Tecno’s new refresh to the Camon series is now available. This one is called the Tecno Camon 30 series and it holds some very good devices that I am sure that you would be interested in learning about.

The Camon series started out as a series of camera-centric phones and for a while effectively functioned as Tecno’s (and possibly Transsion’s) flagship line. It used to hace the best specs of all Tecno’s devices. Then the previously comatose Phantom series was rebooted and the rest is history. These days, the Camon series effectively sits squarely in the Midrange segment and that has reflected in the quality of phones that it produces.

Tecno Camon 30 series

 

Tecno Camon 30 Series

The latest update to the Camon series is dubbed the Tecno Camon 30 series. It consists of four phones:

  • Tecno Camon 30
  • Tecno Camon 30 5G
  • Tecno Camon 30 Pro 5G
  • Tecno Camon 30 Premier

Camon 30

The base or vanilla device here is the Camon 30. This one is also the most affordable version for anyone looking to buy into this series.

It’s key specs include:

The Tecno Camon 30 is a decent phone that is on the level of phones like the Redmi 13 Pro 4G. The Helio G99 on board guarantees decent performance and Tecno is very generous with RAM (8 or 12GB LPDDR4X) and storage (256GB UFS).

AMOLEDs have become rather affordable and Tecno seems to have taken full advantage of that. There is a 6.78″ 1080p AMOLED here with a 120Hz refresh rate and Always On Display support.

This device has a standard 50MP main camera and another 50MP sensor for the selfie. I’m going to pretend that the depth sensor doesn’t exist. It can also record and playback 1080p video at 30fps. Finally, it is powered by a 5000mAh battery with 70W fast charge.

Overall, this is archetypal standard midrange phone. This one should appeal to the selfie crowd a lot because of its decent selfie camera. The CPU performance should be decent enough to get a pass mark.

I’m yet to see the official prices for Nigeria but I know that they will be very unfriendly. In addition to this, I am not a fan of HiOS, their official software skin. So that’s that.

Tecno Camon 30 5G
Tecno Camon 30 and 30 5G look similar

Camon 30 5G

The Camon 30 5G is a step above the vanilla Camon 30 in several ways. It’s also more expensive too.

It’s key specs include:

  • Body: plastic frame and glass back
  • SoC: Dimensity 7020
  • Display: 6.78″ 1080p AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate
  • Cameras: 50MP (main) + 2MP (depth), 50MP (selfie)
  • Connectivity: 4G, BT 5.2, WiFi 6
  • Battery: 5000mAh, 70W

The Canon 30 5G is exactly the same device as the Canon 30 except for two things. These are:

  1. Better SoC
  2. 5G

The Camon 30 5G uses a MediaTek Dimensity 7020 which is essentially a rebranded Dimensity 930 SoC. These rebrands are getting honestly on my nerves.

So yes, the Dimensity 7020 (Camon 30 5G) offers a much better performance than the Helio G99 (Camon 30). In addition, the Dimensity 7020 also brings 5G support as well which the Helio G99 lacks.

All other specs are the same and I expect my pet peeves to show up here too. Which are unfriendly pricing and HiOS.

This is where we move up to the Pro models. We’re going to look at them one by one by do take note that the pro models are just variants of the same phone.

Camon 30 Pro

The Camon 30 Pro is actually one of the first real Pro model devices that I have seen from Tecno. This one actually deserves to bear the Pro title.

Its main specs are:

  • Body: plastic frame and glass back
  • SoC: Dimensity 8200
  • Display: 6.78″ 1080p AMOLED with 144Hz refresh rate
  • Cameras: 50MP (main) + 50MP (wide) + 2MP (depth), 50MP (selfie)
  • Video: 4K @60fps
  • Connectivity: 5G, BT 5.2, WiFi 6
  • Battery: 5000mAh, 70W

The Camon 30 Pro is a huge leap over the aforementioned duo when it comes to RAW PERFORMANCE. The Dimensity 8200 is on the level of older flagships such as the Snapdragon 865+, Exynos 2100 and the Google Tensor G1 and Tensor G2. It also competes favourably with more modern SoCs like the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 and the Snapdragon 870. Overall, this is excellent performance.

The Display is the same as those from the base models but the refresh rate has been increased to 144Hz. In the camera dept, a 50MP ultra wide angle sensor has been added and due to the better SoC on board, this phone can record and playback 4K videos at 60fps.

The battery remains at 5000mAh and the charge speed is 70W. It is a 5G device.

Camon 30 Premier

So as the name suggests, this is the premier device of the Camon 30 series. The creme de la creme.

It’s key specs include:

  • Body: plastic frame and glass back
  • SoC: Dimensity 8200
  • Display: 6.77″ QHD LTPO AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate, Gorilla Glass
  • Cameras: 50MP (main) + 50MP (Telephoto) + 50MP (wide), 50MP (selfie)
  • Connectivity: 5G, BT 5.3, WiFi 6
  • Battery: 5000mAh, 70W

As earlier stated, the Tecno Camon 30 Premier is the same device as the Camon 30 Pro except for 3 things. One of which I consider very inconsequential.

  • Firstly, the Camon 30 Premier has an extra 50MP Telephoto camera in place of the 2MP depth sensor.
  • Secondly, it uses an QHD LTPO AMOLED display. This one is very impressive. I had to applaud them for this one. In a era where many companies are refusing to bring top tier specs to the Nigerian market, I have to applaud Tecno for this one.
  • The last one is that the Camon 30 Premier has a lower 120Hz refresh rate when compared to the 144Hz on the Camon 30 Pro. This is the one I find inconsequential.

Conclusion

So let’s round this up. These are decently specced phones and they’ll perform from decently (G99, Dimensity 7020) to superbly well (Dimensity 8200). The cameras (on paper) should also do well and the fast charge is impeccable.

These are good phones. However, I do have two issues, HiOS and overpricing. So if you’re interested in any of these, you’ll have to pay over the odds to land them. These two factors aside, these four phone are very okay.

We should probably compare the Tecno Camon 30 Premier to the Poco F5 in future and I have got a request to do the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 vs Dimensity 7200. So stay tuned. But for now, this is all from me for on this one. Cheers.

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