near edge-to-edge display. That is an unusual addition for such a low-cost handset.

  Around the rear is where you'll find a standard fingerprint scanner, located to the right of the camera lens. Where in previous years Samsung's placed it perilously close to the lenses, there's decent separation between the two elements, although the larger size of the Galaxy S30's body may make it tricky to reach if you've got smaller hands.

Camera

• Dual 16MP/5MP rear camera
• 8MP selfie camera
• Wide-angle lens is a very welcome addition

• Read more about the Samsung Galaxy A30's camera

  Typically when you buy a budget or low mid-range phone with dual cameras, the secondary lens has a low resolution sensor that's only used for capturing focus effects in portrait modes.

  Samsung hasn't opted to go down that route. Instead, the Galaxy A30 features a primary 16MP lens, paired with a 5MP wide-angle lens. That gives it flexibility to not only be a decent portrait camera, but to also potentially be a quite good landscape one as well. We'll have to reserve our full judgement once we've had a chance to properly review it, but there's plenty of potential here for camera quality above what you might expect from a cheap handset.

  It's still worth tempering your expectations, however. While the Galaxy A30's wide-angle lens has the same 123-degree field of view as the Galaxy S10, expecting the same shot quality or low-light performance would be unwise. If you want that kind of performance, Samsung still wants more money from you.

Performance

• Exynos 7885 with 3GB of RAM
• 32GB of onboard storage, but you can expand it
• Android 9 with Samsung One UI

• Read more about the Samsung Galaxy A30's performance

  Samsung's Galaxy A phones as sold in Australia will all ship with Samsung's own Exynos processors on board. For the Samsung Galaxy A30, that's the Exynos 7885, paired up with 3GB of RAM. We've not been able to test that particular processor as yet, although we've rarely been disappointed with the general performance of Exynos-based phones.

  However, it's almost certainly going to be a case of getting what you pay for, so expect mid-range performance. The Galaxy A30 is an Android 9 phone running Samsung's own One UI launcher. It'll be interesting to see how much of a performance impact Samsung's glossy user interface has on the Galaxy A30's overall app performance.

  The other way that the Galaxy A30 keeps prices low is by shipping with a very low quantity of storage for a 2019 handset. Onboard, there's only 32GB of storage, and only around 21.7GB of that is actually available to you. Thankfully you can boost that up to 512GB with microSD card storage if you start running out of space for photos, music or video content.

Battery life

• 4,000mah battery is good at this price point

• Read more about the Samsung Galaxy A30's battery life

  Battery capacity is the other area where we're often left wanting with budget handsets, although that's a trend we've seen being reversed by other makers this year. Samsung appears keen to join that group, packing in a 4,000mAh battery into the Samsung Galaxy A30.
  That larger screen could be a concern for battery life, but as long as the Exynos 7885 isn't too battery sapping, full-day battery life should be easily achievable.

Early outlook

• The Galaxy A30 may hit the sweet spot between price and performance

• Read our early Samsung Galaxy A30 verdict

  It's not the most affordable Galaxy A series phone, but it's easy to see where the Galaxy A30 stretches beyond the entry level A20. The inclusion of usable dual cameras, a hefty battery and one of Samsung's generally excellent AMOLED panels makes the Galaxy A30 a real contender in the heavily contested budget/mid-range space.

Pricing and availability

Price

The Samsung Galaxy A30 is selling for $379 outright

Where to buy

Check availability at eBay

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Samsung Galaxy A30 specifications

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