Nokia has unleashed a new mid-tiered smartphone on the Australian market.
Sustainability is a big focus with the X30 5G – made from recycled aluminium and 65 per cent recycled plastics. The packaging also follows this theme by using recycled cardboard.
But while anything that is better for the environment is great in our books, we also need a phone to work as intended. These are our thoughts on the newest from Nokia.
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How do I get it and what will it cost?
Nokia X30 5G is available for $899 in two colours; blue and white.
You can purchase directly from the Nokia website, or from Telstra.
Who is it good for?
If you’re environmentally conscious, Nokia’s X30 5G is one of the most environmentally friendly devices on the market right now.
While that’s not the sole reason to rush out a buy this phone, there is a lot to like about what Nokia has done with the X30.
It feels really well-built, and will suit anyone who wants a sturdy and sleek looking Android phone that works well, but doesn’t want to pay a lot of money.
How does it work?
The phone has a very striking design and looks quite premium. There’s a 6.4-inch 90Hz display and the ‘cloudy blue’ colour that we have for review has a nice matte-texture on the backside – which helps keep fingerprints away.
A single hole punch sits at the middle-top of the display for the selfie camera, and Nokia has the fingerprint reader in the display itself and not the usual placement on the side power button. On the back are two cameras and an LED flash.
The display is quite lacking in brightness when viewing in direct sunlight (400 nits), and I frequently found myself having to shield the phone with my hand to see what was on the screen.
In terms of photography, the two lenses are 50MP main and 13MP ultra-wide. For the price-point, the X30 takes decent photos, but won’t match what you can get from other devices well within range of the price – such as Pixel 7 or even Pixel 6a.
I also found no reason to worry about daily performance with the Snapdragon 695 5G easily able to complete the usual tasks of checking email, social media, messaging and watching YouTube. However, more intense gaming apps will be problematic, but Nokia is hardly targeting hardcore gamers with this smartphone.
The battery is excellent, and I was easily able to get through the day without requiring a charge. I found a better result from the X30 in lasting across my workday than the likes of Google’s Pixel 7 and Samsung’s A73.
Nokia also guarantees three years of security and operating system updates, which is about on par with what other manufacturers are offering – but not quite at the level of Samsung’s promised four years of security updates on A-series devices.
What we think
The X30 5G is possibly one of Nokia’s best devices to date, but it has some tough competition in the market from Google, Samsung, Oppo and Motorola.
While you won’t have any issues with slow-downs or lags on the current software, after a few Android upgrades this might be an issue as the graphics can’t match what other manufacturers offer for a similar price.
But after all the nitpicking, the Nokia X30 5G is a great mid-ranger and if you don’t care about having the latest and greatest bells and whistles, it’ll be a match made in heaven.
Our reviews always remain independent of the manufacturer, and the first time they will see the review is at the same time you’re able to access it.