Samsung Galaxy A30: Features | Specifications | Pricing

Alex Kidman

Last updated: Nov 17, 2020

The Samsung Galaxy A30 provides more camera features and a larger screen than you might expect for a phone in this price range.

6.4 inches

Display size

1080 x 2340px

32GB, 64GB

Internal storage

16MP + 5MP

Rear camera

4,000 mAh

Battery size

Finder rated as Good vs similar phones

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Display

Display Size

6.4 inches

Resolution

1080 x 2340px

Pixels per inch (PPI)

403 ppi

Camera

Rear camera megapixels

16MP + 5MP

Rear camera aperture size

f/1.7 + f/2.2

Video recording

1080p

Front camera megapixels

16MP

Front camera aperture size

f/2.0

Physical Dimensions

Dimensions

158.5mm x 74.7mm x 7.7mm

Weight

165g

Connectivity

NFC

Yes

Wi-Fi

802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Network category speed

N/A

Power, storage and battery

Processor

Exynos 7904

RAM

Operating system

Android 9

Internal storage

32GB, 64GB

External storage support

Up to 512GB

Battery capacity

4,000mAh

Device features

Headphone jack

Yes

Fingerprint sensor

Yes

Water resistance rating

N/A

Launch price (RRP)	$0
Launch date	2019-02

Go to Samsung's site More info

Alex Kidman

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A multi-award winning journalist, Alex has written about consumer technology for over 20 years. He has written and edited for virtually every Australian tech publication including Gizmodo, CNET, PC Magazine, Kotaku and more. He has also been the Editor of Gizmodo Australia, PC Mag Australia, CNET.com.au and the Tech and Telco section at Finder. Alex has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New England and a serious passion for retro gaming.

Where to buy

Buy at eBay

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

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

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

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

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

Pricing and availability

Price

The Samsung Galaxy A30 is selling for $379 outright

Where to buy

Amazon eBay Kogan Samsung Galaxy A30