Review: Huawei Mate 30 5G Specs and Price

[Yakub Oloyede]

Huawei Mate 30 adds support for the Huawei Mate 30 to 5 G networks. The year 2019 marked the beginning of OEMs that went the way of 5 G phones, and we had to look at Samsung Galaxy S10 5 G, Galaxy Note 10 5 G, OnePlus 7 Pro 5 G and much more. Huawei won't miss the meeting, so in the form of a Mate 30 5 G they came up with an answer.

Being the third in the Mate 30 series for this year, we are a bit surprised that the 5G model was designed for the standard Mate 30 too, rather than just the Pro version.

Huawei Mate 30 5G Key Specs and Features

• 6.62 inch OLED Display, 1080 x 2340 pixels
• Android 10; EMUI 10
• HiSilicon Kirin 990 (7 nm+), Mali-G76 MP16
• Configurations – 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM (CN), UFS3.0
• Triple rear camera: 40MP + 8MP + 16MP
• Front/back glass, aluminum frame
• Non-removable Li-Po 4200 mAh battery
• Colour options – Black, Space Silver, Cosmic Purple, Emerald Green, Orange, Forest Green

Design and Display
Just like the basic Mate 30, this 5G variant also comes with that 6.62 inches of curved OLED screen panel protected by the all-new Corning Gorilla Glass 6 technology on both front and back. Of course, the back also gets that premium glass treatment, among other things.

The aluminium frame of the Huawei Mate 30 5G plays home to the usual power buttons and volume rocker. Looking at the base of the phone, we have a USB Type C port flanked by a speakerphone grille and microphone port. Unlike what was done with the Pro version, we still have the 3.5mm jack on this one.

Over at the back, the same colour options – Space Silver, Black, Cosmic Purple and Emerald Green were employed. On glass, all of these colours sure look their best. What we love more than the colours, though, is the positioning of the triple camera setup.

Before we give up talking about the front of this device, we should probably mention its in-display fingerprint scanner which is reinforced by the Face ID technology.

Looking at the arrangement of the dual camera sensors on the front, it is not difficult to see which would be most efficient for face scanning in unlocking the unit.

So, there is really not much to separate the ordinary Mate 30 and Mate 30 5G with.

Camera
Starting with the dual camera sensors on the front, we have a main 24 megapixels snapper supported by the 3D ToF camera – which should be the biggest player in face scanning. We don’t get any LED flashes anywhere, but we do have support for HDR pictures and videos.

On the back, the triple camera sensor is an impressive arrangement of a wide angle 40 megapixels snapper working with an 8MP telephoto lens, as well as a 16 megapixels ultrawide snapper.

These cameras are not only capable of HDR imaging, but come bundled with panorama and other impressive features too.

Besides the AI which is in place to improve low-light image capturing, its dual tone, dual LED flashlight also make for brighter pictures in the dark.

Hardware, Software and Other Features
A Kirin 990 chipset is paired with either 6 or 8GB of RAM on different models of the Huawei Mate 30 5G, depending on the buyer’s preferences.

This is one of the phones to launch out of the box with Android 10 on it. Of course, it has been adapted into the in-house EMUI 10, but it does the same thing with some improvements from the OEM.

Storage spaces start at 128GB and can rise as much as 256GB, which is a major area of difference between this one and the ordinary Mate 30. Likewise, the higher-tier storage will only be available in China, and on the 8GB model alone.

However, you can equally expand the space (as much as 256GB) with the aid of a shared nano memory slot on board, if you so wish.

The standard 4200mAh battery is used here, coming with a 40W fast charging tech. When charging wirelessly, the Mate 30 5G is equipped with a 27W fast charging protocol to make the best out of that too.

All that, and we have not mentioned how this unit can function as a power bank to reverse charge earbuds, smart watches and other devices which support wireless charging.

Huawei Mate 30 5G Price and Availability
Even though the standard Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro are barely available for sale, the Mate 30 5G could take longer to hit the market.

This has been the trend with other manufacturers who have launched their 5G phones this year. That is equally understandable since the infrastructure for 5G networks is just being implemented globally.

If you were willing to go for the Huawei Mate 30 5G anyways, prepare to shell out anywhere in the range of the following prices:

• Mate 30 5G (6GB, 128GB) – N/A
• Mate 30 5G (8GB, 128GB) – N/A
• Mate 30 5G (8GB, 256GB) – N/A

Huawei Mate 30 5G Specs

General Features
Platform: Android 10; EMUI 10
Processor: HiSilicon Kirin 990 (7 nm+)
GPU: Mali-G76 MP16
Memory: 6GB RAM / 8GB RAM
Colours: Black, Space Silver, Cosmic Purple, Emerald Green, Orange, Forest Green
Dimension: 160.8 x 76.1 x 8.4 mm
Weight: 196 g
SIM Type: Nano-SIM
SIM Count: Hybrid Dual SIM

Display
Display: 6.62 inch OLED Display, 1080 x 2340 pixels (289), 19.5:9 aspect ratio
Screen Protection: Yes
Foldable Display: No

Camera
Rear Camera: 40MP + 8MP + 16MP Triple Camera
Rear Camera Features: Leica optics, dual-LED dual-tone flash, panorama, HDR
Front Camera: 24MP + 3D ToF sensor Dual Camera

Storage
Built-in Storage: 128GB / 256GB
Memory Card Support: NM (Nano Memory), up to 256GB (uses shared SIM slot)
Bundled Cloud Storage: –

Network Support
2G GSM: Yes
2G CDMA 1X: –
3G WCDMA: Yes
3G CDMA EVDO: Yes
4G LTE: Yes, LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 6(900), 7(2600), 8(900), 9(1800), 12(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 26(850), 34(2000), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)
5G: Yes, NSA / Sub6 / mmWave

Internet & Connectivity
GPRS: Yes
EDGE: Yes
3G/WCDMA/HSPA: Yes
HSPA+: Yes
CDMA EVDO: Yes
4G LTE: Yes
5G: Yes
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct
Wi-Fi Hotspot: Yes
Bluetooth: 5.1, A2DP, aptX HD, LE
NFC: Yes
Infrared Blaster: Yes
USB Port: 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go

Sensors & Control
Digital Compass: Yes
Accelerometer: Yes
Proximity Sensor: Yes
Light Sensor: Yes
Barometer: Yes
SpO2: –
Pedometer: –
Heart Rate Monitor: –
Gyroscope: Yes
Fingerprint Scanner: Yes
Iris Scanner: No
Face Unlock: Yes
Stylus Pen: No
Intelligent Digital Assistant: Yes
Motion Sensing / Gesture Control: Yes
Voice Control: Yes

Other Features
Video Streaming: Yes
Active Noise Cancellation: Yes
Wireless Charging: Yes
Built-in Mobile Payment: Yes
Water Resistant: Yes
Dust Resistant: Yes
Image Editor: Yes
Video Editor: Yes
Document Viewer: Yes
Document Editor: Yes

Battery
Battery: Non-removable Li-Po 4200 mAh battery
Talktime: –
Standby Time: –
Fast Charging: Fast battery charging 40W; Fast wireless charging 27W