As you might expect, the Huawei P30 Lite scraps some of the higher-end features that are found on the P30 and P30 Pro, however all-in-all it certainly keeps the overall feel.
The Huawei P30 Lite will be available from Clove Technology in Peacock Blue, Pearl White and Midnight Black from 25th April for £329.99 including VAT so make sure you check that out.
Design and Display
At first view, the P30 Lite certainly looks and feels like a Huawei device.
For a so-called ‘budget device’ the display is mightily impressive, even in direct sunlight. The 6.15-inch FullHD LCD panel is hindered only by a small dewdrop style notch, allowing for an enjoyable 90% screen-to-body ratio. We’ve particularly enjoyed watching videos, and, whilst not quite up to the standard of it’s flagship counterparts, for this price point you won’t find much better.
With a 1080 x 2312-pixel resolution at 415ppi, colour reproduction is fantastic and images are crisp and bright. The Huawei P30 Lite also comes with TUV Rheinland Eye Comfort certification, designed to be easier on the eyes for a more comfortable viewing experience; particularly in dimly lit backdrops.
To the rear, the Peacock Blue variant of the Huawei P30 Lite has that trademark gradient finish which we’re big fans of here at Clove. If that’s less to your liking, then the Pearl White and Midnight Black colours and more understated – and less obvious to smudges!
At 7.4mm, the Huawei P30 Lite has a noticeably slim and light profile and in the hand, feels much more premium than the price tag would suggest. The 3D curved glass creates a great grip and really helps with one-handed use.
The fingerprint sensor is to the rear and works surprisingly quickly. Whilst the Huawei P30 Lite obviously had to cut back, the in-screen sensor is something that we would have like to have seen kept within the budget edition. That said, the P30 Lite does come with face unlock so you may not need it anyway.
- 6.15-inch FullHD LCD display
- Dewdrop style notch
- 90% screen-to-body ratio
- 1080 x 2312
- 415ppi
- TUV Rheinland Eye Comfort certification
- 7.4mm thick
- 3D curved glass
- Rear fingerprint scanner
- Face Unlock
Camera
Huawei have undoubtedly become synonymous with providing an exceptional photography experience on their smartphones and you’ll be pleased to hear that the Huawei P30 Lite is no different.
A triple-lens setup features on the rear, consisting of a 48MP main lens with an f/1.8 aperture, a 2MP depth sensor with an f/2.4 aperture and an 8MP ultra-wide lens with a 120 degree field of view.
The images that we’ve managed to take with this device are considerably better than we have taken on any other devices at this price point and we cannot laud it highly enough.
AI scene recognition technology is as good as you would expect of a Huawei device and can recognise 22 different categories, including flowers and food. From this, settings like colour, lighting and contrast are automatically adjusted to produce some very impressive images.
Pictures taken using the wide-angle lens are also impressive – although there is slight distortion around the edges of these images. Either way, detail and crispness are great and this is a feature that we use a lot, particularly whilst capturing landscapes.
It is worth noting that if you are shooting with AI turned on or in wide-angle mode that the maximum resolution is 12MP. In comparison, you can enable 48MP whilst shooting normally.
The Huawei P30 Lite can also capture images from distance, comparable to a 2x optical zoom lens. Hyper sampling lossless zoom tech enhances the 48MP ultra HD lens to be turned into a super zoom lens and the results have been more than respectable.
Video can also be recorded in 1080p at 30fps with electronic image stabilisation, however, certainly isn’t as steady as you would find on the P30 Pro.
If selfies are more your thing, then the 32MP front lens of the Huawei P30 Lite is really quite something.
Huawei’s AI tech also features and beautifies self-portraits based on your unique face shape and type. This tech supposedly maps the contours of your features and creates a custom algorithm to ensure that you always show your best side.
The front camera can also recognise more than 8 different categories in real time, adjusting the background of your images accordingly. You can also blur out backgrounds if you so wish by enabling bokeh through the camera app or add in depth after the photo has been taken.
- Triple-lens rear setup
- 48MP, f/1.8
- 2MP depth sensor, f/2.4
- 8MP ultra wide, 120-degree field of view
- AI technology recognises 22 categories
- 2x optical zoom
- 32MP front lens
- AI tech beautifies portraits
- 1080p video @ 30fps with EIS
Performance
Departing from its bigger siblings, the Huawei P30 Lite runs Huawei’s HiSilicon 710 processor along with 4GB of RAM. This is more than enough to keep up with the average user, but you may see a bit of lag if jumping back and forth between more demanding apps.
That said, Huawei’s processing tech – powered by GPU Turbo 2.0 – supposedly enhances performance for a faster, smoother and more powerful gaming experience.
Now, the P30 Lite runs Android 9 straight out of the box, with Huawei’s EMUI 9 skin which has received some complaints, but we can’t say we’ve had any problems with. The 3,340mAh battery is generally decent for a so-called ‘budget device’ and we’d be very surprised if this didn’t get you through the day.
Alongside this, the P30 Lite does have that 3.5mm headphone jack that so many devices are missing, as well as support for a microSD card of up to 512GB. There is however no IP rating.
- HiSilicon Kirin 710 processor
- 4GB RAM
- GPU Turbo 2.0
- Android 9 and EMUI 9
- 3340mAh battery
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Supports microSD up to 512GB
- No IP certification
The Huawei P30 Lite will be available from Clove Technology on 25th April for £329.99 in Midnight Black, Pearl White or Peacock Blue.
