Samsung Galaxy M30

Introduction

The Galaxy M30 leaked online many times along with the M10 and M20, indicating that all the three models might launch at once. Samsung, however, announced the M30 a month after it unveiled the other two devices. It is currently the most premium Galaxy M device available in the market.

The Galaxy M30 addresses some of the shortcomings of the M10 and M20. It comes across as better than almost all other rival smartphones in its price range, at least on paper. In many ways, it is the most complete and uncompromising budget smartphone the company has ever launched. We noted in our Galaxy M30 hands-on that this handset will likely be a hit for Samsung in the budget segment.

Design

The Galaxy M20 and M30 look very similar in design with identical button placement and port selection. Like the other M series devices announced so far, the M30 is also made out of plastic but has a slight gradient-like finish on the back that the former lack. The M30 weights 175 grams and measures 159 x 75.1 x 8.4 mm in physical dimensions.

The front of the Galaxy M30 is occupied by a large Infinity-U Super AMOLED display with disproportionate top and bottom bezels. The volume rocker and power button are located on the right side of the device. On the left, the device has a SIM slot that supports two SIMs and a microSD card at once. Down below, there is a headphone jack, USB Type-C port, primary microphone, and a speaker grille in that sequence. The top of the device is clean and only has a secondary microphone.

On the back, there is a vertically-arranged triple-camera setup on the top left corner, an LED flash below the cameras, Samsung branding in the middle, and a fingerprint scanner just above it.

Specifications

The Galaxy M30 comes with a 6.4-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED Infinity-U display, Exynos 7904 octa-core CPU with Mali-G71 GPU, 4GB/6GB of RAM, 64GB/128GB internal storage, triple cameras (13MP + 5MP + 5MP) on the back, 16MP front camera, 5,000 mAh battery with fast-charging support, Type-C port, and Android 8.1 Oreo OS (upgradable to Android Pie) with Samsung Experience UI 9.5 on top.

The M30 is an upgrade over the M20 with a better and bigger screen, more RAM and storage, an extra rear camera, and a higher resolution selfie camera. You can go to our Galaxy M30 specifications page for the complete list of specifications.

Display

When it comes to display, the M30 is a significant upgrade over other models in the Galaxy M series. It sports a 6.4-inch Infinity-U display that, despite the branding, is not much different from other waterdrop-notch designs in the market. However, it’s a Super AMOLED panel which is a big step up from the PLS TFT panels in the M10 and M20. It is a 19.5:9 display with FHD+ resolution (1080×2340) that gives it a pixel density of ~394 PPI. The M30 is currently the only Galaxy M series smartphone to pack a Super AMOLED display and some may prefer to buy it for this reason alone.

Camera

Camera hardware is another area where the Galaxy M30 brings some notable improvements over the M10. These changes include, among other things, an additional camera on the back and a higher resolution sensor on the front, both of which enhance the camera capabilities of the device.

What all of this means is that the rear-camera setup on the Galaxy M30 consists of three cameras: a 13MP f/1.9 primary camera with PDAF, a 5MP f/2.2 ultrawide secondary camera with 123-degree FOV, and a 5 MP f/2.2 depth sensor for better bokeh effect. The rear-cameras support common features like panorama, HDR, Live Focus, etc. On the front, the Galaxy M30 comes with a single 16 MP f/2.0 camera for selfies and Fast Face Unlock feature. It can also record 1080p videos at 30fps, while the primary rear camera can do 2160p videos at 30fps.

Software

Samsung got many things right with the Galaxy M30, but the onboard software at launch was a disappointment as the device came with Android 8.1 Oreo and Samsung Experience UI 9.5 out of the box. Making matters worse, the new Galaxy A 2019 models launched during the same week ran Android Pie-based One UI, putting the M series offering at a disadvantage.

Nevertheless, Samsung eventually updated the M30 to Android Pie in the last week of May, which also brought the company’s One UI to the device. Unfortunately, this also means that the M30 will probably receive one less Android version update than the A series counterparts launched during the same time.

The One UI experience on the Galaxy M30 is similar to what you find on other devices in the company’s lineup. You can read our One UI (Android Pie) Feature Focus series to learn about all the major changes Samsung’s new interface brings to the table. Apart from pushing out a major Android update, the Korean company has also been releasing regular security patches to the M30.

Availability

Samsung announced the Galaxy M30 in India in the last week of February, and it went on sale a week later online via Amazon and Samsung. Strangely, the Korean company is selling the M30 through flash sales, making it difficult for customers to purchase the device.

The M30 is currently available only in India and is priced at INR 14,990 (~$210) for the 4GB/64GB variant and INR 17,990 (~$250) for the 6GB/128GB version. It is available in Gradation Black and Gradation Blue color options.