KPH tech blog

Pixel 4a, Pixel 5, Galaxy S21, Moto G30. These are the final four devices in my shortlist.

The Moto G30 is a late entry, mainly because it wasn’t even a consideration until my Dad bought one for himself, and I was so impressed – and shocked – by it, that I wanted to review it.

And whilst reviewing it, the Moto G30 slipped onto my shortlist.

Because I’m now down to the final four, I’ve decided to split these final blog posts into four: one for each device. Therefore, it should make reading them much easier – with each blog dedicated to one phone. First up, the Moto G30:

Motorola G30

Despite the fact that it’s a big phone, going against my recent thoughts about the Xperia 5 II and Galaxy S20 FE, the Moto G30 is so cheap and impressive that if all else fails, I’ll probably end up with one.

Having played around with my Dad’s Moto G30, I was surprised to see how it handled most of my tasks. There was the occasional stutter, mostly when exiting the camera app, but on the whole it handled everything I threw at it like a charm. Music playback, YouTube videos, a bit of gaming and bit of typing too.

It might only have a 720p LCD screen, but to its credit it supports a 90Hz refresh rate, which makes this budget phone feel faster than it is.

It also comes with 128GB internal storage, and a Micro SD card slot – something that’s missing on the Pixel 4a, Pixel 5 and Galaxy S21.

It also has a 3.5mm headphone port – again, something that’s missing from the Pixel 5 and Galaxy S21, but is available on the Pixel 4a – so I’ll be able to continue enjoying my media the way I want to.

There is a downside – only 4GB RAM – but as I said above, I’ve not really noticed any issues so far apart from the occasional stutter. That may change with more apps and games loaded onto it, but if I chose the Moto G30 as my next phone, only time would tell.

On the plus side, the Moto G30 has an impressive wide- and ultrawide- camera setup, although the dedicated macro camera isn’t as good and is unfortunately the weak link in an otherwise fairly flawless camera array.

There’s also an FM Radio (that’s sadly absent from many top-tier phones), USB Type C and OTG (USB On-The-Go) support, and a rear fingerprint sensor. All things I would like and would use daily.

Also, to power the phone is a massive 5,000 mAh battery and 20W Fast Charging.

With all of these features in mind, I’d have a phone with specs that only a few years ago would’ve been considered a top-tier flagship – but for a fraction of the price.

The only real issue – and I mean, the only issue – is its size. At 6.5″ it sits 0.5″ inches above my preferred size of phone. It isn’t a heavy phone, but it does feel huge in my hands.

That said, given it is very cheap at time of writing – around £130 – if I can’t come up with a solution soon, I might just have to accept that my preference for a small phone is too much of a pipe dream, and settle for something just as good.

Especially given the argument that smaller phones come with smaller batteries – and, therefore, lacklustre battery life between charges. That’s certainly the case with the iPhone 12 mini, and could also likely be the case with the other 3 phones on my shortlist.

Conclusion

I think I’m going to end this blog here. In my next blog post, I’ll upload my thoughts on the Pixel 4a.

Stay tuned for more!

– Chris JK.